A Colossal Mess, Day 2

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“Find whatever your edge is, whatever makes you a little bit uncomfortable and then go and do that.” — Laura Zerra

CrossFit’s Russell Berger Gets Fired.

What happened?

Yesterday, CrossFit HQ announced it had fired Russell Berger after he tweeted two tweets with disparaging remarks against the LGBTQ community. Both tweets were deleted but you can read them here. 

The more incendiary of the two read, in part: “Thank you #CrossFitInfiltrate for standing by your convictions and refusing to celebrate sin by hosting an @IndyPride workout.”

As a vocal spokesperson for CrossFit, both tweets sparked outrage on Twitter, which you can read in this BuzzFeed piece.

Back up. How’d we get here?

After speaking with members from CrossFit Infiltrate and reviewed email exchanges, here’s a timeline of events as best we could put together.

May 21: CrossFit Infiltrate General Manager Johnnie Martin organized an Indy Pride event at CrossFit Infiltrate for June 7th (today).

Friday, June 1: all members of CF Infiltrate received an email from Johnnie saying the Pride event had been canceled.

“The PRIDE event scheduled for next Thursday has been cancelled due to the wishes of ownership of the gym. Brandon Lowe, director of CFI, asked me to relay that “the directors and owners of Infiltrate value health and wellness and they believe that this event does not.”

In an email response to a concerned member, owner Brandon Lowe wrote:

“Our underlying goal for the staff and members at CrossFit Infiltrate and our other gyms CrossFit White River, and University Ave CrossFit, is total health and well-being for the individual and the community. Total health involves the body, the emotions, relationships, and the spirit. [As] the foundational detractor from health, as we believe God sets the parameters for, is pride. We believe that true health forever can only be found within humility, not pride. Humility is seeing oneself as they truly are, and as God truly defines them to be. As a business we will choose to deploy our resources towards those efforts and causes that line up with our own values and beliefs. Of course we will continue treat anyone and everyone with the same respect and produce the same service at CrossFit Infiltrate to anyone that wishes
to take part.”

Saturday, June 2: All coaches quit and an unknown but significant number of athletes began leaving the gym.

Tuesday, June 5: All members received an email stating that CF Infiltrate was closing.

Wednesday, June 6: Russell Berger sent tweets in response to this closing. He was put on administrative leave then terminated shortly thereafter. 

In conclusion.

Russell Berger has been at the center of more than one controversial remark. But he has also vociferously defended CrossFit, its methodology and brand against some of its harshest critics. His work can be best seen and read on The Russells blog, where he and co-author Russ Greene have worked for years to debunk myths about CrossFit, wage war on sugary beverages and take on the NSCA in a multi-year legal battle defending CrossFit against claims that it’s dangerous. His voice has been essential to all of these efforts.

His colleague Russ Greene perhaps said it best in a tweet last night:

“I worked with Russell Berger for years and consider him a friend. I do not agree with his views on homosexuality. At all. He made a grave mistake. His job gave him an authoritative voice on behalf of CrossFit and he should have taken that responsibility much more seriously.”

FOLLOW UP

Colossal CrossFit Part 2: Confirmed 6 Members Kicked Out

For those intersted in tracking the story further, we’ve put together public statements and comments from the affilaite owner, members who have been kicked out or left voluntarily, and some reactions from members still at Colossal CrossFit upon hearing news that their friends were removed. 

Coffee Break Conversations

What to tell your potty-mouthed friend next time she drops an F-bomb during a partner WOD…

Tell me how you really feel. Profanity plays an interesting role in sports. Both the profane “I missed this lift” and “made this lift” expletives can be heard from athletes in gyms all across the world. But does cursing make your perform better or lift heavier? The Journal of Psychology of Sports and Exercise was curious so they took 81 athletes and tried to link their profanity-laced tirades to increased performance in the gym. The results? F***ing unbelievable. 

