Tell us about yourself:
Well, I’m definitely a people person. I could talk to the wall if you talk back to me. I was born and raised in California, left after high school to San Francisco to play on the woman’s soccer team, then I played a little overseas in Japan; after that chapter closed, I moved to New York. I lived there 23 years, working in the wholesale fashion industry, specifically streetwear. I had the best time of my life in New York. I found out who I was over and over again, had the most memorable experiences of my life, and made some incredible friendships and memories that’s for sure. It definitely was an amazing 20+ years of my life, I wouldn’t change it for the world. Then I fell in love on a zoom call with the yacht Captain during Covid. And that’s where my life started a whole new chapter. I moved to Miami for four years where I began a career in yachting; another part of my life that I absolutely cherish. I got to travel all over the world on someone else’s dime, it was fantastic! I was a deckhand at 42 yrs old… then became the crew chef and started cooking for a living on boats. That’s also where I began my CrossFit journey, my ex dragged me to a 5:30 AM class and I thought “hell no!” But somehow I fell in love with it, he didn’t, and I kept going. It’s been one of the greatest joys of my adult life, that’s for sure. It saved me from not getting out of bed every day for a while. Beachside has been a crucial part of that as well. All in all, I’d like to think of myself as a pretty strong and adventurous human with a great deal of curiosity for people and the world. I love the people who are in my life very dearly and I love them hard. I think I’m the kind of of person that will stand up for what is right and their friends and family without hesitation. My life has changed over and over again, and I’ve started new chapters and closed them as well. It’s been one hell of a ride and I can’t wait to see what’s next! I’m so glad that Beachside has been such a crucial part of it.
What do you do for a job?
Currently, I am cooking for a living. I do private meals and meal prepping for people.
Tell us something people might not know about you:
This is probably gonna be super random and definitely something people don’t know about me; while I was living in Japan for soccer, I wound up having someone talk me into climbing Mount Fuji. I was unaware of how difficult this was going to be and it was definitely one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life. The altitude alone was going to kill me. But I can say I did it, and it was definitely an amazing experience and super memorable for a number of reasons.
What brought you to CrossFit in the first place?
APART to CrossFit was my crazy ex-boyfriend. Thought it’d be a good idea to go try it out because it was across from the apartment complex we lived in. But what I didn’t know he was going to suggest that we do the 5:30 AM class which I was morally opposed to. Alas, we went to 5:30 AM and I did hate it still, especially getting up that early and then there’s the pain my body was in for, I don’t know months and months after that. I could barely climb stairs for seriously like six months. But something about it just gave me this sense of what I had been missing since I stopped playing soccer. I missed the environment and teamwork soccer gave me. I missed the community and just the group of friends I had to see on a regular basis and talk to them in their lives. So CrossFit just basically accidentally slipped in there as something crazy, my ex wanted to try and he wound up quitting but I stuck with it and now this is me here today five years later and still loving it!
What was your first impression? How has that changed?
My first impression of CrossFit was that some sadist made this up as a way to torture people. There was one woman in the 5:30 AM class and apparently I kept taking her spot; she tried to hit me with a barbell twice and make it look like an accident. So needless to say it did not go well for me at first, especially that early in the morning. But once I got my rhythm and started going to 4:30 PM like a normal person… I just started falling in love more and more and more. The community of people were always helping me; I started this journey in Miami… where the people are nowhere near as friendly as Beachside. I’ll keep that part short because there is way more to unpack there, but they weren’t as welcoming and so it was hard at first, but then I just started ignoring that. I found my rhythm, found my friends and my favorite coach and it just took off from there. Now I’ve been done CrossFit in Miami, Austin, and now Ventura. I wouldn’t change it for the world.
What was your first “Bright Spot?”
I’m guessing, my “first bright spot”, would mean something like.. the first time everything started to click with CrossFit. However, I would honestly say it was when I came to Beachside. I struggled a lot in Miami because of my ex, he just didn’t understand why I wanted to be friends with people and talk to them at the gym. So when that was cut loose and I moved to Ventura, Beachside was so insanely welcoming I feel like I had like 10 new friends in a week. Honestly, I would think most people say, getting a pull-up or a muscle up or climbing the rope or lifting a certain amount of weight… But for me it was Beachside. It was Jess. That woman is incredible and she’s like the mother of mothers, friend, and an insanely wonderful coach all wrapped into one. That is a powerful force. She notices and remembers everything. Her head is on a swivel and no matter who’s there at the gym she’s constantly making sure everyone’s OK, not hurting themselves, doing what she knows they can do and believes in them always supporting them like a family member… like a great family member, because not all family members are the same. So for me, it would be my start at Beachside and then just how much I’ve progressed and grown there. I never knew I would ever be able to do a pull-up, let alone remember how to walk on my hands back-and-forth on the gym floor. But it’s also the people going there, that she has truly cultivated into this awesome little family. The Cromack’s, especially Mark. They basically adopted me into their family. Mandy and Cort, Derrick, baby Haylie, all the kids Blakely, Ellie, watching the transformation of tall Khris. Kalan start coaching at 19 and killing it. Watching Sal and Baz and a number of others get their first muscle up. Watching Drew freaking bounce over the boxes doing box jumps like he’s an actual rabbit. I could go on and on… I love everyone there like my own and 🏋🏽♀️Beachside is the reason.
What are you working on now?
For me at the gym, I’m working on staying consistent and pushing myself 1% or more every day. If I could get 5 to 10 pull-ups in a row or even a muscle up one day that would be incredible. But it’s not the end all be all. I just wanna keep working on me and having these amazing relationships with CrossFit and our CrossFit leadership that had brought me so much joy.
What’s your favorite BeachSide CrossFit memory?
My favorite CrossFit memory, that’s a hard one… I have a lot, especially at Beachside. But my favorite memory beyond all the silly ones we have at the gym every day… and don’t judge me, would be becoming athlete of the month. It may seem silly, but it means so much to me from you guys to pick me and I feel very loved by everyone there so it’s the perfect place for that to happen for the first time. I will hold this dear to my heart forever and I really mean that from the bottom of mine.
