1. Tell us about yourself:
My name is Marko, I’m from Santa Ynez California, and moved to Ventura after graduating from UC Santa Cruz. I am married to the woman of my dreams and have been with her for 13 years. We have a fifteen-month-old son who loves hanging out with everyone at BeachSide! I try my best to enjoy every day and goof around as much as possible. Life is too short to not have a good time.
2. What do you do for a job?
I’m currently a paraeducator at De Anza Academy of Technology and Arts and working towards getting my teaching credential. I’m hoping to become an elementary school teacher soon.
3. Tell us something people might not know about you:
I’m a huge nerd who is passionate about skateboarding and all things sci-fi. I’m so passionate about science fiction that I named my son (Julian) after one of my favorite characters from my all-time favorite book series Red Rising. I spend most of my free time reading, skating, or playing video games.
4. What brought you to CrossFit in the first place?
My dad brought me to CrossFit. He has always been into working out and lifting weights. Ever since I was little, I remember him doing bench presses and arm curls at home and how much he loved it. So when he started doing CrossFit it was all he could talk about. He was and still is obsessed. He must have asked me a million times to try out a session with him, but as a lifelong skateboarder I never really had any interest in working out or anything like that. Eventually, I wanted to just spend more time with my old man, but I wanted to spend time with him in his element, so I agreed to give CrossFit a shot.
5. What was your first impression? How has that changed?
Initially, I thought it was just like any other gym experience, people just show up, lift heavy weights, run a lot and eventually get fit. But now that I have been a member at BeachSide for over a year, I realize that CrossFit has all of the things that I love about skating. In both skating and CrossFit, there is a community that wants to see you thrive. It doesn’t matter if it’s the first time you’ve landed a kickflip or if it’s your millionth, the people around you are excited for you. Both skating and CrossFit celebrate small victories because both communities understand personal accomplishments are what it’s all about. We are not competing against each other, we are all competing against ourselves to be better than we were the day before. In both skating and CrossFit, you can have people who are at completely different skill levels but are enjoying each other’s company because they speak the same language.
6. What was your first “bright spot”?
I think a huge bright spot for me was when I realized that I needed CrossFit for my mental health as well as my physical. I had a bad day at work and was exhausted, decided to go skating, and ended up snapping my board in half, so I called my dad and told him to pick me up. We ended up having a good workout and I went home feeling better than I had all day. On days when I don’t workout, I end up feeling more tired than the days that I do, so I feel like I’m a better parent because of CrossFit.
7. What are you working on now?
I’m trying to focus on my form with Olympic lifts. I love cleans and snatches, so if I can work on my form I feel like everything else will fall into place. Also MOBILITY!! My mobility sucks and I hope that eventually changes.
8. What’s your favorite BeachSide CrossFit memory?
Finishing my first Murph! I started CrossFit right before the Murph in 2023 and did half, with jumping pull-ups and pushups from my knees. This year I finished a full Murph with kipping pull-ups and pushups from my toes. I didn’t expect to be able to get that done and was very excited to do so. Hopefully, in the near future, I’ll complete it with the vest.