What to tell your friend who needs help geting her kids off the couch this summer…

You don’t need to be a parent to know that kids should exercise for both their health (and your mental sanity). And since they just spent the entire school year sitting down for half the day on average, now is the perfect time to break that habit. HealthyWay has some creative ideas for how to get your kids to workout while still being fun. If that doesn’t work you can always try the old “convert your Concept2 rower into a hamster wheel to pwoer the Xbox trick.” Works every time. 

Things To…

WATCH: Cole Sager on Accountability

In episode two of this mulit-part series from Working Against Gravity, Cole Sager shares how working together with his wife on their nutrition helps them both stay accountable.

A PERFECT PAIR.

HEAR: The Benefits of Negative Visualization

On this episode of Chasing Excellence with Ben Bergeron, he tackles conflict resolution, “If, Then” scenarios, and why planning for things to go wrong is a great way to make things go right.

TUNE IN. 

EAT: Mongolian Beef Ramen

Still thinking about yesterday’s Top Ramen swimsuit? Us too. So while you wait for that to come in the mail you can whip up this one dish dinner, Mongolian Beef Ramen.

RAMEN IS A STAPLE, SON.

BUY: The Vineyard Apparel and Wine

Margaux Alvarez is moving to Las Vegas and to celebrate she’s offering 60% off all apparel and 20% off all wine. 

START SHOPPING.

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Chalk Up Community

• CROSSFIT MOUNT KISCO TO HOST CHARITY EVENT FOR LITTLE LEXI — Known as “The Lexinator” five-year-old Alexia Corvino has a rare form of mitochondrial disease and her family’s box is coming together in the spirit of CrossFit community to raise awareness. Wine and Wods is this Friday, June 8, at CrossFit Mount Kisco in Westchester, NY and all donations will go to Lexi’s Family to help cover her many medical expenses.
• OMAHA POLICE OFFICER USES CROSSFIT TO STAY SHARP ON THE JOB — Libby DiBiase knows that working as a first responder puts her into unpredicatble and dangerous situations. The thirty-year-old mom and cop trains at CrossFit Kinesis in Gretna, NE to keep her thinking on her feet. “Anything can happen and require a variety of different physical demands. That’s how CrossFit helps.” Her eight-year-old son, Cruz, trains alongside her in the CrossFit Kids class. 

CHALK UP IN 2 MINUTES (a highlight reel around social media of CrossFit pros and average joes)

Josh Goldstein back squats again after six months and still hits 330 pounds for three at Deuce Gym in Venice, CA • Josh Bridges gets in some CrossFit Games training on the beach • So does Emily Abbott but in a much cuter swimsuit • Alexis Johnson makes the GHD more difficult by adding a sandbag • Cole Foge snatches a 215 pound PR at CrossFit Annihilation in Katy, TX • Masters athlete LeRoy gets his first unassisted pull-up at 73-years-old at CrossFit Repentance in Burlington, WI • Brayan Ibanez Guerrero has a 200 pound back squat at only eleven-years-old • Everyone deserves a coach that will scream at them the way Stefi Cohen‘s coach does as she gets through a set of four 210 pound hang power cleans. 

…and get yourself an Indo Board and a toddler and try this at home.

Ben Smith Opens Up on His Tenth Trip to the CrossFit Games — “We fans don’t see the hard work. We see six events over Regionals, not six-hour training days. We don’t see all the endless grinding it takes to earn a spot at the tip of the spear. We seldom see the missed reps, the hand tears, the lonely training sessions, the arduous grunt work and the sacrifices. But they’re there.’It’s hard. It hurts every day. There’s not really words to describe how difficult it is every single year,’ Ben Smith said. True when you qualify once, and truer still when you’ve done it 10 times.”

“Mr. CrossFit vs. Big Soda: A profame fitness guru’s wonky war with the soda industy” by Murray Carpenter, The Washington Post

Greg Glassman, founder and sole owner of CrossFit, noticed that the NSCA was partly funded by PepsiCo. And the closer he looked, the more soda money he found — supporting not just training organizations, but also health nonprofits, medical organizations, diabetes foundations, even the foundations supporting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health. 

