――――You successfully opened CrossFit Otoyo Strength in September 2022. What made you decide to open a gym in this mountainous area?

Violet:  Otoyo is my mother's hometown, so I often visited my grandparents since I was a child. Back then, Toyonaga district had mom & pop shops, and the train station was a little busier. However, there are fewer people these days, and the place has become rather deserted. I could see that the depopulation of this area was clearly becoming worse over time. 

Nevertheless, the number of rafting companies and other water sports businesses here have grown during this time, and Yoshino river has become quite lively especially in the summer season. My uncle, who lives in Nagano, saw this and lamented that he would've taken on the challenge of starting a new business here if he were younger. His words left a deep impression on me. I was working as a hedge fund consultant in Tokyo at the time, so when my contract with the main hedge fund client came to an end, I decided to move my company to Otoyo.

――――That must have taken a lot of resolve on your part.

Violet:  To be honest, I didn't really have anything to lose. (laugh) I still haven't sold my house in Tokyo, which I am currently renting out. When I initially moved here, I thought I'd just see where it would take me, and if it didn't work out in a year, we could just go back to Tokyo. (laugh) I gave myself one year to succeed. 

In December 2019, my husband volunteered to move to Otoyo with our three children. My husband had quit his job in LA in 2015 to relocate to Japan to take care of our children, which I was really grateful for. Initially, I would spend my weekends in Otoyo and return to Tokyo on Mondays. However, COVID-19 struck in the midst of all this, and I was no longer able to travel freely between Otoyo and Tokyo.

My mother had been living in Otoyo, but she couldn't manage the land because of her age. Her yuzu fields were almost ruined, and there were weeds growing all over the area where the gym currently stands.

Above all, I was worried about my mother living here all alone. She had stopped going outside and spent all her time sitting in front of the TV. She also gained weight, together with her inactivity, causing fluid retention in her knees, making it hard for her to even walk. I was worried about leaving my mother alone. This contributed to my decision to start a business here in Otoyo.

――――You could have started many different types of business in Otoyo, but what made you decide to run a gym?

Violet: At first, I created three different business models on excel sheets. I then made calculations for each of these plans over a ten-year period, including return on investments (ROI).  Creating financial projections and business models came naturally to me because these were part of my job working in the stock market for 15 years. My first plan was to open a whiskey brewery. However, I quickly gave up on this plan because it required a high initial investment. Also, I would have to rest the whiskey for five years, so it would have taken me five or more years before I saw any returns. My second plan was to start a craft beer business. We tried making craft beer ourselves for our own consumption after purchasing the ingredients online. I eventually gave up on this plan too after realising that beer production requires a lot of chemistry-related knowledge, which isn't my forte. My third plan was to open a gym based on the world-renowned CrossFit method. Gyms are part of the service industry, so they have good profit margins. Also, I used to drink a lot, to the point that my kids would stop talking to me the next day... (laugh) I thought starting a gym might be a good way for me to be a better parent and to lead a healthier lifestyle. Moreover, I have a very active household. My husband has always worked out throughout his life, and our three children all excel in every sport they choose. I thought if I could offer a place for the whole family to workout in, I could provide a stepping stone for my children to lead a career in sports, if they so choose.

――――What kind of training does CrossFit involve?

Violet: CrossFit was born in the United States, and it first started as a form of training geared toward the police and the military. This 60-minute program was developed for people who were time constrained, so that they could effectively train their body in a short period of time in an intensive and comprehensive manner. The program then spread around the world, and CrossFit now boasts the largest number of fitness gyms globally. In fact, CrossFit arrived in Japan just over 10 years ago, but it didn't really catch on then because the program was conducted entirely in English. However, it's now slowly gaining popularity.

When it first began in 2000, CrossFit gyms tended to be housed in dingy warehouses in the suburbs, or a small city centre basement. This means that we are probably one of the only CrossFit gyms in the world that's located in the mountains AND built from scratch by an architect. I wanted to have something unique, so I asked the architect to keep sustainability in mind. I tried to reuse the steel, reclaim wood and tried to stay away from cheaper plastic alternatives. It was a costly decision but I believe in building something unique so people may travel far to visit our facility. The facility isn’t just a gym. We also have sports e-bike rentals, riverside BBQ area, campsite and a pristine river right next to the gym. You can get your sweat on then jump into and cool down in the river right on our property. 

―――Given the aging population in the area, are there people actually visiting a gym that is located in the mountains of Kochi Prefecture?

Violet: Yes, there are. Basically, we expect majority of the gym's revenue to come from membership from local residents. Our goal is to promote health, fitness and longevity to local people. Having said that, I also want to promote sports tourism, by inviting international athletes to hold seminars here, organise weightlifting and CrossFit competitions, but all of that is secondary. During my business planning phase, I conducted interviews with local residents and found that they are actually very health-conscious. Some of them even take the trouble to drive for over an hour into the city to exercise because there are no sports facilities nearby. At the same time, there are also people from the city who come to our gym. The reason for this might be because, unlike gyms with exercise machines, CrossFit is an efficient way to train the entire body. There’s also a community feel and a sports aspect to it, which brings members closer together. Also, there are no gyms nearby where people can fully train their body in a manner like what we teach here. My husband, Carlo, and I both coach members at our gym. Carlo, in his own right, before all this, had a decorated career as a firefighter-paramedic in Washington DC, he was a 9-11 first responder, a Police Officer, and then went on to work for a famous American private military contractor called Blackwater. There, he was involved in tasks like executive protection guarding VIPs including multiple US Presidents and other diplomats. When we decided to move from LA to Tokyo in 2015, he obtained his CrossFit certificate as a backup for moving to a country where he doesn’t speak the language. After moving to Tokyo, he was practicing Brazilian jujutsu (BJJ) as a hobby. There he was approached by world-level BJJ athletes to become their strength and conditioning coach. I think what's fascinating is that people can receive training from a serious trainer like my husband and make progress at a gym in the mountains that's built with wood sourced locally. SDGs focussed. Speaking of which, my mother, whom I've mentioned earlier was shutting herself at home, is now able to walk without any pain and even lift a 20kg barbell after she started training at the gym. Strength training really does add on years to your life.

―――Finally, can you tell us more about your future plans?

Violet: I would love to build more accommodation facilities in the future. We currently have one such building that I call our “Tiny House”, but this house rental can only accommodate up to four people. Once my cash flow improves, I hope to raise more funds to build additional rooms to rent. Otoyo, where our gym is located, is the fifth poorest town in the entire Japan. I think people these days are more cautious and sustainability focused on where and how they spend their money. Would you rather spend your travel money in populous and rich rural towns like Hakuba and Karuizawa or visit poorer towns like Otoyo and enrich such towns by spending there? The reality is that there are still very few places in Otoyo for tourists to spend at, even if they wanted to. My goal is to become the next Kamikatsu, hoping this facility will attract entrepreneurs who might want to piggy back on our success and start cafes, shared offices, accommodation in this small pocket of Otoyo. As I've mentioned earlier, my next project is to build more rooms so we can accommodate larger groups.

CrossFit Otoyo Strength

Address: 317-1 Higashidoi, Otoyo-cho, Nagaoka-gun, Kochi, Japan

Email: info@otoyostrength.com

Intl Tel: +81.887.79.0260

Business hours：Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri: 10:00 AM to 7:15 PM
Wed: 3:00pm to 7:15pm
Saturdays and Public Holidays: 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Sundays: 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM

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