May 31, 2023

 

A Message to The CircoFit Community:

 

Today at 3pm we finalized the decision to close our doors permanently.

 

Though the final unravelling of the organization happened within the past couple of days, in reality CircoFit began its slow death on March 17th, 2020. Optimism, hope, grit, and good intentions stretched our demise 3 years beyond what should have been our last day.

 

The outward illusion that CircoFit has been a functioning or even flourishing small business in that time is a testament to the skill and passion of our coaches, and the genuine care and fandom of our member base.

 

Thank you to our coaches and guest instructors over the years: Theresa, Emily, Erik, Herman, Aiden, Kendra, Caitlin M, Kennedy, Lindsay, Kelly, Caitlin L, Aspen, Sarah, Rayel, Alissa, Darcy, Roberta, Taylor, Samara…but especially Laura, who began near the beginning in 2016 and who’s energy set the tone for everything.

 

Thank you to Herman, who risked more than anyone else was willing, and sacrificed more than anyone should have over the years to keep our doors open. I’m constantly astounded by your grace and compassion. Without you, CircoFit would have ended in autumn of 2021.

 

Thank you to Aspen, who held my hand on perhaps my darkest day. Without you, I would have thrown the keys inside the studio door and walked away forever in March 2022. Your love for those around you could melt glaciers, and the generosity of the countless favours offered by you in service of CircoFit were not lost on me.

 

Thank you to Stephanie, who stepped up to catch the many, many things falling through the many, many cracks. I’ll forever be grateful for your patience with me as we slowly downloaded my burnt out brain onto paper and organized the chaos into procedural documents. Without you, CircoFit wouldn’t have made it through the summer 2022.

 

Thank you to Sarah, who built a business within our business. Building the kids and teens program from the ground up took an entrepreneurial drive that the average person doesn’t possess, and it’s an accomplishment that you should be very proud of.

 

Thank you to Josh, who came into the organization as an unexpected bonus. You voluntarily scooped up all of the thankless and often unnoticed duties that keep the entropy at bay, and you arrived with a skillset different and sorely lacking in the rest of us.

 

Thank you to Lindsay, the only person who could have been my successor. You arrived and piloted a burning ship in its final days, and I owe you an eternal debt, because you gave me my life back. Without you, CircoFit would have collapsed in the autumn of 2022. If you (and Josh) were part of this ( *gestures around us* ) in year 1, I know that things would have been very different and CircoFit would have thrived.

 

Thank you to our Circuslings, current and past. Some of you have been with us since our proof-of-concept trial run, 8 years ago in the Saint City CrossFit space. It’s been a privilege to watch you grow, be playful, surprise yourself with your own strength, find your best friends, find love, persevere through the bad times in life, celebrate the good times in life, lean on each other for support, and share joy with each other. Thank you for making CircoFit a community. I hope that when all the chips fall, you look at your circus journey as a net positive.

 

Lastly, a special thank you to Annie Dugan, co-founder of Firefly Theatre, and my first aerials coach. Annie brought aerial circus to Edmonton, and paved the way for studios such as this.

 

Sincerely,

Meghan Schech

Founder

 

PS - Point your toes.

 

 

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NEXT STEPS:

 

Current members will be contacted in the coming days regarding instructions for refund requests.

 

Thank you for your patience while we prioritize paying our staff for May and organizing the sale of our equipment, etc.

 

Please join us on Sunday, June 4th, 2-5pm for final good-byes in the studio and to pour one out for CircoFit.