As I sit here thinking about what to write I find myself getting emotional. So, before things get out of hand here is me thinking out loud…

A little over 4 years ago I joined a CrossFit gym and I was at a point in my life when working out got boring. Scratch that, working out was always boring. I was also at a place in my life when I needed an outlet. I was looking for something to change. I wanted something to change. I needed something to change.

I found change through CrossFit.

What people who don’t CrossFit fail to understand is that it truly is more than a workout. It prepares you for life. Dramatic - Maybe. True - Yes.

Getting back to the need for change. I was stressed out. I had a lot on my mind. I was 3 years in to a malaise of having lost my mother and mother-in-law immediately after getting married. I had moved on as much as one can but I will never “accept” the fact it happened. I’ll get back to this point later.

People handle death in all different manners. In my case, those that know me may have thought I was doing ok. They were wrong. I was headed downhill fast. I was sick of the seemingly constant negativity in my life. I was becoming emotionally dry with no water in sight. Aside from the mental and physical toll it was taking on me, it was affecting my wife, my career, my family and friends.

Then I walked into CrossFit and things began to change.

Whether you want to call it a “cult” or a “community” or just a bunch of friendly people who like to work hard and push one another is up for you to decide. Like-minded people from all walks of life. CEO’s, school teachers, accountants, financial analysts, high schoolers, middle schoolers, college kids, former athletes, housewives, retirees. You name it, you’ll find it.

You learn things about yourself in a CrossFit gym. You find you’re not as weak as you once thought. You find the unthinkable and the impossible have been lies all along. You find out you’re mentally, not just physically, stronger than you once believed. These are all attributes that correlate to daily life outside the gym. You see your body changing in the mirror but beneath that lies an improving mind as well.

There’s a euphoria you get when you push yourself past a breaking point. The euphoria is addicting. Not crazy. Addicting.
For me, I found something that refused to allow my downward spiral of emotional submission to continue. I found something that taught me to look at life in a new way. Instead of looking up at life and thinking, “Is this really happening?”, I started to look down at life and think, “What can I accomplish next?”

I slowly began to come out of my malaise and am still working on it. It will always be a work in progress much the same way CrossFit is always a work in progress. However, a few months into finding CrossFit  my wife said something to me that resonated…

“I haven’t seen you smile like that and be this passionate over something in years and I love that.”

…and just like that my outlet had become my passion.

Fast forward to present day and I have the opportunity to do for others what was done for me. I have been coaching for over 3 years now and have had the chance to work with countless people. My background in athletics and coaching runs deep. I grew up an athlete and have been coaching baseball on many levels for as long as I can remember. Coaching is where I belong. Coaching is my passion. Helping others and putting other’s needs, wants and desires ahead of mine is something I believe in.

I believe in practicing what you preach and not coaching from an ivory tower. I believe leaders lead by example and not by being the loudest in the room. I believe in duty, honor, country and not just because I’m an Army West Point fan. Ironically one of my favorite quotes that summed up my desire to open my own affiliate comes from a book about the United States Naval Academy.