Proud to Be British: Why We'll Always Back UK CrossFit

We're proud to be British.

There. We said it.

And we don't think there should be anything remotely controversial about that.

We're proud of where we're from.

We're proud that The Defiant Co is a British business.

We're proud of the incredible CrossFit athletes this country produces.

We're proud of our affiliates, coaches, competitions and communities.

And we're incredibly proud to have spent the last eight years becoming a small part of the UK CrossFit scene ourselves.

But pride should mean more than waving a flag.

If you're genuinely proud of the community you come from, you should want to contribute to it.

You should want to make it stronger.

That's what we've always tried to do.

The UK CrossFit Scene Gave Us Our Start

The Defiant Co started in 2018 with four products and absolutely no guarantee that anybody would give a shit about them.

We didn't have enormous advertising budgets.

We didn't have a huge audience.

We didn't have international distribution.

What we did have was the UK CrossFit community.

We travelled around the country.

Big CrossFit competitions.

Small CrossFit competitions.

Boxes in industrial units.

Packed arenas.

Events with thousands of spectators.

Events where seemingly every spectator was related to somebody competing.

We turned up.

Again.

And again.

And again.

One year we attended 56 event days.

That's where people discovered The Defiant Co.

Not because an algorithm decided to put us in front of them.

Because we were there.

We spoke to people.

We watched them compete.

We learned about their affiliates.

We celebrated their PBs.

We watched people absolutely bury themselves for a plastic medal and bragging rights over their mates.

We became part of the CrossFit community.

That matters to us.

Because without the British CrossFit scene supporting The Defiant Co, there probably isn't a The Defiant Co today.

Pride Should Come With Responsibility

It's easy to say you're proud of where you're from.

It's easy to stick a Union Jack on something.

It's easy to celebrate British athletes when they're standing on podiums.

But we think pride should come with some responsibility too.

If an ecosystem has helped you grow, you should put something back into it.

That doesn't necessarily mean money.

It can mean time.

Exposure.

Support.

Opportunity.

Experience.

Connections.

Products.

Whatever you're in a position to contribute.

We've always believed that businesses should understand the communities that sustain them.

The UK CrossFit community has supported us.

So whenever we can, we want to support it back.

150 Team UK Athletes. One Opportunity to Represent Them Properly.

One of the things we're proudest of happened this year.

The iF3 European Championships were taking place on home soil, and around 150 Team UK functional fitness athletes needed kit.

We wanted to be involved.

But more importantly, we wanted to do it properly.

Providing kit for that many athletes isn't cheap.

Not remotely.

It represented a significant expense for The Defiant Co.

But there was something more important than the cost.

We wanted Team UK to look better than anybody else there.

They were representing us.

Our country.

British functional fitness.

On home soil.

If they were going to walk out representing Team UK, we wanted them to look like they belonged there.

Not an afterthought.

Not 150 people who'd been given whatever happened to be available.

A team.

We wanted people to look across the competition floor and know exactly who Team UK were.

We wanted the athletes themselves to feel proud putting that kit on.

And when we finally saw all of them together wearing it, it was worth every penny.

They looked fucking brilliant.

Because Representation Matters

There is something different about pulling on a shirt representing where you're from.

Most of the year, these athletes represent themselves, their gyms, their coaches and their training partners.

International functional fitness competition changes things.

Suddenly you're representing something bigger.

You're standing alongside Team UK athletes from across the country who you've possibly never met before.

Different gyms.

Different backgrounds.

Different levels of experience.

One team.

That's what we wanted the kit to represent.

The clothing doesn't make somebody perform better.

We're not going to pretend it does.

But it can make them feel part of something.

And when 150 Team UK athletes walk into an iF3 competition dressed as one team, it makes a statement.

Team UK were there.

And they looked like they meant business.

British CrossFit Deserves More Recognition

We genuinely believe the British CrossFit scene punches massively above its weight.

Look at the standard of athletes coming through.

Look at the quality of coaching.

Look at the competitions being organised across the country.

Look at the communities being built inside UK CrossFit affiliates.

Some extraordinary work is being done.

Often by people who aren't getting rich doing it.

Affiliate owners opening the doors before most people are awake.

