Type Private Owner Bill Henniger Founder Bill Henniger | Area served Worldwide Number of employees 337 (2015) Founded 2006 | |
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Industry Strength & conditioning equipment manufacturer Headquarters Columbus, Ohio, United States Profiles | ||
Week 1 with rogue fitness black
Rogue Fitness (legally named Coulter Ventures, LLC, often branded and referred to as Rogue) is an American manufacturer and distributor of strength and conditioning equipment, including weightlifting bars, plates, racks and other fitness related equipment for CrossFit boxes, personal garage gyms, military, collegiate, and professional sports teams.
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History
Rogue originally started in 2007 in Toledo, Ohio by Bill Henniger when he had a hard time finding the necessary equipment for his new garage gym, a CrossFit affiliate. Initially, Rogue only sold other manufacturers' equipment through its website so that everything could be found and purchased in one spot, but there were still issues with customers having to deal with multiple manufacturers and their own shipping fees and schedules. Rogue began warehousing the equipment and ultimately building it themselves.
The company grew into a 5,000 square foot (460 m2) facility in Columbus that was next to the CrossFit box that Henniger also owned. Rogue began offering more products and also started manufacturing more of them.
Rogue Europe launched in Finland in January 2014 with Juha Puonti and 2009 CrossFit Games male champion Mikko Salo.
Today
Rogue now operates out of a 175,000 square foot (16,300 m2) manufacturing facility and is one of the primary suppliers for equipment for CrossFit boxes around the world. Rogue has been building and providing all the equipment to the CrossFit Games and regional events since 2010. Fifteen semi-trucks of equipment were needed to supply the 2013 CrossFit Games at the StubHub Center in Carson, California, up from nine trucks used to supply the 2011 CrossFit Games. They also build equipment for Strongman, Powerlifting, and Olympic weightlifting.
The company sponsors numerous CrossFit athletes around the world, such as Rich Froning Jr., Ben Smith, Camille Leblanc-Bazinet, Mat Fraser, Katrín Davíðsdóttir, and Jason Khalipa. One of the first sponsored athletes was Henniger's future wife and 2008 CrossFit Games female champion, Caity Matter Henniger. Rogue also sponsors Strongman athletes such as Brian Shaw and Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson.
Rogue is currently building a 600,000 square foot (56,000 m2) structure on 30 acres (12 ha) of the former Timken Company property located on the southwest corner of East Fifth and Cleveland avenues in Columbus. The new building will consolidate their administrative, manufacturing, distribution, and retail operations. It will also include a fitness center and showroom.