We have an in house fun competition coming up this weekend. It won’t be anything traditional CrossFit so the equipment needed is not traditional gear. We’ve been building stuff in our garage and its got us both feeling nostalgic. 
Back in the day, this is how CrossFit was done. In 2006, we were the 100th-ish affiliate and we all were making our own gear. Slam balls were basketballs filled with sand and duct taped. Box jumps were one height and built off of plans from .com. Pull-up bar systems were made with 4×4′s and pipe in the back yard. Dumb bells served for kettlebell swings and any possible other thing they could. Rolled up towels came before abmats. We shared gear and probably did more heats on workouts as well as more chippers so there’d be options on the limited gear. It was a different time. Kinda miss it.

Much more common today are gyms started with backers and $30,000+ worth of equipment. Everyone needs their own bar and box and pull up station. CrossFit gyms should be mini-globogyms and beautiful and pristine. I don’t know if its the potential for making money that draws this or a disconnect with the original anything of CrossFit but lots of folks are not getting old school CrossFit. It is what it is and the world moves on. For those of us who experienced the fun of making our own gear before Rogue or Again Faster, et al., there is something not the same about ready made boxes. There’s a small group of us who can still say remember when. I do and I miss it.