💰 How One Apparel Drop Can Add $1,500 to Your Gym

September 19th, 2025

POWERED BY

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

  • 💰 Apparel done right boosts brand loyalty and gym owners’ bank accounts.

  • đŸš« The most common faults in pull-ups, muscle-ups, and toes-to-bar.

  • ⏳ Chandler Smith breaks down the evolution of CrossFit.

QUOTE OF THE DAY
❝

Promote it hard, fulfill it before the holidays, and watch your apparel line become a predictable revenue stream, not a stressor.”

Matt Albrizio, Forever Fierce, on making a successful Q4 apparel drop.
INDUSTRY

How Gym Owners Can Turn a Q4 Hoodie Drop Into $1,500+ Profit

Credit: Forever Fierce

Many gym owners think entering the apparel market isn’t worth it, believing it’s more trouble than it’s worth.

And who can blame them? After all, CrossFit founder Greg Glassman always said coaches should stick to coaching.

  • “A trainer trains and doesn't do anything else," Glassman said in a CrossFit video from 2012. “Once you’re [selling products], you’re not a trainer anymore
You have lost it. I don’t want a pro shop in my gym. I don’t want my lawyer to have one either. I don’t want the guy that does my colonoscopy to have a pro shop either
Professionals don’t sell shit.”

But that was 13 years ago, and gym owners now live in a very different world, one where members value apparel that can serve as advertising for the gym, and where gym owners can easily generate passive income if they do it right.

Case in point: Natalie Mejias, owner of CrossFit LYFE in Cooper City, FL, earns thousands of dollars each month through retail, sometimes up to $6,000. She said her top-selling items are T-shirts and drinks. 

According to Matt Albrizio from Forever Fierce – an apparel company that also manages design and other tasks to make things easier for gym owners – the fourth quarter of the year is usually the most profitable.

Curious why hoodies are the Q4 goldmine? Keep reading.

A MESSAGE FROM NOBULL

All-New Drive Ripstop. Built for Hybrid Training.

Just Dropped.

Drive Ripstop is your new go-to hybrid trainer. We made it so you can stop lifting in running shoes—because running shoes aren’t designed to stabilize heavy weight. The Drive Ripstop's durable, one-piece ripstop upper locks you in. Pebax¼ foam delivers stability under the bar and responsiveness for miles. A grippy rubber outsole gives traction from every angle. Built for strength, speed, and everything in between—all in one shoe.

Use code WELCOME30 to get 30% off your first order at nobullproject.com.

*This newsletter relies on our sponsors. Please consider supporting them.

SPEED READS

đŸ‡șđŸ‡žđŸ‹ïž Everyday Heroes Assemble: The CrossFit Everyday Hero Service Cup, powered by Mayhem Athlete, kicked off yesterday, September 15, and runs through September 22. Entry is $10 ($45 bundled with tee, patch, and Mayhem Athlete programming); anyone can participate, and there’s still time to sign up.

đŸŽó §ó ąó łó Łó Žó żđŸ‹ïž 2025 Rogue Invitational Roster Reveal: The 7th annual Rogue Invitational heads back to Aberdeen, October 31 to November 2, bringing CrossFit’s biggest names and Strongman legends together once again. Find out who’s competing. 

đŸ‘•đŸ„‡ Velites x PRVN: Velites dropped the PRVN collection — new training gear, bold styles, and fresh collabs for athletes chasing performance + street.

đŸ“šđŸ‹ïž From Novice to Master: CrossFit’s trainer pipeline — from Level 1 basics to Level 3 mastery — blends classroom, floor time, and self-study to create some of the best-prepared coaches in fitness.

ICYMI: đŸ‹ïž CrossFit Games Quarterfinals return in 2026 — top 25% of athletes advance.

MEMBER EXCLUSIVE

Fix Your Gymnastics Pulling Game: 3 Common Faults Holding You Back

Credit: @b.a.w_media / Instagram

When it comes to gymnastics skills, sometimes the best way to learn is by understanding what not to do. If you understand why this fault is holding you back, you will be able to implement the correct technique to build a more seamless approach to building a skill.

Think of it like baking: you can follow a recipe a dozen times and fail, until one day you realize the secret was simply mixing the wet and dry ingredients separately. 

  • Once it clicks, you never forget — failure was the key to success.

The same principle applies to gymnastics. Failure isn’t just part of the process; it’s the teacher. 

And for pulling skills — think pull-ups, bar and ring muscle-ups, toes-to-bar, rope climbs, butterfly pull-ups — the mistakes athletes make are often the same across the board.

Ironically, what these movements share most is common faults. Spotting those patterns is the first step to breaking them.

So let’s dive into the biggest faults that hold athletes back in pulling skills, and how shifting your perspective can help you rebuild them.

THINGS TO



LEARN

Why Competitive Fitness Is Going Mainstream

Once a niche corner of CrossFit boxes and obstacle courses, competitive fitness has exploded into a global phenomenon. HYROX alone is projected to top 1.2 million participants in 2025, with sell-out events in 85 cities across 30 countries. The shift isn’t just about chasing PRs — people are prioritizing health, community, and measurable progress, fueling a $7 trillion wellness economy.


KNOW

Millennials’ Fitness-First Remote Work Style

As return-to-office mandates surge, studies show Millennials are strategically planning their remote work days around fitness — scheduling workouts, avoiding commutes, and preserving time for movement. The flexibility isn’t just a perk; it’s becoming a requirement for balancing health, work, and lifestyle.


WATCH

BTS Footage of Justin Medeiros and the Relish Project

The Relish Project kicks off its CrossFit road trip — van hiccups, heavy workouts, and gear giveaways included. Day 1 features stops at Fulcrum and Sea Bright CrossFit, where community, camaraderie, and sweat sessions set the tone for the journey ahead.

CROSSFIT

Chandler Smith on How CrossFit Has Changed — and What’s Next

Credit: Scott Freymond

The CrossFit landscape has undergone a significant transformation over the past decade, particularly in training methods. 

  • Five-time CrossFit Games athlete Chandler Smith discussed the “eras” of CrossFit coaching and programming in a recent video with Training Think Tank (TTT) coaches Adam Rogers and Max El-Hag. 

Smith describes the competitive evolution of CrossFit as a four-stage model. 

The pre-2015 period was the initial phase when early adopters and overall athletic ability were sufficient to qualify for the Games or Regionals. 

This was followed by the 2015-2020 period, during which a greater volume of training became standard and more complex tests were introduced. 

Then came 2020-2023, when the sport truly began to professionalize. Skills and weights increased noticeably, and more athletes pursued CrossFit as a career. 

Since 2023, Smith says the focus has been on machines and size. Event programming favors those with access to machines that didn’t exist before (think Echo Bike or Rogue Rower), rewarding proficiency with high loads and machine ability.

  • After the jump — how coaching philosophies have evolved alongside athletes.

HIGHLIGHTS

Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise? Send us a tip.