“We cannot change anything until we accept it. Condemnation does not liberate, it oppresses.”- Carl Jung
INDUSTRY
OPINION: Should CrossFit Rebrand to Crossfit?
What’s in a name?
A lot, apparently. Just ask Mark Zuckerberg, as he tries desperately to get everyone to start referring to his company as Meta and not Facebook, given the resounding stink around the latter.
Rebranding is a crucial part of any company’s growth, but how and when they do it speaks volumes as to if the company is moving in the right direction, and has the right type of minds pulling the strings to evolve into the future, and not get stuck in the past.
CrossFit finds itself at a very particular point in its history. It’s past the two decade mark, undergone a massive leadership change which saw the ouster of its original founder, and has now emerged from COVID into our brave new post-pandemic landscape. Adrian Bozman is now the Games mastermind, and a number of new faces have emerged within the company’s forward-facing leadership group, most notably new CEO Don Faul, a Marine veteran and of course, CrossFit lover.
Apple is one of the most iconic companies that essentially gave itself a second life through a rebranding process, both internally and externally. In the late 1990s, Apple Computers was getting its ass handed to it by Microsoft, however when founder Steve Jobs rejoined the company in 1997, it followed that up by launching the iMac, an aesthetically sleek PC, along with a new Apple logo that dropped the colors from its palette. We all know what happened next, and the company went on to branch out into things like iPods, iPads, phones and has now basically left Microsoft in the dust and become the world’s most iconic technology company of all-time.
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In case you missed it: Lauren Kalil, the host of The Bottom Line, spoke to Dex Hopkins and James Hobart about the seemingly endless question swirling around right now: is Tia-Clair Toomey retiring?
More local love: Another great story about the up and coming Subiono brothers, out of Texas, who are looking to become part of the future of the sport. 🇺🇸
Looking back: CrossFit has a great video profiling the best highlights from the age group and adaptive divisions at the Games this season.
CROSSFIT GAMES
MEMBER EXCLUSIVE
Qualifying for the Off-Season Majors: A Professional Athlete’s Dilemma
After the dust settles on the CrossFit Games season, many athletes head off to exotic locations for much-deserved rest and relaxation (and pizza and ice cream and drinks), but those seeking to earn a living as a professional athlete must set their sights on the “off-season majors”– the Rogue Invitational, the Dubai CrossFit Championship, and Wodapalooza.
Some details: Things start to look a little more funky when we flesh out the entire season/off-season.
The 2022 CrossFit Games: August 3-7, 2022
“The Q” (the Rogue Invitational Qualifier): August 25-28, 2022
The Dubai CrossFit Championship Qualifier: September 8-27, 2022
The Madrid Championship, September 9-11, 2022
Wodapalooza Qualifier: September 15-26, 2022
The Rogue Invitational (Finals): October 28-30
The Dubai CrossFit Championship (Finals): December 2-4
Whether Tia-Clair Toomey retires now, in a year, or in 5, there inevitably will be an impact to the women’s division and the sport once she hangs up her hat. Morning Chalk Up’s Lauren Kalil sits down with Dex Hopkins and James Hobart to discuss whether her dominance is better when she’s in the sport competing or once she retires and the impact she’ll have once she does retire.
In one of the first major competitions of the offseason, Rich Froning and his CrossFit Mayhem faction continued their winning ways. The ten-time CrossFit Games champion was joined by fellow Games athletes Tyler Christophel, Baylee Rayl and Paige Powers in winning the CrossFit-licensed “WOD War 4Mori” team competition this past weeked on the Mediterranean island of Sardinia, Italy.
Takeaways
Less than a month after winning his record tenth Games title and sixth Affiliate Cup, Froning and his team won four of the nine scored events over the three-day competition for a 633 point victory using the “Range-system” scoring popular amongst Italian crossfit competitions.
Mayhem placed no worse than third in any of the events.
This new iteration of the Mayhem team worked well with each other. Rayl and Christophel have plenty of experience on a team. They started their careers as members of the CrossFit 417 team that qualified for the Games in 2017 and 2018.
Mamma Mia, a team made up of Invictus athletes Brittany Weiss and Jorge Fernandez as well as Michelle Basnett and Jake Marconi finished second to Mayhem. Weiss and Fernandez were a part of the Invictus team that finished third at this year’s Games.
Mamma Mia also collected four event wins during the weekend.
The max clean-and-jerk event was the highlight of day two as Mayhem and Mamma Mia tied with a total of 1113 pounds (505kg) lifted. Fernandez put on a show with a lift of 363 pounds (165kg).
Fernandez and Weiss each participated in the Rogue Qualifier prior to traveling to Italy. Fernandez currently sits in second and Weiss sits in seventh. An invitation to Rogue for either one of those athletes would be a huge step in their individual competitive career for two athletes who have been competing on the Invictus team for a number of years.
The Spanish team TRAINLIKEFIGHT finished third, coming from behind on day three to overtake Italian team ONAIR. TRAINLIKEFIGHT, led by Games athlete David Mata, took third despite not winning an event. On the final day of competition they recorded a third place and two runner-up finishes.
Froning continues to be the leading ambassador for the CrossFit brand, he along with his team of athletes and support staff spent time meeting with the community and conducting classes. Froning hasn’t officially announced what he plans on doing in terms of continuing to compete in the CrossFit season but international events like “WOD War 4Mori” could be more of a regular occurrence for one of the greatest and most well-known athletes in the sport.
THINGS TO...
...WATCH
A Spirited Recap of the 2022 CrossFit Games
Lauren Kalil sat down with the “Spirit of the Games 2022”, Noah Olsen, to discuss his reflections on the Games, his next moves for the 2023 season, and his desire to compete in his 10th CrossFit Games.
The transition from an average athlete to standing shoulder to shoulder with the elite can seem out of reach… until now. Crafted Compete by Sam Smith provides the roadmap to help you climb up the 2023 Open Leaderboard. If you are a hungry competitor with something to prove this season, then get ready to work.
After a tough week of training, you might think to yourself, “I’ve earned this beer”. But is "just one" going to affect your performance going forward? And if so, by how much?
A Free WHOOP Strap 4.0 and Extra Month's Membership
WHOOP measures your body's data over 100 times a second to provide personalized feedback on your recovery, strain, and sleep. Morning Chalk Up readers can get a free strap and an extra month's membership when you sign up at the link below.
These muffins serve as a perfect grab and go breakfast, snack, or a nice treat to curb your sweet tooth. Ready to eat in less than 30 minutes, you’ll be the most popular kid in class if you bring these babies with you to the gym.
James Townsend is attempting to break the Guinness World Record for heaviest pull-up. His practice attempt at 234 pounds/106kg would be four pounds heavier than the current record.
Flashback Friday: Dan Bailey was repping out the press to handstands way before crop top Nick Mathew made them cool again.
Congratulations to Giovanni Ocampo from CrossFit Cobalt in West Babylon, NY on 500 unbroken double-unders PR.
…and they say CrossFitters do crazy things in the gym 🤦.
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