The CrossFit RRG: Willing to Fight for You - YouTube

There are over 14,000 CrossFit affiliates around the world.

Every one unique to the owners and coaches who operate it, and the community that gathers around it.

CrossFit affiliates have been transforming lives since the early 2000s,

and serve as lifeboats in the rising tide of obesity and chronic disease.

The affiliat model has seen so much success because it works.

We make people fitter and healthier,

and our affiliate owners and coaches take great pride in that task.

We generally care about our students and members that are part of the P3 family.

P3 family is anybody that walks in our door, any day of the week

and is wanting to better themselves and challenge themselves to be fitter, healthier, happier and wanting to push death further away.

In September of 2011, Adam Gottlieb walked into P3 CrossFit, John McPherson's affiliate in Houston, Texas.

We had a scheduled intro session—it's the first day for a new student wanting to join our gym.

We do the basic, ya know, meet 'n' greet with each other, say hellos and cordials, we fill out paperwork and waivers and releases on everybody.

Once paperwork's insured, we do a further background and check about what they've been doing to stay in shape, what they haven't been doing, how exactly we can help them.

Assuming it's all well and they meet the standards, we start warming up to go through what's called the Baseline Workout.

We drill and skill each one of the movements.

Usually takes in the nature of 10 to 20 minutes, depending on the student.

It's their first workout in the CrossFit world.

This workout's been around for a long time.

After he'd finished and kind of regained his senses, Mr. Gottlieb came outside and was, uh, fatigued.

Nothing unusual for a new athlete or new exposure to CrossFit for the first time.

So a year goes by, I was sitting in my office and I got served papers for a law suit from Gottlieb.

Claiming that the workout had severely injured him.

Mr. Gottlieb filed a law suit again John McPherson of P3 CrossFit and CrossFit, Inc.

The suit claimed McPherson was guilty of groase negligence, for putting Mr. Gottlieb through extreme, dangerous training that caused Mr. Gottlieb to develop rhabdomyolysis.

I had no idea what to do.

The last thing I ever thought of doing would be to hurt somebody let alone somebody come after us for trying to make them fitter.

Luckily, John and P3 CrossFit were insured by CrossFit's very own Risk Retention Group.

And they were not gonna go down without a fight.

I felt extremely relieved and much more confident with the situation at hand.

The lost and confusion was, I don't wanna say gone, but at the same time, it was--

I like to fight, I'm an action person. I don't like to just sit and wait.

So it was to that the people around me were ready to go.

Most commercial insurers would have cut costs by settling this claim.

Trials are risky, and fighting for the truth isn't cheap.

These insurers have no financial incentive to defend the CrossFit name and program.

Even against spurious accusations .

The RRG took Mr. Gottlieb to trial.

When the verdict came in, it was in full favor of the defendants - CrossFit, Inc. and P3 CrossFit.

And there was no fault found on anybody's behalf.

And this was not our doing.

While this story is about John McPherson and P3 CrossFit, it could have been a story about any one of our thousands of affiliates.

Your business, your community and your reputation are worth defending.

Affiliates are the life blood of the CrossFit movement.

And should that fight someday come to your front door, the CrossFit RRG will have your back.