Coaches giving people far more than the hour they're being paid for.

Competition organisers risking huge amounts of their own money and time to create opportunities for athletes.

Volunteers giving up weekends.

Judges standing on competition floors for hours.

Photographers capturing the moments.

Brands supporting events.

Parents driving teenage athletes around the country.

Training partners helping each other prepare.

That is the ecosystem.

The elite CrossFit athlete standing on the podium is simply the most visible part of it.

Behind every athlete are hundreds of people helping British CrossFit continue to grow.

Supporting British Doesn't Mean Ignoring Everyone Else

Being proud of where you're from doesn't require you to think you're better than everybody else.

That's never been what this is about.

We travel internationally.

We have friends throughout the global CrossFit community.

We've met incredible athletes, coaches, businesses and affiliate owners from all over the world.

CrossFit is one of the most international communities we've ever experienced.

That's part of what makes it brilliant.

But none of that means we shouldn't be particularly invested in what's happening at home.

You can appreciate everybody while still wanting your own community to thrive.

We want British CrossFit athletes succeeding.

We want British affiliates full.

We want British CrossFit competitions selling out.

We want British coaches developing world class athletes.

We want British brands growing.

We want the UK CrossFit scene to become stronger every year.

Because this is our home.

Spend Your Money Where Your Values Are

There is another side to this that doesn't get talked about enough.

Every pound you spend is a tiny vote for the type of businesses you want to exist.

That doesn't mean you should blindly buy British regardless of quality.

We certainly don't expect anybody to buy something from The Defiant Co purely because we're British.

We have to earn your business.

The product has to be good.

The designs have to be good.

The service has to be good.

But when independent businesses are delivering those things, supporting them keeps money and opportunity inside the ecosystem.

It allows them to employ people.

Attend CrossFit events.

Sponsor athletes.

Support competitions.

Create opportunities.

And occasionally spend a significant amount of money making sure 150 Team UK functional fitness athletes look fucking incredible.

That's the circle.

Community supports business.

Business grows.

Business supports community.

Community grows.

Everybody benefits.

The Same Applies to Your Local CrossFit Affiliate

This isn't simply about clothing brands.

Your local CrossFit affiliate needs support too.

So does your local CrossFit competition.

So does the coach running a workshop.

So does the independent photographer covering your event.

So does the small brand with a stand in the corner.

Nobody is suggesting you have to spend money for the sake of it.

But when somebody within your CrossFit community is doing genuinely good work, support them when you can.

Buy something.

Share their post.

Recommend them.

Enter their competition.

Leave them a review.

Tell somebody about them.

Small actions compound.

That's how communities become stronger.

We Want to Leave the UK CrossFit Scene Better Than We Found It

The Defiant Co has been around since 2018.

Hopefully we're going to be around for a very long time yet.

But longevity isn't simply about how many years a company survives.

It's about what you contributed while you were there.

We want to be able to look back and know we played our part.

That we supported CrossFit athletes.

That we backed competitions.

That we helped affiliates.

That we created opportunities.

That we showed up.

That we represented British CrossFit properly.

And that when opportunities like supporting BF3 and Team UK at the iF3 European Championships came along, we didn't just ask:

What's in this for us?

Sometimes the better question is:

What can we add?

Proudly British. Proudly Defiant.

We're proud to be a British brand.

We're proud of the country The Defiant Co comes from.

We're proud of the UK CrossFit community that helped build us.

And we're proud every time we get an opportunity to put something back into it.

Seeing around 150 Team UK functional fitness athletes together this year wearing kit we'd helped create was one of those moments where you stop thinking about margins, invoices and spreadsheets.

You just look at it.

A sea of athletes representing their country.

On home soil.

Looking fucking class.

That's what it was supposed to be about.

We wanted Team UK to look the best.

We think they did.

But more than that, we wanted to contribute something to a sporting community that's contributed an enormous amount to us.

Because being proud of where you're from isn't about believing everywhere else is shit.

It's about appreciating what you have.

Protecting it.

Supporting it.

Contributing to it.

And trying to leave it stronger than you found it.

That's what being proudly British means to us.

And that's something The Defiant Co will never apologise for.