You can go here if you want. I did for years. But if you're a woman--and especially if you're an SA…read moresurvivor--I would seriously consider the kind of community you want around you before deciding where to put your money and trust.
My dispute with CrossFit Flagstaff and its owner, David Ruckman, went all the way to court, and I prevailed. Somehow, the remedy still involved me returning to CrossFit Flagstaff to use the remainder of my membership--even though I had moved from Arizona to Illinois and the court knew I was out of state.
And here's why that matters: I moved because I was experiencing what I considered such severe harassment involving the owner and members of CrossFit Flagstaff that I felt forced to leave Arizona. Then, during the summer, I discovered additional evidence that disturbed me enough that I filed an addendum in my court case. In my view, that material documented people connected to this situation bragging about pushing an SA survivor out of Flagstaff, along with other statements about me. I preserved that evidence and provided evidence concerning these issues to the court.
I am an SA survivor. People here knew that. David knew that. According to my recollection and records, I experienced comments surrounding my assault that included that I "deserved" what happened to me, that I shouldn't be proud of surviving it, and that I was being petty for pursuing accountability. David also told me that he had seen pornography of me. I raised the pornography issue during my court hearing.
Watching everything happening with the Cornell sexual-assault allegations while my own court case was ending made this hit even harder. If you're an SA survivor, I would seriously consider the landscape we're living in right now and ask yourself what kind of people you want surrounding you when you're vulnerable.
David repeatedly told me, in substance, "You're going to ruin my business." If truthfully describing what I experienced, what was said to me, and what I can document causes someone to reconsider spending money here, that's you. That's not me. I don't own CrossFit Flagstaff. David does.
What also stays with me is how far this went. Serious allegations were made about me, including harassment and potentially criminal behavior, while I kept asking where the evidence was. I came prepared with communications, screenshots, dates, and records. Repeating an allegation about a woman does not turn it into proof. If you're going to accuse someone of destroying your business, harassing people, or worse, you should substantiate it.
David also blamed me for damage to his business. The idea that one woman somehow destroyed a business someone else spent years building is remarkable to me. At some point, stop blaming women and look inward.
And yes, language matters. In my experience, David refers to women as "females." Maybe that doesn't bother you. It bothers me, especially alongside everything else I experienced.
I also found parts of the culture extraordinarily cliquey and toxic. There were good people here, sure. There were also people whose behavior toward me I can only describe as monstrous. Personally, I would be very careful about some of the older women in that circle and certain people connected to Scottsdale. Pay attention to how people talk about women when those women aren't in the room.
Unfortunately, David has also discussed wanting to become a police officer. I possess material that I believe documents statements concerning wanting to participate in ICE-related enforcement and detaining me, a Mexican-American woman. People can review the underlying evidence and reach their own conclusions, but after my experience with him, the prospect of him obtaining greater governmental authority genuinely concerns me.
And since accusations have been made about reviews: this is my review, from my account, describing my experience. I am not creating fake accounts or manufacturing reviews. I recognize names here because I actually attended this gym. I have also personally noticed critical reviews disappear or become less visible. I don't claim to know who caused that or why. I am documenting what I observed, and I have retained documentation supporting the factual portions of my review. I cared about this place. I promoted it. I created content for it. I wanted it to succeed. These weren't strangers to me.
So yes, go here if you want. But particularly if you're a woman or an SA survivor, pay attention to the culture and decide for yourself whether these are people you want around you.
David told me I was going to ruin his business. My answer remains: If exposing what I experienced, what was said to me, and what I can document makes people reconsider giving you their money, that's you. That's not me. A community doesn't prove what it is when everybody is smiling for the group photo. It proves what it is when somebody says, "I was hurt," and everyone has to decide what they're going to do with that information.
