Local women make a heavy lift in buying Aspen CrossFit from longtime owner
Founder of athletic program at the Aspen Business Center sells to new ownership group
A trio of local women are acquiring Aspen CrossFit from owner Erik Larson, who started the fitness business in 2010.
Katie Ertl and her sister, Megan Harvey Bourke, along with Jessica Moore, will take over the business March 1. They’ve all been members of the gym and the CrossFit community for several years.
Ertl said she had caught wind through the rumor mill last summer that Larson was thinking about selling so she asked him about it. It turned out not to be true but it started a conversation that was acted on about a month ago when word in the gym was that Larson was considering a move.
“We didn’t want it to disappear so we made an offer,” Ertl said. “We are grateful that Erik started this 11 years ago and brought CrossFit to Aspen.”
Larson, who dropped his career job as a CPA to start CrossFit, said it’s been a life-changing experience but it’s time to take care of family, travel the Northwest, dive into photography and maybe write a book.
“Over 11 years I’ve had an epic and extraordinary experience with thousands of people,” he said. “Now it’s time to breathe some new life into the CrossFit community.”
The new ownership group plans to diversify and strengthen the business into the future, and look at ways to integrate the training program with other health-oriented disciplines like Pilates, and physical and massage therapy.
“We want to focus on strength and conditioning so we can be strong for things we love to do like skiing and mountain biking,” Ertl said. “We are really invested in supporting people’s health. We know how hard it can be to do something active every day (so) our goal is to have a community that supports that.”
Moore, who is one of six coaches at Aspen CrossFit, will handle operations but said all three of them will share in running the business.
They describe the Aspen CrossFit community as tight-knit, and members are there for each other to help motivate and push their limits.
“It truly is a community,” Larson said. “I’m going to miss it, but I have every faith that these girls will rock it.”
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