TYR Wodapalooza Tattoos, Anyone?
TYR Wodapalooza brings folks from all over the world with a wide variety of backgrounds and life experiences to a central beach party each January for the last 11 years. This time around, we caught up with first-time attendee Anthony Gonzales, who had a hand in bringing a tattoo shop to the festival for the first time.
It was only a year and a half ago when Gonzales’ doctor told him he was pre-diabetic and knew something had to change. He reached out to a friend “and he was like, you should probably try CrossFit, and (I said) no, I’m not that type of person,” he recalls. “He said ‘no, it’s a really cool community. I think you’ll love it’.”
CrossFit MOB in Thorton, Colorado, a suburb of Denver, quickly became the 36-year-old’s second home.
“But one thing for me, I want to feel confident. And one way to feel confident is to make sure I look cool,” Gonzales said. “I couldn’t find anything cool that fit my aesthetic. So I made a t-shirt for myself.”
A full-time roofer by day, entrepreneur by night, Gonzales partnered up with a creative friend, Nick Quintero, to create a signature skeleton kettlebell design that was a hit at the gym. By accident, he had started an apparel company, now known as Uno Mas Ropa.
The name, which means “one more clothing” is inspired by Gonzales’ journey into the sport. During the company’s inception, he thought, “I’m not the most athletic right now, and a lot of people are like that. A lot of people want to have a healthier lifestyle, and they feel like it’s too late or they feel like it’s too hard, or they’ve just lost hope. And I’m saying, you know what? You can do your max effort, do what you can do today, and then push yourself by going one more.”
The company donates 10 percent of sales to a charity (rotating depending on the event); a cause close to the founders heart, given that he grew up in a home that invested time and resources into philanthropy and taking in foster children.
Fast forward to 2023 TYR Wodapalooza weekend: Gonzales has now lost 20 pounds, is no longer pre-diabetic, his t-shirt company is thriving with a booth at the annual fitness festival, and he teamed up with Rich in Flesh Miami tattoos, founded by Adrian Delgado, to permanently ink the CrossFit community with designs genuine to both brands. Inspired by an ask from Loud and Live, Uno Mas Ropas and Rich in Flesh combined forces, both with authentic tattoo-style designs, to share a tent in Bayfront Park to provide cool t-shirts and tats to the people.
Arguably the coolest part? If you tattoo the TYR Wodapalooza logo on your body, you get free entry to the Bayfront Park spectacle for life.
Daniel Hatten of CrossFit Cincinnati is a father, husband, CrossFit Level 2 coach and member of the US Army, was just crazy enough to do it.
“We were getting tattooed as friends…then I saw the deal, and then I was like, well, it’s a trophy. I have another tattoo that I got at French Throwdown,” the first-time Wodapalooza spectator said. “Miami is beautiful. So now I have a reason to come every year.”
Peter White, host of the Coffee, Pods and WODs podcast, alongside athletes James Newberry and Khan Porter, got tattooed on Saturday afternoon during their live broadcast. Although they didn’t get the official logo, it’s pretty rad to say you got tattooed at WZA if you ask us.
What’s next for Gonzales and the Uno Mas Ropas team?
“To all the affiliates out there, please hit us up. We definitely want to put our merchandise in your boxes — we already have our stuff in local boxes out in Colorado,” he said. “(And) we’re doing some collaborative stuff. One of my goals out here is to do collaborations with R.A.D, I want to work with HSTL Made, Blenders, Hard Work Pays Off — those are brands that I’m really encouraged by.”
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