WHY HARTFIT MAY WALK AWAY FROM SPARTAN DEKA
When we became one of the earliest DEKA Affiliates in Illinois, it wasn’t because we thought DEKA would make us rich.
It was because we believed in what it represented.
We were already deeply invested in obstacle course racing. Spartan was a major part of our culture. Our athletes raced Spartan. We coached Spartan. We built a community around the principles OCR was supposed to teach: resilience, accountability, problem-solving, and overcoming adversity.
At the time, another gym just a few miles away had chosen to affiliate with HYROX. Rather than competing for the exact same audience, we made what we believed was a respectful decision.
They would offer one lane.
We would offer another.
Athletes would have options, both businesses could thrive, and everyone would benefit.
Shortly afterward, I received calls from both Yancy Culp and Jarrod Cogswell informing me that the competing gym had reached out about becoming a DEKA Affiliate as well.
The answer was no.
For the first time in all my years associated with Spartan, I saw leadership willing to protect the integrity of what they were building rather than simply chasing the next affiliate fee. The gym attempting to affiliate was substantially larger than ours. They could likely have generated more revenue. Yet Spartan chose to honor the commitment they had already made.
That mattered.
It showed character.
Unfortunately, that philosophy didn’t last.
Over time, DEKA began expanding aggressively. The idea of protecting affiliates from direct local competition slowly disappeared. Facilities began appearing closer and closer together. The same consideration that once existed was replaced by a strategy that seemed focused primarily on growth.
Whether that growth benefits affiliates is another question entirely.
Our first indication that things were changing is when we received emails from HYROX, whom we previously affiliated with, that we could not use the term HYROX in any of our training language.
We obliged albeit confused why DEKA was not implementing the same strict protection of their brand competing gyms used their logos and literature on theirs.
We soon learned why.
When we decided to leave Illinois and move to Colorado, continuing as a DEKA Affiliate was not an automatic decision.
Unlike most gyms, our primary focus has always been OCR.
That meant when searching for property, we weren’t looking for the perfect DEKA venue. We were looking for the perfect OCR venue. We needed terrain. Obstacles. Space. Character. Elevation. The things that make OCR what it is.
Yet we still considered DEKA heavily enough that “flat enough to host DEKA” became one of the criteria in our search.
That came at a cost.
To DEKA’s credit, they worked with us during the transition and gave us time while we prepared the property. We appreciated that.
But as the months passed, the economics became harder to justify.
Affiliate fees increased.
Revenue sharing changed.
Additional services were bundled into memberships despite many affiliates never asking for them.
At the same time, standards appeared to loosen.
Gyms that didn’t possess all of the required equipment were permitted to affiliate. Workarounds and substitutions became acceptable. The barriers to entry that existing affiliates had already paid to overcome suddenly seemed less important.
As one of the few dedicated OCR facilities in America, forgive me if I struggle to sympathize with arguments about startup costs.
We built obstacles.
We purchased land.
We developed infrastructure.
We created an outdoor training environment from nothing.
Not because someone subsidized it.
Not because a governing body gave us special treatment.
But because we believed in what we were building.
That’s what makes this decision difficult.
The challenge isn’t whether DEKA is a good product.
It is.
The challenge is whether it still aligns with the future we envision for HartFit.
Our first DEKA event in Colorado has struggled. Participation has been lower than expected. Interest in hybrid racing appears increasingly fragmented. New affiliates continue appearing. More events compete for the same athletes. The market feels saturated while enthusiasm becomes diluted.
At the same time, OCR continues to lose ground.
The very sport that built our community now fights for attention against a growing list of fitness products, brands, and formats.
And if I’m being honest, that’s the part that weighs on me most.
Not the affiliate fees.
Not the equipment.
Not the logistics.
The reality that every hour, dollar, and ounce of energy we invest into promoting DEKA is energy not invested into rebuilding OCR.
The sport that gave many of us purpose.
The sport that taught people they were capable of more than they believed.
The sport that transformed lives long before hybrid racing became fashionable.
Maybe DEKA remains part of our future.
Maybe it doesn’t.
What I do know is this:
HartFit was never built to follow trends.
It was built to develop resilient human beings through challenge, adversity, and achievement.
Whether that happens through OCR, DEKA, hybrid racing, or something entirely our own remains to be seen.
