Strongtown Fitness, formerly known as CrossFit Strongtown, was founded by Mike and Dan Gallagher in the summer of 2011. The first official class was held on 7/23/2011 and the first “Workout of the Day” was 3 rounds of a 400 meter run, 30 kettlebell swings, and 30 hand-release push-ups. 

The story of how Strongtown opened dates back to 2006. Dan had just graduated college and thanks to many late-night calzones, he was roughly sixty pounds heavier than he had ever been in his life. After the scale’s official bad news, he scoured the Internet looking for simple at-home workouts he could use to get started on losing his college calzone weight. He stumbled on some research on kettlebells, and in October of 2006 Dan bought his first kettlebell, a 16kg-er from Muscle Driver that is currently painted gold (the original “Big Bell”) and is proudly used at Strongtown today. From kettlebells came CrossFit, and Dan was immediately hooked. Over the next few years, what started as a single kettlebell grew to a full garage gym with an old Concept 2 rower, a squat rack with pull up bar, a set of Kraiburg bumper plates, a medball, a few couple barbells, some old furniture to jump on, and a tiny whiteboard. 

Mike, a few years younger, graduated college shortly after Dan. Not to be outdone Dan’s ambitious weight gain, Mike had also packed on about 70 pounds over the course of his college years. Mike had been a rugby player since high school, but due to an injury in college, he was sidelined from playing. The injury, however, proved to be a useful opportunity for Mike to take an interest in coaching. Mike’s experience as a player, his eye for game strategy, and his outgoing personality gained him a coaching opportunity. 

When Mike returned home from college, he used his marketing degree to earn a job at a transportation broker. Dan, excited to introduce Mike to CrossFit, was met with initial resistance. Mike’s moratorium from athletics sapped his motivation, and instead of actually trying CrossFit, he spent a lot of time in the garage gym just trying to look like he was working out. It wasn't until Dan purchased Mike an introductory month membership at CrossFit Watertown (one of the state’s first affiliates) did Mike begin his CrossFit journey. And just like Dan, Mike was instantly hooked. 

Mike’s heart was never in the transportation business, so he left his job and began volunteering his time at the gym. He began by offering to clean the gym, worked his way up to shadowing classes, then eventually earned his position as an assistant coach. He went full CrossFit by earning his L1 certification in 2009 and began coaching classes. As in college, coaching was a perfect fit. 

While Mike became more involved at the local CrossFit gym, Dan decided to pursue a graduate degree in London. In an interesting turn of events, CrossFit Watertown was undergoing a transition: the original owner was looking to sell the affiliate. Dan had one year before leaving for London; this moment was a turning point for both Mike and Dan. They both recognized the significant impact CrossFit had made on both their lives. They both lost significant weight: 60 pounds for Dan and over 70 for Mike; they found themselves passionate and motivated in CrossFit, but found that this passion and motivation spilled over in other areas of their lives. Mike loved that the close-knit community he found with CrossFit mimicked the rugby community he loved in both high school and college, and he enjoyed his role as the motivating coach passing that love of fitness onto others. Dan loved the feeling of accomplishment that CrossFit provided, it was a feeling that was both enabling and humbling at the same time. The idea that CrossFit allows us to become better versions of ourselves was an infectious one. After some deliberation, they took a risk and put in a bid to buy the affiliate. In a strange turn of events another buyer stepped in to buy CFW, not willing to let a little adversity stand in their way Mike and Dan continued forward and filled out an affiliate application. After searching many nearby towns in Connecticut, they stumbled upon a space on Old Waterbury Road in Southbury. Old Waterbury branches off from Strongtown road, and so with high ceilings, large garage doors, a flat parking lot, and a big open floor plan, this spot became Strongtown Fitness.

In March of 2011, their affiliate application was approved, and they were given the green light to open their own affiliate. Mike would become the head coach and handle the day-to day, and Dan would serve as general manager and take over the back-end operations. The rest is history.