Above: The new owners of relaunched CrossFit SOBO talk about their partnership and what they hope to contribute to the community. (photo L-R of Kasia Dodman and Michelle O’Rourke)
[The following information was provided by sponsor CrossFit SOBO to announce their new ownership and Community Open House on October 24th.]
For Michelle O’Rourke and Kasia Dodman, CrossFit SOBO is more than a gym, it’s a community they were both part of long before they became business partners.
They first met at the gym when it was operating as CrossFit TILT. Michelle was the General Manager and Head Coach, while Kasia was a member who had been training there for the past 11 years.
When the opportunity arose to purchase the gym from its previous owners, an idea began to take shape:
Why not do it together?
Their backgrounds were different but complementary. Michelle brought years of coaching, programming and gym-management experience. Kasia, a Nurse Practitioner and owner of EA Medical Aesthetics,, brought a healthcare and entrepreneurial perspective.
The partnership felt natural.
When it came time to give the gym its next identity, they didn’t have to look far for inspiration. They decided to bring back CrossFit SOBO, the gym’s original name when it was founded in Southborough in 2012.
For Michelle and Kasia, reclaiming the SOBO name was a way to honor the gym’s roots while building something new for its future.
Today, their vision centers on a simple idea captured in SOBO’s motto: “Strength Only Builds Opportunity.”
To promote the gym’s relaunch under their new ownership, Michelle and Kasia answered questions about their partnership, what CrossFit really is, and what they hope SOBO can become for the Southborough community.
You started out as coach and member. Did you ever imagine you’d eventually own the gym together?
Kasia: Not at all! I knew Michelle first as the General Manager and Head Coach, and I was a member coming in to work out.
But when the opportunity came up to purchase the gym, it became clear that our backgrounds really complemented each other. Michelle knows the coaching side of the business inside and out, and I bring my background as a Nurse Practitioner and business owner.
It really felt like a match made in heaven.
Michelle: Because we knew each other through the gym, we weren’t just two people coming together to start something from scratch. We knew we shared the same philosophy toward health and wellness and shared a passion for helping others.
We already had a connection to the members and to this community, and we both cared about what this gym could become.
Why bring back the CrossFit SOBO name?
Michelle: SOBO is part of the history of this gym. CrossFit SOBO was the original name when the gym was founded in 2012, before it later became CrossFit TILT.
When we became owners, bringing back the SOBO name felt right. It connects us to where the gym started, but we’re also creating the next chapter.
Kasia: And SOBO represents Southborough. We don’t want to simply be a business that happens to operate here. We want to be part of the community.
We’ve also given SOBO another meaning that really captures our philosophy: Strength Only Builds Opportunity.
What does “Strength Only Builds Opportunity” mean?
Kasia: Strength has a purpose beyond the gym.
Becoming stronger physically and mentally can give you the opportunity to remain independent as you age. It can help you perform your job, keep up with your children or grandchildren, travel, participate in sports or simply feel more confident doing everyday things.
We’re not just talking about how much someone can lift. We’re talking about what becoming stronger allows you to do with your life.
For someone who has never tried CrossFit, what exactly is it?
Michelle: CrossFit is functional fitness. We use movements that translate into everyday life like squatting, lifting, pushing, pulling, carrying, running and rowing. We combine strength, conditioning, mobility and endurance.
One of the biggest misconceptions is that you need to already be in great shape before trying CrossFit. You absolutely don’t.
Every workout can be scaled. Someone who has trained for ten years and someone walking into a gym for the first time can take the same class, but their workouts will look completely different.
That’s where coaching matters. We meet people where they are.
Michelle, what do you love most about coaching?
Michelle: Watching someone realize they’re capable of more than they thought.
That might be an athlete hitting a new personal record. But it might also be someone who was nervous about joining a gym and then realizes a few months later how much stronger and more confident they’ve become.
I want the hour someone spends here to be one of the best hours of their day. You work hard, but you’re surrounded by people supporting you.
Kasia, how does being both an owner and a member affect the way you look at the gym?
