Today we’d like to introduce you to Dylan Kucish.
Dylan, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Back in 2009 myself, my brother Ryan Kucish and a third partner started saving up to invest in a bar or nightclub. In 2010 we started attending a new fitness regimen at the time called “CrossFit”. We loved the community feel and at the time were driving 30min to the closest CrossFit gym we could afford. We saw a need for more CrossFit gyms closer to downtown so we changed our focus from the bar industry and decided to open our own CrossFit Gym, We took the money we saved and scoured Craigslist for equipment. We drove all over Houston collecting dumbbells, barbells, and plates from people’s own personal gyms. We found a spot put all the money we had leftover into the first month’s rent and deposit. We were officially broke when we opened our doors May 2011, located in the Washington Heights. The first three months of opening it was a sink or swim scenario. When those three months had arrived, we had 50 members and the gym was able to pay the bills. After six months, we had 100 members and had outgrown our 3000 sq ft space. We quickly found a 6,000 sq ft in the Heights and moved there June 2012. We have been in that location ever since. Every year not counting 2017 (We flooded during Hurricane Harvy) our numbers have been steadily increasing. Not only that we have changed the lives of thousands of Houstonians on how to live a happier and healthier life!
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Starting out we opened up with our own savings with no backup. Literally, when we opened our doors, we had no money not even to advertise. We had to have enough members to pay the bills in 3 months or we were going to lose the gym. By word of mouth, we grew the gym to where we were able to pay the bills. That was and still to me the biggest win. It was a big gamble but we were young naive and willing to take the risk.
We have had a few bumps in the future as well. In 2014 we had an oil bust in Houston and a lot of our athletes were affected financially and it took us a little time to climb out of that.
In 2017 Hurricane Harvey put 6 inches of water in our whole facility and we had to close for 5 weeks we also had no flood insurance. Our we lost about a third of our athletes luckily the CrossFit community is a tight-knit group and four gyms across Houston allowed our members to work out for free at their gym while they still paid us their monthly membership. Honestly, that kind gesture from those other gym owners saved our business.
2020 Coronavirus, to be continued……..
Skyline CrossFit – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a strength and conditioning program that has, by far the fastest and most effective results possible. Our program has been thoroughly tested time and again. Even the athletes who only come in sparingly get results better than all other fitness programs. What separates us from the big commercial gyms is every class is led by a CrossFit Trainer and leads all the athletes starting with the warmup, skill, strength, workout of the day, and cool down. It’s like having a personal trainer every time you step into the gym. What separates us from your other “studio” fitness programs is our community and coaching. A lot of other gyms you just get stares from others when you walk in, at Skyline you will get smiles, hellos, and high fives. A step forward for the individual is a step forward for the group. As for our coaching, we have small classes giving everyone a lot of one on one time. Where most trainers in group classes are more cheerleaders than coaches. Our coaches strive for perfection in movement of our athletes and in the process, hope to reach excellence. People aren’t paying for a membership they are paying for the camaraderie, the professional coaching, and most importantly the results!
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
There has been a lot! If I had to narrow it down, we had a member just reach a major milestone. He has lost in total 150lbs since beginning here at Skyline CrossFit. He still continues to lose weight and it just makes me so happy to see him walking into the gym literally looking like a different person. Losing 150lbs has to be one of the biggest life changes anyone could make, Its actually unbelievable how much different his life looks day to day from tying his shoes, getting in and out of cars, and just living without having an extra 150lbs on you 24/7. This way of living is just unimaginable to most people. We have extended his life and you can’t put a price on that.
Contact Info:
- Address: 551 N. Shepherd Dr. ste. 200
- Phone: 832-409-2759
- Email: SkylineCrossFit@gmail.com
- Instagram: skyline_crossfit_
- Facebook: @skyline.crossfit
Image Credit:
Trevor Gerland Photography
Julie Donerio Photography
Umbracolor
Joel Cardenas
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