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Patrick Vellner Gets a Shoe as TYR Trainer Drops

February 1, 2023 by
Photo Credit: TYR Sport
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Patrick Vellner, who is one of the most recognizable CrossFit athletes of the past decade, has just launched a signature CXT-1 trainer with TYR Sport that he says represents him as an athlete. 

  • “It was kind of conservative and understated from the surface level, but had some pretty cool features on it that pop that are kind of like just below the surface,” said Vellner, during an interview with Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil.
  • “And so I think that kind of represents me as an athlete a little bit. I’m kind of understated and sort of, nondescript, but still on the competition floor,” he added. 

Vellner, who is a TYR sponsored athlete, said they approached him with the idea of creating a limited edition sneaker and calls it an “awesome opportunity.” The trainers are gray and black with an ice blue sole and words on the heels; one shoe reading ‘persist’ and the other reading ‘prevail’. 

  • “The only real way to prevail is to persist,” said Vellner.
  • “I think there’s not a lot of athletes in the space that have that chance, so it was super flattering to have the chance to deal with them [TYR].” 
  • “I think in general it’s hard to boil yourself down to a color scheme or an essence or a vibe that you want to put into a show, so that was an interesting challenge and we had some with the team doing that and this is what we ended up with.”

The Canadian athlete has been to the CrossFit Games eight times and has finished on the podium four times. He recently placed third at TYR Wodapalooza 2023 in the individual elite men’s division and took the top spot in the elite men’s team division with fellow Canadians Brent Fikowski and Jeffrey Adler. 

Vellner adds, he enjoyed doing the team events more given the format and “the stress and pressure is pretty low.”

  • “You try to do your best for the guys when you’re out there, but nobody I think is taking it really harshly if something doesn’t go well or like really defining themselves by the successes of their team of three.” 
  • “I mean my team with Brent and Jeff we all train by ourselves so it was a fun way to just kind of have training partners for a weekend and sort of profit off and hangout.” 

Vellner, along with most elite CrossFit athletes and affiliates around the globe, are preparing for the 2023 NOBULL CrossFit Open set to begin February 16. Velner says he’s excited to get the season underway and for people to try out his trainers. They come in mens and womens sizes. 

“We’re pumped that we’re able to get these out in time for the Open,” said Vellner. “I think that’s a really good thing to be able to do, have your own shoe out there and see people wearing them.”

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