A 2016 study by Boston University researchers found nearly 100 national health and medical groups were sponsored by Coca-Cola Co. or PepsiCo. The American Beverage Association, which speaks for the industry, said in response that it was “proud to support” organizations focused on “strengthening public health.”

Although the soda companies were not going after CrossFit directly, their role in funding scientific research seemed wrong to Glassman. In early 2014, he posted on a CrossFit message board, “It’s time to drive Big Soda out of fitness and by extension, the health sciences.” As a long-term advocate of low-carb diets, Glassman was no fan of sodas, and he was outraged on principle.

Glassman also started venting on Twitter. In 2015, he tweeted an image of a Coke bottle next to the phrase “open diabetes,” a riff on the ad slogan “open happiness.” The rest of his tweet read, “Make sure you pour some out for your dead homies.”

6/8 – 6/9: Bricktown Throwdown (Bricktown, OKC)

6/9: Beastette Bash at CrossFit Ananda (Arlington, TX)

6/9: Gulf Coast Games (Mandeville, LA)

6/9: WOD Wars 6 (Humble, TX)

6/9: Big Orange Brawl (Knoxville, TN)

6/9: Heroes of the Platform (Meridian, ID)

6/9: Triple Crown Fitness Event (Greenville, NC)

6/9: 3rd Annual Masters Main Event  (North Ridgeville, OH) 

6/9 – 6/10: The Heartland Games 2018 (Chicago, IL)

6/9 – 6/10: Alaka’i SUPER Summer Slam (Kapolei, HI)

6/9 – 6/10: The Battle of Amsterdam (Amsterdam, Netherlands)

6/10: Contra Costa Throwdown (Concord, CA)

6/13: Granite Games Qualifier (Online)

6/16: Mayhem in Medford (Medford, NJ)

6/16: Battle on the Creek (Johns Creek, GA)

6/16: Full Battle Rattle (Robinson, IL)

6/16: East Coast War (Wilmington, NC)

6/19: Gauntlett VIII – River Rumble (Portsmouth, OH)

6/22 – 6/23: Urban Street Games (Rock Island, IL)

6/22 – 6/24: The Bacon Beatdown (Daytona Beach, FL)

6/23: Garage Girls CrossFit Grit (St. Simons Island, GA)

6/23: 2018 Summer Swolestice (Gresham, OR)

6/23: HAMCO Heat (McLeansboro, IL)

6/23: The Greenville Games (Greenville, SC)

6/23: The Burn Out (New Bern, NC)

6/23: Battle of the Border (Phenix City, AL)

6/23: Battle of a Beauty with a Beast (South Hadley, MA)

6/23: Clash for Cash (Wilkes-Barre, PA)

6/23: SuperFit Games (Lorton, VA)

6/23 – 6/24: Asbury Park Summer Games (Asbury Park, NJ)

6/23 – 6/24: The Dakota Games (Fargo, ND)

6/30: Summer Stampede (Bethlehem, PA)

6/30: Battle of the Ballpark (Seattle, WA)

7/1: Strong As A Bear VI (San Rafael, CA)

7/4: 4th of July Throwdown Team Competition (Cullman, AL)

7/5: Barbellas (Anaheim, CA)

7/6 – 7/8: The Garage Games Junior Champion’s Invitational 2018 (Roswell, GA)

7/7: CrossFit Elgin Beach Brawl 2018 (Port Stanley, ON)

7/7 – 7/8: Railyard Riot (Lincoln, NE)

7/14: Mischief Revolution: Battle of the Brewery (Chicago, IL)

7/14: Mountain Town Summer Throwdown (Breckenridge, CO) 

7/14: Espirit De Corps 2018 (Vancouver, WA)

7/14: Belmar Beat Down (Belmar, NJ)

7/15: The Buckeye Games (Akron, OH)