Where Does it End? Why we have to keep fighting.

Last weekend in San Diego, inside the walls of CrossFit Counter Culture, something important happened. Fifty affiliate owners, coaches, and healthcare providers came together for the first CrossFit Medical Society Health Integration Summit. On paper, it was a two-day educational event. In reality, it felt more like a strategic briefing for the next phase of a movement.

People flew in from across the country (and from Canada) not because they needed more cues on the air squat or a better way to explain intensity. They came because they can feel it. The ground is shifting beneath the health and fitness industry. Healthcare is unstable. Costs are exploding. Chronic disease continues to rise. At the same time, money is pouring into “wellness” at historic levels. The global wellness economy is now valued at roughly nine trillion dollars. Investors, celebrities, tech founders, and luxury brands have all decided that longevity is the next frontier. And yet, for all the noise and capital flooding into the space, no one has solved the real problem: how to deliver scalable, accessible, community-based health in a way that actually changes outcomes.

At the Summit, we were unapologetic about naming the giants. For years we have described the three-headed monster: Big Food, Big Pharma, and the Medical Industrial Complex. Each plays a role in a system that rewards treatment over prevention and profit over outcomes. But there is now a fourth head emerging, and it may be the most seductive of them all. The luxury longevity market.

On a recent episode of the Future of Fitness podcast, Mark Mastrov, founder of 24-Hour Fitness, discussed the convergence of healthcare and fitness and acknowledged that no one has quite figured out how to nail a scalable model that brings everything under one roof. He says, “those that conquer that are going to be in a better position to serve their members and their communities.” He is right about the convergence. He is wrong about scalability.

The model already exists. It is the CrossFit affiliate.

High-end brands like Equinox experiment with concierge biomarker packages and bougie recovery options starting at $40,000. Tech founder Bryan Johnson launched a longevity company that costs members $1,000,000 per year. Meanwhile, affiliates quietly deliver the most potent health intervention available for a few hundred dollars a month. Inside our walls, people lift heavy, move fast, build bone density, improve insulin sensitivity, increase VO₂ max, preserve muscle mass, and lower long-term disease risk. They also build friendships, accountability, and a sense of belonging.

No luxury clinic can manufacture that. No subscription-based biohacking protocol can replicate the cultural force of a room full of people suffering together and celebrating together.

One of the essays in the Health Integration Guide is titled David and the Goliaths. The premise is simple and it is not metaphor for metaphor’s sake. If the giants are multi-billion-dollar corporations and institutional systems, the affiliate is David. Small. Decentralized. Underestimated. But armed with something the giants cannot mass produce: culture and truth.

Step inside an affiliate and you see what real healthcare looks like when stripped of bureaucracy. You see people taking ownership of their bodies. You see standards being upheld. You see measurable progress. You see adaptation happening in real time. There are no claim forms. No prior authorizations. No pharmaceutical representatives shaping the conversation. Just coaches, methodology, and community.

The CrossFit methodology was never about aesthetics or trends. Constantly varied functional movement performed at high intensity was designed to build work capacity across broad time and modal domains because that capacity protects against sickness, frailty, and dependence. Long before lifestyle medicine became a buzzword, CrossFit operationalized it. The outcomes have been observable and repeatable for decades.

What is new is not the efficacy. What is new is the market pressure.

The nine-trillion-dollar wellness industry is commoditizing health at an alarming rate. Optimization is becoming a luxury badge. Diagnostics are being packaged as status symbols. Longevity is being sold as an exclusive club. If we are not careful, health will become another marker of social class. The wealthy will buy access to prevention while everyone else remains trapped in a reactive medical system.

That is not progress. That is stratification.

This is why the work of health integration is so timely and so urgent. It is not about turning gyms into clinics. It is about recognizing that the affiliate is already a public health asset and treating it as such. It is about responsibly integrating education around biomarkers, having access to the testing and diagnostics for our members at prices far below seven figures, building aligned referral networks, and creating systems that increase member value without diluting standards. It is about giving owners and coaches the blueprint to expand their impact without abandoning their scope.

At the Summit, we did not romanticize the challenge. We talked about compliance. We talked about operational logistics. We talked about how to structure offerings that are ethical, scalable, and aligned. We talked about how to build a CFMS Health Hub inside an existing affiliate without compromising the training floor. Education was only half of it. Application was the other half.

