Today we’d like to introduce you to James Hobart.
Thanks for sharing your story with us James. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
If you told me ten years ago that I would end up working in the fitness industry my response would have been equal parts astonishment and laughter. This, owning a gym, coaching athletes, never even fell on my career radar until I had nearly finished up my law degree in 2011.
Playing sports and a love of activity, in general, helped sustain my always on the move lifestyle since a young age. How “it” happened changed throughout the years especially once I left high school and team sports. In college I continued to participate in intramural soccer, but also at that time, I found out I actually liked training inside the gym. I loved being outside and instead of being confined to a gym wasn’t all that appealing, but CrossFit brought a new level of enjoyment, community, and competition that was lost when I stopped playing team sports.
When I first moved to Boston to attend Suffolk Law School, I also joined CrossFit Boston. At that time “CFB” was one of the few CrossFit affiliate gyms in the area. Lucky for me, I moved into an apartment just a few blocks from the gym. My appreciation for CrossFit and CFB grew and outpaced my love for any bit of honest lawyering. At one time, CrossFit existed in order to help me escape from the academic rigor of law school. But not soon after training in the gym and coaching part time blew up into my passion.
Yet, still at that time, I had little desire to own a gym or commit my career to improve others lives through fitness, it just felt like something I loved to do. And it became a bigger and bigger part of my life.
Calling my mother in 2011 to tell her that I wouldn’t sit for the bar exam, instead opting for coaching opportunities both with CrossFit Inc.’s Seminar Staff (This is CrossFit’s training arm that facilities courses to train new trainers, coaches, or just interested parties in CrossFit methodology. These mostly two-day seminars provide the first step for aspiring CrossFit gym owners and coaches). Nevertheless, mom seemed ok with it all, though most of my friends and colleague couldn’t understand why I would take such a sharp turn away from any honest lawyering. I would go on to joke for a few years after that teaching people how to air squat was a whole lot more fun than using them.
Now, I’ve coached with CrossFit Seminar Staff for nearly 8 years, coached part-time in some of the most successful CrossFit gyms for nearly 12. And in October of 2017, I can say I become a proud small business owner along with two fantastic partners–we purchased CrossFit Boston (Now CrossFit One Nation-Boston) from the original owner. Owning an affiliate was one of the last things that I had not done after over a decade in the CrossFit community. Without a doubt coaching and owning a gym here in Boston–the first CrossFit gym I went to–feels incredible. Certainly, there are many ways for people to improve their lives, but the way I know best, the way I get to see day in and day out focuses on how we can improve our lives by improving our fitness.
We have a diverse community of athletes with different jobs, of different ages, and with different fitness levels. But they are immensely special to me and in a way validating of the inadvertent journey I started more than ten years ago when I first moved to Boston.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Getting here wasn’t easy, but I also don’t think I experienced an immense struggle. Fortunately, I always felt like I had a backup plan–lawyering isn’t a terrible plan-b. However, when you chase what you love there are enough moments along the way when you ask yourself even if I love this, is it feasible? There were a few years were working as a part-time CrossFit coach felt, looked, and was, financially, one of the worst choices I made in my adult life.
I like to say that I found myself in the company of a very generous, caring, and helpful community. I feel indebted to the mentors and partners I’ve met in those years. Along with any journey, I think its very important to pause once and a while to ask if you are surrounded with people who enhance and uplift what you do. Or do they stifle you?
In terms of running CrossFit Boston and owning a small business in Boston, we’ve been very fortunate. But it certainly taught me a lot and a lot quickly. You must learn how to acknowledge and balance needs from so many different people.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with CrossFit One Nation-Boston – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
I am most proud of our interaction with our members. We couldn’t do a thing without them and I would like to believe we are in touch with what they need and want as well as how we can continually improve. I speak for our whole CrossFit One Nation Team when I say we are very invested in their improvement–that we give them the best hour of their day through fitness. On top of that, I feel confident in saying that they are invested in us as well.
We are a CrossFit facility dedicated to the pursuit of excellence through Community, Effective Coaching and Fitness. But, we are also much more… we are a tight-knit group, a family. CrossFit is more than just an effective way to work out and gets in shape. CrossFit is a way of living life to be your best. This includes training your body mentally and physically, as well as eating appropriately to sustain an active lifestyle. This also includes the camaraderie and support of those around you.
We help improve the lives of everyone from children to grandparents and all in between through fitness and fun! CrossFit is universally scalable so everyone can participate. We do movements that you do in your everyday life, such as standing up and sitting down, picking things up off the ground, and putting things over your head. What this really means is, in addition to helping you maximize your athletic performance, we will also help you be better prepared to tackle any daily challenges you may face – from unloading groceries to carrying your little-one down a flight of stairs. We just make sure you do it safely, effectively and efficiently. This is what makes CrossFit so special. No matter your abilities or experience, our coaches will tailor the workouts just for you. Whether you opt for small group classes or private one-on-one coaching sessions, we are confident you will reach your full athletic potential, and have fun in the process.
Lots of things separate CrossFit from other programs, but most important is our unique and supportive community. People join for the fitness but stay for the long haul because of the friendships and bonds they develop within our walls. Aside from building better human beings, ONE Nation works to develop a community of like-minded individuals who support, encourage, motivate, and assist one another in reaching their personal goals.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Right now, our plans are to focus on CrossFit One Nation-Boston as well as our other two locations in Needham and Waltham to make sure we are doing the fundamentals of a fitness business well. Together, we are still a young business. And even though our team consists of a lot of talented and experienced coaches, administrators, and leaders, we agree that the basics could always be better. We don’t think we need to create a big change to be better or grow yet.
In the last year, we have focused a lot on developing our staff. A one size fits all fitness coach doesn’t exist, so having a team of coaches who bring diverse backgrounds remains important. And we understand that our long term growth depends on helping create coaches and leaders that can do it even better than we have.
Pricing:
- Our Student Membership (CrossFit One Nation Boston) $129/month
- Our Community Heroes Membership Active Military, Veterans, Law Enforcement Officers, First Responders, Nurses, and Teachers $160/ month
- Our Unlimited Membership (access to Boston, Needham, Waltham locations) $199/month
Contact Info:
- Address: Rear, 100 Holton St.
Brighton, MA 02135 - Website: http://crossfitonenation.com/boston-location/
- Phone: (781) 929-5400
- Email: info@crossfitonenation.com
- Instagram: @Crossfit_one_Nation
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crossfitonenation/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/crossfit-one-nation-needham-2
Image Credit:
CrossFit One Nation
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