Today we’d like to introduce you to Mike Scott, Drew Reeves, and Adriel Ramirez.
CrossFit Katy was founded and affiliated by Neal Kay in 2008. The initial classes were run out of the back of his truck in a local neighborhood park. As his client base grew, he took the next step to continue expanding those he could reach with CrossFit and leased a 2,800 square foot industrial space off of Mason Road. In 2011, CrossFit Katy again expanded and moved to its current location on Grand Parkway, at that time Drew and Lezlie Reeves invested and became owners alongside of Neal. Mike Scott then invested in 2011 and became a familiar face of CrossFit Katy both as a Coach and team member.
In 2017, Neal Kay and his wife Leah Kay decided to hand off CrossFit Katy to Mike Scott, Drew Reeves, Lezlie Reeves, Adriel Ramirez, and Nicki Ramirez. They all have come together to continue the tradition at CrossFit Katy with the common goal to create a caring and supportive community where anyone can discover, reach and exceed their health and fitness goals utilizing CrossFit methodologies and practices.
CrossFit Katy’s vision is to provide quality and excellence in (1) our training and coaching methods; (2) our facilities and equipment; (3) our business systems; and (4) our service to our members. We are here to provide our community with a caring, welcoming and fun but competitive environment in which they can succeed and reach their health and fitness goals in order to assist them in living longer, healthier and happier lives. Our view is that this type of fitness can benefit everyone from all fitness, experience and age levels and our goal is to make sure we do our best to provide that service.
Ownership Bios:
Mike Scott was born and raised in Katy, Texas and grew up living and breathing sports.
Playing football, baseball, and basketball, his competitive nature and strategic mind were developed early on. When Mike found CrossFit in 2011 at the age of 22, it was exactly what he needed. The combination of a competitive atmosphere, the opportunity to be on a team again, and most importantly finding a community he could plug into, he knew CrossFit Katy was his new home. He started out as just an athlete in the gym working hard every day to create a life-changing lifestyle.
The results he saw in himself, both physically and mentally, quickly turned into a desire to help others find out how life is changing of a place CrossFit Katy could be for them also. Mike became an owner of CrossFit Katy in July of 2012 and was a mainstay as one of CFK’s head coaches and team athletes. In October of 2017, Mike increased his ownership interest in CrossFit Katy, and as the majority owner of CrossFit Katy, he looks to use the gym as a place to change peoples’ lives in the same way the gym changed his.
Mike recently proposed and is engaged to Amber Briner, who also is a long time member at CrossFit Katy. They are both looking forward to their future together inside and out of the gym.
Drew Reeves grew up in Louisiana and met Lezlie at Southern Miss in Hattiesburg, MS. Lezlie grew up in Magee, MS and met Drew when she was a freshman at Southern Miss.
They were married in 2002 and moved to Texas in 2003 to begin their careers in Oil and Gas and Public Accounting. They are parents to 3 children, Andrew (12), Lila (10) and Camille (5). Both of them have mixed athletic backgrounds having played various sports through high school and Drew with one year of Division III football. Ever since they were married, they have tried to stay in shape with various bouts of exercising together at big box facilities and participating in local road races. Drew found CrossFit Katy in March of 2009 and was hooked from day one when he struggled to figure out how to jump rope.
Lezlie had been doing boot camps and finally took the bait and sampled some classes at CrossFit Katy in the summer of 2009. Neither of them has looked back since and become owners in CrossFit Katy in April of 2011. Lezlie runs a nutrition and meal planning service utilizing WildTree as a base for helping families provide quality meals. Through their experiences and growth with CrossFit, both Drew and Lezlie realize the importance of a healthy and active lifestyle which is created by a balance of proper exercise and nutrition surrounded by a group of people willing to help you reach those goals.
Adriel Ramirez grew up on the beach in Kill Devil Hills, NC and later moved to The Woodlands, TX where he would finish high school and meet his wife, Nicki Ramirez. He grew up competing in wrestling and later training in mixed martial arts until he joined the U.S. Marine Corps in September of 2010. It was in the Corps he would discover his passion for CrossFit and was immediately hooked on the high-intensity aspect of the sport.
After returning home from the military in 2015, with Nicki and their soon to born daughter Kaia, Adriel wasn’t just looking for a box, he was looking for a community and quickly felt right at home at CrossFit Katy. He started seeing results which were encouraged by his fellow athletes and would soon find a passion for helping others do the same, including his wife.
Within six months of joining Adriel became a coach and shortly thereafter would fulfill a lifelong dream of becoming an owner of a gym in October of 2017. Adriel and Nicki are proud to be members of such a special community and are even more excited to share and help others reach their health and fitness goals.
Has it been a smooth road?
As with any small business CrossFit, Katy has had its ups and downs. Initially, CrossFit came onto the fitness scene in the early 2000’s as a new high-intensity workout regime. It started initially with a grassroots online presence which quickly expanded into a licensing model to “affiliates” across the US and eventually the world.
The initial growth years of CrossFit Katy from 2008 through 2012 saw exponential increases in membership as the new concept of CrossFit took off. As the Crossfit name became well known and its effectiveness as a business model and fitness regime grew, an increase in competition leveled off the initial growth phase. Not only were additional CrossFit affiliates opening up within the area, but the concept of smaller boutique gyms was also exploding.
Learning how to deal with the new competition required a renewed focus on what we could provide as a business to differentiate ourselves from others. We have made several changes, but the overall focus has been to care about and support our members and their specific needs. We do that through excellent coaching and pouring back into the facility as well as trying to help the members enjoy their time at the gym.
For most, it is one hour out of their day that they get to have a release from what is going on in their lives. Beyond the actual running of a business that is in a highly competitive market, we have also had to learn how to run and manage a business as a partnership.
Each owner brings a different set of skills to the table and learning how to properly integrate each partner’s strong points has been and continued to be a learning process.
We are also in a business that requires building relationships. As a business owner, making tough decisions that are best for the business may not always be easy on friendships, and vise versa, friends who are clients sometimes make tough decisions that are best for them but not for our business.
In each of these situations, it requires understanding and appreciating each person’s position. We have learned that communication can be key in making sure everyone understands and respects the other’s decisions.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with CrossFit Katy – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We are here to help people reach their health and fitness goals. We do that through a unique method of high-intensity workouts in a group setting with experienced coaches that care about their clients and their well being.
As a company, we are excited to help people realize that they can do more and achieve a level of fitness they never imagined possible. We love to watch them grow in their journey of CrossFit and a healthier lifestyle.
At CrossFit Katy, we feel we are building a fitness facility that provides a caring community and atmosphere with quality coaching that will push each individual’s personal limits to get better both as an athlete and a person.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
We love the community of people in Katy and their constant desire to support one another in their goals. The only issue we have with the city is the traffic.
We also realize that traffic means there are people out there looking for a place to provide them with health and fitness and we hope to be that home.
Pricing:
- 12 classes a month membership — $159/month
- Unlimited Classes a month membership — $189/month
- Unlimited Classes a month + 24 Hour Access — $204/month (plus one time $30 registration)
Contact Info:
- Address: 1315 W Grand Parkway S, Suite 110A Katy, Texas 77494
- Website: www.crossfitkaty.com
- Phone: 936-628-4068
- Email: crossfitkaty@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/crossfitkaty/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CrossFitKaty/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CFKaty
Getting in touch: VoyageHouston is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