The conviction in the room was palpable. Affiliates are not waiting for permission from hospital systems or venture capital firms. They are building alternatives. The network already exists. There are more CrossFit affiliates in the United States than 24 Hour Fitness locations. The infrastructure is decentralized and deeply embedded in local communities. The methodology works. The culture works. The scalability has been proven one class at a time for years. What has been missing is the coordinated effort to claim the role the affiliate is capable of playing in the broader health ecosystem.

We cannot stand idly by while the narrative around health is rewritten by luxury brands and biohacking influencers. We cannot allow prevention to become a premium add-on for those who can afford it. CrossFit has always prided itself on being universally scalable. That principle must now extend beyond workouts to access to health itself.

The future of healthcare will not be saved by another insurance product or a shinier diagnostic platform. It will be reshaped by communities that take responsibility for their own health and refuse to outsource it. The affiliate is already that community.

San Diego was not a conference. It was a line in the sand.

Fifty leaders left with blueprints in their hands and conviction in their voices. They understand that this is not about chasing trends. It is about protecting accessibility. It is about ensuring that the convergence of health and fitness serves the many, not the few. It is about saying clearly that the most powerful, scalable health intervention in the world is already operating in garages, warehouses, and small-town storefronts across the country.

The solution is built. The mission is clear. The future of healthcare will be forged in the affiliate, and those who were in San Diego last weekend intend to make sure that happens. This work is the task at hand and the invitation to fight is extended to any affiliate owner, coach and healthcare provider who is ready to join us.

App Launch!

We’re also excited to share that the CFMS membership platform has officially been upgraded—and it now includes a dedicated app you can download directly to your phone.

This upgrade is more than a cosmetic refresh. It reflects the growth of this community and our commitment to building the infrastructure to support it. As our education expands, as more affiliates step into health integration, and as more healthcare providers align with this mission, we need a platform that allows us to serve you better, communicate faster, and deliver resources in real time. This new system does exactly that.

If you are an affiliate owner or coach, please create a new profile with us HERE. If you are a healthcare provider, please set up your profile HERE.

Even if you were part of the previous platform, you will need to create a new profile as we transition fully into this upgraded system.

Once your account is created, head to your app store and search for “CrossFit Medical Society.” Scroll until you find us. We’re new to the store, so we may not be at the top of the search results just yet. Download the app, log in using your new profile information, and you’re ready to go.

Inside the app, you’ll find expanded resources, updated education, and direct access to CME courses available for purchase. You can also link out to additional tools and explore the newly updated Clinical Provider Directory. The CPD is in its final stages of being transitioned from the old platform into this one, and we’re excited for it to live in a more functional, accessible format.

One of the features we are most energized about is the networking and communication component. This is where the real power of the platform begins to show itself.

For example, attendees from the San Diego Health Integration Summit now have their own private channel. Inside that channel, they can post updates, ask questions, comment, collaborate, and access Summit-specific education including the Health Integration Guide and Blueprint. The learning did not end when the weekend ended. It continues inside the app.

The same structure now exists for healthcare providers active within CFMS. There is finally a centralized place for aligned clinicians to connect, share insights, discuss cases within appropriate boundaries, and support the integration of real health inside affiliates across the country. This is how we strengthen the ecosystem. This is how we build alignment between coaching and clinical practice without losing the integrity of either.

The platform is no longer just a content library. It is a living network.

So please take a few minutes to select the appropriate link, create your new profile, and download the app. The resources are growing. The conversations are expanding. The infrastructure is catching up to the mission.

And we are just getting started.

Health Integration Summits!

Registration for all 2026 Health Integration Summit dates is officially open—and momentum is building quickly.

Boston is almost full, and the t-shirt deadline is approaching fast. If you have been considering joining us, now is the time to commit. For those already inside the CFMS ecosystem, you can still take advantage of the early bird discount by using the code “boston” at registration. We would love to fill that room with affiliates and providers who are serious about stepping into this next phase of leadership.

Denver will take place June 13–14 at Koda CrossFit. Use the code “earlybird” to secure your spot at the discounted rate.

Charlotte is scheduled for November 7–8 at CrossFit Charlotte, and you can also use the code “earlybird” for that event.

Each Summit is intentionally capped. We are not interested in hosting massive conferences where connection gets diluted. These are working sessions. You will leave with frameworks, operational clarity, and a blueprint for building or refining your Health Hub inside your affiliate.

In addition, we’ll be speaking at the Owners and Coaches Conference in San Jose prior to the CrossFit Games. If you are attending, we hope to connect with you there as well. The conversation around health integration is gaining traction, and we intend to keep pushing it forward.

Pick your city. Commit to the work. Join us.