paul@carolinacrossfit.com
Occupation: Husband, Dad, and Crossfit Owner
Certification(s): Crossfit Level 1, Crossfit Barbell, Crossfit Olympic Lifting, Crossfit Mobility, CSCS, USAW Club Coach, TPI, CPR and AED
Why did you start CrossFit?When I started I was 347lbs!! I worked in sales and traveled out of town with two or three overnights a week. I ate like I was still playing College football. A friend suggested I check out the web-site. Since I enjoy Olympic Lifting, I gave it a try. On August 14, 2007 my journey began with a date and her name was ” NANCY”! 47 minutes later my wife kept coming out checking on me to make sure I didn’t die!! She told me I couldn’t leave her with 2 small kids (now we have 3)!
Define “What is CrossFit?” Crossfit is a Strength and Conditioning program that incorporates Olympic lifting, power lifting, gymnastics, Metabolic Conditioning and running. Workouts are Constantly Varied designed to create General Physical Fitness like no other!
Favorite WOD: Anything Heavy and Fast
Least Favorite WOD: Anything with double unders
Favorite Food or Meal: Sushi
Something other members wouldn’t know about you: I am proficient with under water basket weaving.
What do you do outside of CrossFit: Ummmmmm what do you mean!! What else is there!
Biggest accomplishment you think can be attributed to CrossFit: losing 60+ lbs and keeping it off!
What/who inspires you? My true Inspiration comes from Christ who gives me the strength to endure all things. Also, being apart of so many life changing stories and how Carolina Crossfit (THE PEOPLE) are family!
megan@carolinacrossfit.com
Occupation: Web Designer & Head Trainer
Certifications(s):Crossfit Level 1
Why did you start CrossFit? Brandon, my husband, literally had to drag me in the door– kicking & screaming. I was scared to death of this place. I thought you had to ‘be in shape’ before you even started Crossfit. It took me a solid 2 months before my pre-WOD anxiety went away, which seems so ridiculous, looking back. Now, I can’t get enough of it.
Define “What is CrossFit?” The hardest thing you’ll always want do.
Favorite WOD: Grace, Fight Gone Bad, anything fast & heavy
Least Favorite WOD: Michael
Favorite Food or Meal: It’s impossible for me to choose just one thing. I do love chorizo, though. I’m obsessed with food–growing, shopping, making and eating, but not cleaning.
Something other members wouldn’t know about you: I was a pastry chef in college and have made a few wedding cakes, including my own.
What do you do outside of CrossFit: Health-Bent.com can be pretty time consuming
Biggest accomplishment you think can be attributed to CrossFit: Self confidence–something I really didn’t have before I started. It’s not always about the PR or mopping the floor with everyone, finishing a WOD gives you a feeling of tangible accomplishment–you feel like you can take over the world. It’s like nothing I’ve ever felt before. I also love that CrossFit is something Brandon and I do together. It has truly strengthened our relationship. The couple that pains together, remains together.
What/who inspires you? Kristan Clever. I’m not saying this because she won the 2010 Crossfit Games. Her attitude and perspective inspires me, and I think it had a lot to do with why she won.
A quote that inspires you:
“The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.” – Alvin Toffler
“Weeds are flowers too, once you get to know them.” – Eeyore, Winnie the Pooh
brian@carolinacrossfit.com
Occupation:I am a recently retired commercial kitchen contractor. I’m currently a student.
Certifications(s):Crossfit Level 1, Open Water Scuba
Why did you start CrossFit? I had been rock and ice climbing for more than a dozen years. I wanted to become more well-rounded in order to take my climbing skills to bigger mountains. I had read about these crazy workouts that some high-end alpinists out in Salt Lake City were doing, and that led me to look into CrossFit. Paul has given me not just the physical ability to go after bigger objectives, but the mental wherewithal to make it happen.
Define “What is CrossFit?” It’s a way to work out that actually works, never gets old, and manages to suck only in the best ways.
Favorite WOD: Anything with running, knees to elbows, deadlifts, or rope climbs
Least Favorite WOD: Snatches
Favorite Food or Meal: Maybe a wood-fired pizza or any meal at Salsa’s in Asheville. I would really like a slice of key lime cheesecake with strawberry puree right now. Truffles, toffee….mmmmmmm. I love good espresso.
Something other members wouldn’t know about you:I probably tell more people about my private life than most. I’m proud of who I am and the stuff I do. I am a devout humanist
What do you do outside of CrossFit:I am a nursing student. I also climb rock, ice, and mountains. I like to ski them too. I’m in the process of learning how to combine skiing with mountaineering without dying in an avalanche. My life plan involves figuring out how to be on a mountain as much as possible, given that I grew up in the Midlands of SC.
