More On Kettlebell Kitchen’s Closure, More Failed Drug Tests

WODDITY is investigating the strange death of Kettlebell Kitchen and wants your help. There are also more drug sanctions and possible more Madison, WI.

Monday, November 18th, 2019

Good morning and welcome to the WODDITY podcast for news about CrossFit. We are a daily podcast, Monday through Friday, doing CrossFit news in five minutes or less.

I’m on the road again, because that’s just what I do. Say hi to the dog, he’s here recording with me.

My name is Ben Garves and today is Monday, the 18th of November, 2019. 

Were You Affected by Kettlebell Kitchen Closing?

There’s something fishy going on, and it’s not the fish your coworker has in the microwave for lunch. WODDITY is digging into the mysterious closure of Kettlebell Kitchen last week. The company had influence far and wide in the fitness industry, was loved by many, and was a growing darling for their North Castle Partners investors, having raised nearly $30 million in 2018. Then, it all disappeared. Kettlebell Kitchen posted to social media that they were closed, redirected their website to another company called Territory foods, also noting they strangely have no affiliation with Territory, and went radio silent. Reddit, Facebook, Instargam, and Twitter are filled with complaints from customers stating their cards are still being charged and food is not showing up. Many are talking to their credit card companies to stop payments and calling their state Attorney General to form official complaints.

WODDITY is investigating and wants to help, but we need more information. If you were affected by the Kettlebell Kitchen closure, reach out to me at [email protected] with the subject line “Kettlebell Kitchen” and tell me your story. The more details you can provide, the better. We’re looking for things like emails, screenshots, details about what you were charged, when, and more. We want to look after the community, and you could help us do that.=

Updated Estimates for Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall

The Alliant Energy Center in Madison, Wisconsin, home of the 2020 CrossFit Games, has updated their estimate for a planned expansion of their exhibition hall. Shocker alert: it got more expensive. The original 2018 estimate put the total of all planned work at $109 million, which has now been upped to $177 million. CrossFit has just one more year in its contract with both the Alliant Energy Center and their title sponsor, Reebok. This means the 2021 CrossFit Games could really be anywhere and anything Greg Glassman wants. The only thing we know officially is that he plans to take a hiatus from having a title sponsor for the event. Everyone cross your fingers and hope for somewhere tropical.

Other than the CrossFit Games, the other few big events the Alliant Energy Center hosts each year are the World Dairy Expo, which I found my Uber and Lyft drivers really raved about, the Midwest Horse Fair, and, most importantly, Brat Fest. CrossFit uses the exhibition hall as a base of operations for volunteers, a check-in, warmup and practice area for athletes, and a cattle corral for we, the unruly media.

2020 is set aside for planning and additional votes, so reinvesting in the property may be a nice carrot for Madison to dangle and try to recapture CrossFit for another contract.

AMRAP Roundup

We’re back with a short AMRAP Roundup this morning with two speedy stories. As always, check the show notes at WODDITY.com for more details and links to read more. Two stories, for time. Let’s go!

CrossFit announced five drug test-related sanctions on athletes, each receiving a four-year ban from the sport. Most notable among them was Gabor Torok, 2019’s national champion of Hungary. Torok tested positive for both a Stanozolol metabolite and Clomiphene.Morning Chalk Up has shared a story from law school graduate Daniel Nides that it may actually not be legal for gyms to give out free beer. Something to look into and read.

And that’s it for news about CrossFit on Monday, November 18th. 
We have a few more Sanctional sponsorship opportunities available to organizations looking to sponsor our live reporting during the 2020 CrossFit Sanctional season. Those companies and organizations, like Reebok and TriggerPoint get access to our amazing daily podcast audience, spaces on our event live streams, analysis videos, and more. Reach out to me at [email protected] for more details.