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Getting to Know Rodrick Lopez, Better Known as “@MemeForTime”

January 16, 2023 by
Photo Credit: Rachel Moore (@rachmoorephoto)
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CrossFit as a practice or lifestyle accomplishes many things really well– preparing you for the unknown and unknowable, preventing disease, building longevity, improving mental fortitude, and cultivating community, just to name a few. The latter of which can be done online in place of or in addition to the in-person gym experience, thanks to the role social platforms play in our lives. Rodrick Lopez, a CF Level 3 coach from San Diego, has embraced and bred community for the last decade through painfully relatable humor for CrossFitters around the world.

Back in 2013, “Me and my homie started making random videos, but they weren’t funny, which is why nobody really watched them,” Lopez said laughing. “We tried our best.” 

The year prior, the long-time self-proclaimed unathletic marching band member, started CrossFit after seeing video of Rich Froning getting after the Sprint/Rope-Sled event at the 2012 CrossFit Games. 

“I saw this and at the end of the thing it said ‘If you want to find a CrossFit gym, go to CrossFit.com’ and I was like, yeah, I want to look like this or do what they’re doing. And I haven’t found anything that’s like that, so I Googled it and the gym was .4 miles away,” Lopez explained. “I got a job (as a dishwasher and pizza maker) so I could pay for it and that’s when I started.” 

The now 29-year-old, known on Instagram to 27.3K followers as @MemeForTime, eventually got his degree in Kinesiology, opened an affiliate in his hometown (ROLOATHLETICS), decided to commit to creating daily memes on Instagram and video content on his YouTube channel, and now travels to competitions to connect with fans and pour into the community. 

We caught up with him at TYR Wodapalooza last weekend where he was executing on funny ideas with fans, creating memes with athletes and passing out limited edition t-shirts. He shared with us that sometimes the expectation he’s set for himself to post so consistently can feel challenging, but sticking with it is a part of the process. 

“There are times where I have all my stuff ready to get out of the gym and I’m walking out of the door. (Then) I’m like, no, I’ll set all my things down and I’ll walk around. I need an idea, thinking of an idea. Because most days, I will say 80% of the time, I think of an idea when I’m coaching somebody or actually working out,” he said. “And then sometimes, I will get home and it’s like 10PM and my wife is watching me pace around and I’m like ‘You know what? Let me just try this idea.’ Luckily, most of the time she’s game for doing it.”

He went on to share advice that he sticks to for himself, that “I try to act on every idea I have because a lot of times we talk ourselves out of ideas. So I’ve made it a point to do every idea; even if you don’t think it’s funny because you had it for a reason.” 

And, anyone who’s created content knows it can be a downer when you invest time or thought into an idea or something you publish that doesn’t receive great feedback or falls flat, but that hasn’t stopped Lopez yet. 

“I don’t get discouraged. Obviously, I can’t say I never get demotivated or feel like, man, all this work I’m putting in and the fruits of my labor (aren’t paying off)…but I actually read a book this year called ‘The War of Art’ that talks about the difference between somebody who is an amateur and a professional, and the professional does it no matter what, every day,” Lopez shared. “And after reading that, I decided to post one meme a day every single day, no matter what. And sometimes it’s exhausting, but I always just try to think like a professional. This is what they do. And if I want to be professional, then I have to act like a professional.” 

For his Instagram following and YouTube subscriber base of a little over 3,000, his daily content serves as a fun, relatable way to connect with the CrossFit community far and wide, which can make a difference, even in the smallest way, by brightening someone’s day. 

“I don’t know if my memes have (made a difference), I know a few people have DM’d me saying ‘I’ve been going through a rough patch, and I know that I can count on that you’re going to post something every day that’s going to make me laugh, and that’s helped me.’…In my head, I don’t know how to feel about that. I’m like, am I really helping? Is this really helping you? But if they’re saying it is and that’s amazing,” he shared. “I’m literally just dressing up as a girl or doing silly things and you’re enjoying it. That’s all I can ask for.”

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