Kasia: I’m on the floor doing the workouts alongside everyone else, and I think that’s important.
I know what it’s like to come in after a long day, look at the workout and wonder how you’re going to get through it. Then a coach helps you, the person next to you encourages you, and suddenly you’ve accomplished something you didn’t think you could do.
It keeps me connected to the member experience.
Michelle brings the coaching expertise, programming and understanding of how to develop athletes and members. I bring my healthcare and business background and the perspective of a member.
That’s one of the reasons our partnership works so well.
Community seems to be a major part of your vision for SOBO.
Kasia: Absolutely. We talk about SOBO being a “third space.”
You have home, you have work, and then you have another place where you feel connected and comfortable.
We want SOBO to be that place.
You come in for an hour, put everything else aside, work on yourself and spend time around people who support you.
Michelle: That’s one of the things that makes CrossFit different. People notice when you haven’t been there. They celebrate your progress. Everyone understands what it’s like to struggle through a difficult workout.
There’s a real sense that you’re doing it together.
Tell us about the Legends program.
Michelle: Legends is specifically designed for adults 65 and older.
We focus on functional strength, balance, mobility and maintaining independence.
Think about everyday things like getting up from a chair, carrying groceries, climbing stairs, gardening, traveling or playing with grandchildren. Strength and balance matter for all of those things.
Everything is coached and can be modified to the individual. You don’t need previous gym experience.
Kasia: I love what Legends represents because fitness doesn’t have an expiration date.
The goal isn’t necessarily to make someone in their 70s a competitive athlete. It’s to help that person continue doing the things they love for as long as possible. Having worked in world-renowned hospital systems for 15 years, I have seen first hand the positive impact that mental and physical health can bring to people as they age, particularly when they fall ill. Preventative wellness is key.
SOBO also offers programming for first responders. Why was that important?
Michelle: First responders have unique physical demands.
Police officers, firefighters and EMTs may suddenly need to lift, carry, drag, push or sprint while wearing equipment and working under stress.
Functional fitness translates extremely well to those demands.
Our First Responders program focuses on strength, conditioning, mobility, work capacity and recovery while recognizing that first responders may also be dealing with unusual schedules, fatigue and previous injuries.
We’re currently running a First Responder program with the Town of Southborough, which we’re very proud to be part of.
Who do you want to see walking through SOBO’s doors?
Kasia: Everybody.
The athlete belongs here. The busy parent belongs here. The first responder belongs here. The person in their 60s or 70s belongs here. And the person who hasn’t ever exercised belongs here.
We don’t want someone looking through the window and thinking, “I’m not fit enough to do CrossFit.”
You don’t have to get in shape before you come here.
Michelle: Exactly. That’s our job. We meet you where you are and help you move forward.
It’s not about being the strongest person in the room.
What do you hope CrossFit SOBO becomes?
Michelle: A place where people genuinely want to be.
I want members to look forward to coming here, challenging themselves and seeing the people they’ve built relationships with.
Kasia: And we want SOBO to truly be part of Southborough.
We’re bringing back a name that started here in 2012, but we’re creating a new chapter for it.
We want families here. We want local athletes here. We want first responders here. We want older adults here.
If we’re helping people become healthier, stronger and more connected to one another, then we’re building what we set out to build.
CrossFit SOBO Opens Its Doors to the Community October 24
Southborough residents will have an opportunity to meet Michelle, Kasia and the CrossFit SOBO team during an Open House on October 24 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The event is designed for current members, families, neighbors and anyone who has been curious about CrossFit but may have been hesitant to walk through the doors.
Visitors will have an opportunity to tour the gym, meet the coaching team and learn more about CrossFit and SOBO’s specialty programming, including Legends, First Responders and athletic strength programs.
For Michelle and Kasia, the Open House is also a chance to introduce the next chapter of a gym whose roots in Southborough go back more than a decade.
CrossFit SOBO began here in 2012. Now, under two women who first met as coach and member inside the very gym they would eventually own together, the SOBO name is back.
And so is the philosophy behind its new meaning:
