Gym: FOE CrossFit
Owner: Dash Minick
Before: Shopify store with Printify — DIY designs, zero sales
After: Profitable first order, no leftover stock
Found Us Via: Word of mouth in the CrossFit community + Best Hour of Their Day Affiliate University
Case study snapshot
- Gym: FOE CrossFit
- Before Forever Fierce: Shopify store with Printify — DIY designs, zero sales
- After Forever Fierce: Profitable first order, no leftover stock
- How they found Forever Fierce: Word of mouth in the CrossFit community + Best Hour of Their Day Affiliate University
- Why this matters: This is firsthand gym-owner proof of the preorder-first apparel model: design support, a managed webstore, production, fulfillment, and less admin work for the owner.
The Problem
For 13 years, FOE CrossFit tried to make apparel work. They set up a Shopify store. They used Printify to design their own merch. They did what every blog post on the internet tells you to do — build an online store and let the orders roll in.
The orders didn't roll in. Sales were basically zero.
As Dash put it, "We are not designers. It really just became more of a pain than it was worth." Sound familiar? A lot of gym owners go down the DIY print-on-demand path because it seems low-risk. No minimums, no upfront cost. But what nobody tells you is that a store with mediocre designs and no marketing strategy behind it just sits there collecting dust.
The Switch
Dash had used Forever Fierce in the past and knew the quality was there. When he started hearing other affiliate owners in a forum talking about their apparel struggles, he decided to reach out and build a real plan.
His fear? That the process would be complicated. It wasn't.
"The process was incredibly easy. Matt was very responsive and accommodating. Truthfully the process couldn't have gone any smoother. Our biggest issue was arriving at a design that my wife and I could agree upon."
The Result
FOE CrossFit ran their first pre-order through Forever Fierce and something happened that had never happened in 13 years of trying: they made money on apparel. No leftover stock. No money lost. No boxes sitting in the corner of the gym.
"The process was simple and we didn't lose money or have a bunch of extra unsold stock left over. This might have been a first for us."
Dash is now building an ongoing apparel plan to keep the momentum going. His advice to anyone on the fence: "Just do it! Matt and his team made the process so simple and we actually made some money on apparel for the first time in our 13 year history. The quality is top notch and the service is second to none."
What gym owners can learn from this case study
The pattern is the same across the strongest Forever Fierce client stories: the gym owner was not missing effort. They were missing a repeatable apparel system. The fix is usually better cadence, cleaner design support, a real preorder window, and less manual order management.
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