CrossFit Vise Downtown

I was a member of Vise for more than a year. It’s challenging to write a review that helps provide an adequate representation of my experiences in a way that helps inform the decisions of others. I appreciated some of the programming, some of my personal progress, and some of my friendships; for a while I saw my strength and skill develop, and my fitness changes to accommodate new modes and durations of training.
I recently chose to end my membership. Ultimately… It was not the place where I could train or improve because of three things: inconsistency in coaching, constant offensive member misconduct, and a culture of favoritism set my the leadership.
The Coaches
I liked many of them as people, and many of them mean well and want to help. Not all of them possess the appropriate education, skills, or experience though. Some seem well-​educated, well-​trained, and very professional in their program delivery; others lack education or training or certification.
Offense Member Conduct Allowed
Member conduct from a few of the gym «favorites» was downright abusive and bullying. One member in particular harassed me personally several times online, in the gym’s private Facebook group. I’m no push over; I pushed back. I discussed it with management, but the elites kind of rule the roost and I was encouraged to just ignore it. I witnessed many other examples throughout the year with other members getting attacked. I often tried reaching out to or helping those that got bullied when I could. I was also not alone in that the gym favorites could easily gang up on or push out less favored people, which happened from time to time. It honestly felt a bit like playground bullies. Much of it can be ignored if you just come in and do your workout. It was prevalent both in the clubs and online, but a lot of people just tried to ignore it.
Culture of Elite Favorites
Ultimately the management and leadership permitted a culture where the elite athletes were favored and catered to — with programming, with gym schedules, with behavior or attitude. I guess the rest of us were free to come along for the ride if we didn’t mind, but ultimately for me it just wasn’t tolerable long term. For me, I just wished that were obvious upfront. I’m just not the elite athlete guy… I’m the average guy hoping to be better. A few times the gym would close or they would cancel class or abandon the programming that day — unexpectedly, unannounced — because of the elite group. Which I can understand a bit but for the majority it just kind of sucks.
Overall —
If you want great programming, I think you’ll like it. What you might not like is the environment and the way some people treat each other. And if you yourself become the target it can get pretty rough and ugly. I had thicker skin than most and let a lot of stuff roll off my back, but others quit instantly and had to pay out their contracts, which can be a few thousand bucks. Personally, for me, I just needed a great crossfit gym without the drama between the members, the staff, and the volatility in schedules and catering to the elite. I’m just a regular guy looking to be a little better every day, and this place was putting too much drama in the way of that simple (expensive) goal.

Amazing Programing