Dean has been a member since November of 2019, always comes in with a positive attitude and has been consistent since day 1. Dean also hosted our live cooking shows during covid quarantine which was a real treat. If you see Dean tell him hi and congrats!
Tell us about yourself:
I’m 49yrs old, born and raised in the Baltimore Md area but have been living in CA since 97, Ventura for the past 2 yrs. Married and father of 2 boys ages 11 and 8.
What do you do for a job?
I am a Chef. In the restaurant industry for most of my career which led to recipe development for several major brands in the US, then my own private Chef business. After my stint in the private chef world I got into development full time and am now Culinary Director for a company headquartered in Ventura with plants across the US called Freshrealm.
Tell us something people might not know about you:
I am a published author, nominated for a James Beard award. I was on the Food Network program CHOPPED! and won.
What brought you to CrossFit in the first place?
My wife Carrie was actually the first one to encourage me, she saw nothing was working for me to “stick with it” and researched it and encouraged me to do it. I was tired of being tired. Tired of having excuses. I was not happy with how I looked, how I performed, how my clothes fit, how I felt etc. But all I did was talk about it. My friend Rebecca Lewis who I work with was very encouraging to get me to try out CF so I finally went for it.
What was your first impression?
I thought, “I have been to the gym plenty of times over the years, I’m fairly active, I’m sure I’ll get rolling pretty quick” After my first few foundation classes I quickly found out that I was waaaaayyyy weak, low endurance and no flexibility. Though I felt like this, Mee, Nate and all the coaches were really encouraging so even though I felt like a scrub they helped me realize I could do it.
How has that changed?
Instead of focusing on what I lacked I became excited about getting better and improving each time.
What was your first “bright spot”?
There was a point for me after probably 2 months where I just felt and saw myself getting better. It was what I needed to have the drive to stay consistent. At first, everything seemed so hard but at the 3 month mark things started to click.
What are you working on now?
Putting all the pieces of the puzzle together. Consistent workouts, clean whole food diet, less booze, more sleep. Also working on better form/efficiency in my lifts so I can increase weight and reps, build more endurance.
What’s your favorite “Beachside Crossfit memory?”
One I remember is a workout a while back that had double unders at the end, I was already spent. I was struggling trying to get double unders and still could not link more than 2 or so. I was just starting the last set and the clock ran out but I started them anyway. It clicked and just started knocking them out and for almost a full minute. A couple people were like “damn dude way to go!” Felt good to get those even though they still need a lot of work.
