“Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.”- William Arthur Ward
PROFILE
Short Stature Athlete Mikey Witous “Cautiously Optimistic" About 2024 CrossFit Games
For a long time, Mikey Witous thought CrossFit was for “retired older men to relive their glory days,” so he waved off the idea of even trying.
That was because Witous’ father did CrossFit and was constantly talking about it.
But eventually, Witous, now 30, “got sick of not competing in anything,” so the four-foot-eleven dwarf—meaning he also has a skeletal dysplasia diagnosis—decided to give it a shot.
Fast forward eight years and Witous has his sights set on the CrossFit Games, a goal that just became more realistic when CrossFit LLC announced last month that they “are excited to announce that in 2024, we will be inviting all adaptive divisions to compete at the CrossFit Games Finals, as long as the divisions have enough participation to allow for a competitive field.”
Though it sounds hopeful, Witous isn’t counting his chickens before they hatch because of the caveat relating to having “enough participation,” as the reality is there just aren’t that many dwarves in the world, let alone ones that do CrossFit, said Witous, who has placed third in the Short Stature division for two years in a row.
“It’s hard to replicate the numbers of the other divisions. People wake up out of surgery everyday with a mission limb. Or people become paralyzed everyday…Specifically with my type of dwarfism, one in 40,000 people are born with it and that’s it, so unless you’re born with it you don’t have dwarfism and you won’t have it. So having those same numbers (as the other adaptive divisions) is impossible,” he said.
He added: “They kind of left it for question with the way they worded it, saying that if there are enough numbers, and it’s like, ‘Well, what does that mean?’
This season, only three adaptive divisions are included at the Games: Multi Extremity (previously Neuromuscular), Lower Extremity, and Upper Extremity, while the athletes in the other divisions will only have the chance to compete in the Open.
What Did Games Athletes Think of the Relentless Method?
It’s easy to brag and tell everyone how great your product is, but how trustworthy would that be? Relentless is all about authenticity, so they asked some Games veterans to try them out.
The result: these athletes were so impressed with Relentless that they wanted to show it to the world.
That’s why Games veterans Thuri Helgadottir, Emma Tall and more are now part of the Relentless Team.
Why? Because it works.
Using the Relentless Method has proven to work for all levels of athlete: Elite, Masters, Average Joe, and everything in between.
In case you missed it: Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil spoke with LSKD founder and CEO, Jason Daniel, to chat about how LSKD broke into the CrossFit space, their plans to grow within the US market, and why the “K” in their name is backward.
Origin story: Ever wonder how the Barbell Pillow came about? Well, wonder no more.
The Rise of Workout Retreats: “Unwinding in a productive way”
Travel for health and wellness, activities and exercise is on the rise and CrossFit is at the forefront of the growing area for holiday makers.
COVID-19 accelerated the trend for active holidays making it one of the hottest areas for all travel categories, according to Forbes Magazine.
In the UK, Google searches for ‘UK Wellness Retreats’ rose by 410% in the first eight months of 2022, according to Luxury Travel Magazine.
CrossFit retreats are now commonplace. Novices or beginners can pay a company to organise a trip that includes accommodation, workouts and coaches, food, chefs or restaurants and even non-CrossFit related activities, like windsurfing.
We’re just a few days away from the kick-off to the Dubai Fitness Championship and Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil brought on sports analyst Joey Adduci and emcee Bella Martin to reveal their podium picks for the elite men’s field. Once the competition starts on Friday, December 1, make sure to check back here for Kalil’s daily recap shows and updates with some of the athletes competing.
Born Primitive’s Veterans Day Campaign Leads to Massive Donation
Born Primitive, the veteran-owned apparel company based in Virginia Beach, set out with the goal of raising $100,000 for Veteran causes on November 11-13. The campaign was a raging success.
Remind me: Back in 2021, Born Primitive made a pledge to donate 100% of its profits from Veterans Day sales to charitable organizations. The company raised $75,000 for veteran causes and then set a goal of $100,000 for the second year of the campaign.
In order to achieve this goal, Born Primitive used its profits from sales on Veterans Day, as well as the rest of the weekend. The event lasted three days as CrossFitters were able to purchase a wide variety of gear.
The profits from these sales were split evenly between three pre-selected veteran charities – the Best Defense Foundation, Navy Seal Foundation, and Tunnel To Towers.
A special event: Born Primitive celebrated hitting the goal by putting on a special event. The company held a community workout in Virginia Beach with the Navy SEAL Foundation. This event included the presentation of a $125,000 donation, which is the most Born Primitive has ever donated in a lump sum.
Bear Handlon, Born Primitive Founder and CEO: “We challenged our customers to shop our website in support of a great cause on Veterans weekend, and they came through for our Vets in a huge way. These charities are doing incredible things for our Veteran community, and we are proud to have a platform that allows us to give back in such a meaningful way.”
Continued progress: Born Primitive, which began in a garage, has always had the mission of supporting those in need with donations. The company began with smaller moves as it was able but continued to increase them as it grew in size.
The 2022 Veterans Day campaign continued this goal. Born Primitive was able to donate close to $300,000 total, which brought its overall number to $1.5 million since 2014.
The future remains bright for Born Primitive. The company will continue to launch new apparel focused on the CrossFit community, and it will continue to focus on raising even more money for veteran causes and others in need in the coming years.
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