FRIEND REQUEST: DUSTIN SHURLOW OF TOP FUEL CROSSFIT

Dustin first tried CrossFit with his wife in March of 2013 and they both immediately fell in love with the rigorous workout programs. Nine years later they own and operate their own gym. Dustin has seen immense internal and external growth in his members, working with each individual to determine their capabilities and then tailor a program to reach achievable results.

LOCAL 219: Hi Dustin! I know you’re the owner but how long have you owned this building for?

DUSTIN SHURLOW: As of April 1st it was five years.

L219: Nice, congratulations. My first question is was it hobbies, circumstances, or childhood that led you to this role?

DS: Thank you. I would say it definitely started out as a hobby. This was something that I kind of enjoyed doing. I was an elementary school teacher. So, I did that for four years. I did one year of teaching and owning the gym, which was a lot.

It kind of worked out where I could have seen myself doing a different job within education. So I was kind of ready to switch the role that I had inside of the school at the same time. Then, the opportunity presented itself to step into owning the gym. So it kind of seemed like I was giving up my job; I wasn’t super happy with it at the time.

L219: So, you were open to new things?

DS: Yes. I felt like it was a good opportunity to explore something else. Then if it didn’t work out, you know, then I could explore something else within education after that because that was kind of always going to be there.

L219: You found more satisfaction doing this I’m assuming?

DS: I think you know, always, obviously, if you can make a career out of something that you enjoy doing that’s a lot of peoples’ ultimate goal.

L219: Absolutely.

DS: But obviously a different set of challenges for sure, and not everything that I thought it was going to be. It wasn’t always just fun.

L219: I think even with our dream jobs there are always going to be challenges. That’s the nature of work, right? There’s always going to be circumstances we’re not sure how to deal with, but that’s also how you experience growth, you learn, and build relationships. What gets you out of bed in the morning?

DS: Unfortunately, sometimes we have to. We have a 5am class that I just never thought people would come to the gym for. So what drives me to get out of bed in the morning is that people pay to be here at five in the morning.

So, I don’t really have a choice anymore but, I mean, I enjoy being here. I want to see Top Fuel grow. I want to see it be kind of the best gym in the area. I take a lot of pride in that. I take a lot of pride in the members and making sure that they’re actually seeing progress and having fun and enjoying it. Also, building relationships with people.

L219: There’s a loyalty you’re building when they show up at five and you show up at five; you’re letting them know, “I’m going to help you make growth a reality.” Who has been your greatest influence?

DS: It’s hard to say. Not a ton of my family, or anything like that, had really done much with business. I think a lot of it was definitely that my wife loves CrossFit just as much as I do.

L219: That helps.

DS: Yeah, she was kind of all about it as well. If it would have just been me who was stoked on the idea then it probably would have been like a little bit hard, but both of us were gung-ho on it. We started doing Cross Fit together nine years ago. Our first class was together. So, we’ve done it just as long as the other person.

L219: I think there’s a unique opportunity for growth and connection when you have a husband-wife team who share the same passion and drive for CrossFit. It’s a powerful dynamic to exist in any relationship.

DS: Yeah, I definitely think it does help a relationship. If you have a significant other doing the program with you, you get to see them grow, you get to see them do new things. You’re right there, alongside their journey, and you obviously get to spend more time together if you’re going to the same class times and things like that.

L219: What do you feel is the biggest lesson you’ve learned while operating this gym?

DS: That you have to be very accepting of people not always being like you. As a business owner, when you’re dealing with a couple hundred members you want everybody to kind of align with your brain and everything that goes on inside of your head, and it just doesn’t happen. There are different personalities, people handle things differently, people have different emotions, come from different backgrounds, different walks of life.

So that’s one thing I’ve definitely been trying to balance, and making sure personalities don’t clash too much or that there’s not a whole lot of drama or anything like that.

L219: Customer service in any industry can be difficult to manage but getting in shape is a process of pushing yourself outside of your boundaries, which can be emotional, and awaken a different side of people. I think eliminating drama and reading the different personalities of your members is key.

There are people who need a lot of push and a lot more of the coaches help than other members, and it’s not always just like form or programming or anything like that. Some people want to be left alone almost. They want to be in the corner, doing their own thing, and not really told a whole lot.

L219: They don’t want direction.

DS: Yeah, and they’re content with that. Then there are other people who want you right there next to them yelling at them. So it’s trying to figure that out too.

L219: What do you enjoy most about your role?

DS: Definitely, being able to talk with people and just build relationships.

Many, many of my friends now, that I have in life, are from the gym. You get to go from seeing somebody who walks in the door, you introduce yourself, and it’s all professional. Then two years later they’re one of your best friends.

I’ve had members where I never expected anything to blossom so much and then I ended up being the person that married them. Then you see people who walk into this gym and this is where they get engaged.

L219: How awesome to be a part of those moments. There seems to be a unique bond and camaraderie formed in CrossFit that you don’t see in a standard gym where people typically do their own thing. You guys develop a level of grit with each other that an average person won’t typically reach on their own.

DS: It’s very cool to see the physical change as well. You definitely see many people come in here and start their weight loss journey, and go from one weight to another weight, change their whole just body composition altogether, and fall in love with the sport. That is really cool.

People kind of tiptoe in here and are like, “I’m just here to lose weight. I don’t want to lift heavy,” and then the next month later, they’re like, “So what else can I do?” They flip that switch.

L219: People often don’t realize what they’re capable of.

DS: If I could just tell everybody one thing: I hear so much about them saying like, “I don’t want to do CrossFit because I don’t want to get too bulky,” but you’ve really got to try to get bulky. It takes a lot to get as much muscle as some people choose to put on. It’s a different animal altogether.