Biggest accomplishment you think can be attributed to CrossFit: I am currently able to pick up 480 pounds and run a sub-6 mile. On top of that, I can still climb almost as well as I ever have, even though I train way less for it than I ever did before. Last year, I got on a climb at 14,000 feet that would’ve made me poo my pants a few years ago. Though it beat me that time, I’m going back…
What/who inspires you?Watching videos of guys and gals skiing down impossible faces. Reading about climbers who go right up to the edge of the possible and sometimes fall off. Watching Robby B crush another WOD. Watching Marie get her name on the leaderboard.
A quote that inspires you:
“Death plays a huge role in why men climb, in the way they climb and why some of them eventually quit climbing in the high mountains. Alpinism often means high risk and the loss of life. Your friends may die up there in the clouds, in storms, swept away by avalanches, or cowering under a volley of stones. Perhaps they’ll freeze to death alone at the bottom of a deep, dark crevasse or sit down to rest and never get up again. This is the long fall, where the sky is rose and the mountains have never been as beautiful as they are today. Life bleeds away from a head injury, unnoticed. It’s about climbers dying doing what they love and spectators speculating, judging, and maybe having the last word. Alpinism is the story of men and the risks men take: the ones they are equal to, the ones they barely get away with, and those risks that kill them. It is about obsession – the danger and the glory, the addiction of going harder, higher, longer. Sometimes we get away with it, we survive when others do not.” – Mark Twight
matt@carolinacrossfit.com
Occupation:Student at USC and Coach at CCF
Certifications(s):Crossfit Level 1, Crossfit Kids
Why did you start CrossFit? I started Crossfit because PT alone was not enough and I needed a way to get my squad PT average higher. I found Crossfit and some of my squad and I started doing it during our lunch hour. It helped us raise our squad PT score.
Define “What is CrossFit?”Crossfit is a program that is designed for ANYONE who wants to be better physically and mentally than what they are today.
Favorite WOD: Annie, Seal Team 10
Least Favorite WOD: Fran
Favorite Food or Meal:5 guys burgers with bun and fries
Something other members wouldn’t know about you:I was in the ARMY for 7 years. I am now in ROTC at USC and plan on retiring from the ARMY when I finish school.
What do you do outside of CrossFit:Full time student at USC and try to spend time with my family
Biggest accomplishment you think can be attributed to CrossFit: I am able to maintain a 12:30 2 mile time on my PT test and the only days I run are days that running is programmed in the WOD. Usually not running more than 400m/800m at a time.
What/who inspires you?The people who do NOT make it on the top of the board everyday but keep coming back everyday and giving the WOD everything they have because they can see and feel themselves getting better.
A quote that inspires you:
“Top results are reached only through pain. But eventually you like this pain. You’ll find the more difficulties you have on the way, the more you will enjoy your success.” – Juha, the Curel Vaatainen
“The difference between winning and losing is the ability to keep going when everything in your body says to stop” – ?????
“The only places that people remember are First and Last. If you are not going to be First make D*** sure you are not Last.” -?????
bill@carolinacrossfit.com
billccf.wordpress.com
Occupation: Foreign Language Computer Center Director
Certification(s): CrossFit Level 1, CrossFit Nutrition, Crossfit Gymnastics, USA Weightlifting Level 1 Sports Performance Coach
Why did you start CrossFit? A friend sent me the video of Annie Sakamoto doing the Knees to Elbows demo. After browsing the site for a few days, I was impressed by several aspects: 1) they freely share a huge portion of their materials on the web 2) focus on increased power output as a measurable metric for progress, and 3) provide clear guidelines for full range of motion (RX’d), while being easily scalable for “newbies.”
Define “What is CrossFit?” CrossFit is a community of people who are actively striving to surpass their previous limitations; limitations in strength, skill or mentality. This is completely lacking in 95% of fitness “programs.”
Favorite WOD: Nancy
Least Favorite WOD: 3 rounds of 30 Ball Slams/20 burpees/400m run
Favorite Food or Meal: Medium rare beef w/bleu cheese, roasted asparagus.
Something other members wouldn’t know about you: I was a vegetarian for seven years.
What do you do outside of CrossFit: Cook, eat, read, travel.
Biggest accomplishment you think can be attributed to CrossFit: Improved strength and stamina without focusing on either.
What/who inspires you? Watching my daughter discover new things and seeing how excited she gets at each new accomplishment.
A quote that inspires you:
“You enter the forest at the darkest point, where there is no path. Where there is a way or a path, it is someone else’s path. You are not on your own path. If you follow someone else’s way, you are not going to realize your potential.” – Joseph Campbell