How CrossFit Switch Rebuilt

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“Any attempt at action is better than inaction. An attempt can go wrong, but inaction inevitably results in failure.” — Miep Gies

How the CrossFit Switch Community Rebuilt After Their Owner Spied on Women

Remind me. 

Back in April, Matthew Krakowski, the owner of CrossFit Switch in Clinton Township, MI was arrested for placing a hidden camera in the ladies restroom.

While news crews flocked to the gym to cover the story, members fled. That’s when head coach Mike Novak came up with the idea to buy the gym. He approached Derek Elwart, the box’s in-house chiropractor, and said, “I’m going to buy this gym. I’ll do anything.”

Great idea.

Yes, but it took a lot of rebuilding. Members who had already left were hesitant to come back, and for good reason.

“Whole families go here. Wives, mothers, grandmothers, daughters, kids, my physical therapy patients. Some of the police officers that are investigating the case have wives that went here,” Derek explained.

But the two were determined to keep their community intact. So Mike led free boot camps at the park five days a week to keep the community training together. As soon as the two new owners signed the lease and got the keys they began remodeling the gym.

So what happened next?

Well, members were still understandably angry. But to blow off a little steam, they gathered together and hosted a “burn party” to send their old gym shirts and letters written to the previous owner up in flames. That night, Mike and Derek revealed to the community that they had bought the gym and the new name, CrossFit Platoon.

That’s so cool.

Mike got on the phone, calling every member, personally giving them his word that CrossFit Platoon would be a safe environment. Derek is proud of how his community has rallied together in such terrible times.

“What I have witnessed being a part owner is exactly what CrossFit is about. I’ve seen people cheer the last member on until they finish and literally carry people to the end, but I have never thought I would see a whole community begging us to keep this gym open and do whatever it takes to re-open and that is exactly what this community has done. We are just blown away.”

…and that’s how one CrossFit community saved itself after one massive breach of trust. 

Coffee Break Conversations

What to tell your friend who can’t ever seem to get in and out of Target for less than $200…

Make a list and stick to it. There are a few things worth tossing in that famous red cart that are good for your wallet and good for your kitchen too. Here’s a list of eleven things you should be buying at Target instead of more throw pillows. 

Things To…

WATCH: A Twelve-Year-Old Role Model 

At only twelve, Shiloh Ellis has already been doing CrossFit for five years. But its not the Games he has his eyes on, it’s changing lives through coaching.

AN EARLY CALLING. 

HEAR: Intermittent Fasting

Rich Froning and the CrossFit Mayhem team on using intermittent fasting to reset your body and a friendly conversation how to manage drinking while training.

TUNE IN.

EAT: Maple Bacon Muffins

These fluffy maple pancakes baked in a muffin tin are the perfect on the go breakfast or just cause I’m damn hungry snack for literally every day of the week. 

YUMM YES, PLEASE. 

BUY: Fourth of July Outfit

Get ready for America’s favorite summer holiday with the new USA line by Caffeine & Kilos.

START SHOPPING.

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Chalk Up Community

• PRO TIP: The Off-season — Nick Fowler of Brute Strength details the importance of having an off-season with consistent and intentional training while focusing on the basics for a stronger fitness foundation.

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

Rachel Garibay gets a 425 pound deadlift • Colleen Fotsch gets a 235 pound push press + push jerk combo • Ira Kortum from
CrossFit X-Factor runs his first mile in fifteen years after weighing more than 300 pounds • KILL CLIFF’s new pre-workout energy drink “IGNITE” is now available for pre-order. It’s shipping out July 1 • Coby Anderson hits a 355 pound clean and jerk • Sheila Barden gets a 28 pound weighted muscle-up PR.

…and don’t we all wish we were this cute at the start of a WOD. 

Change Coming to the CrossFit Games — The North Park outdoor stadium — where events like the obstacle course, strongman’s fear and burpees over hay bails took place — will be expanding to seat 10,000 spectactors. In addition, the $1000 per ticket Madison Club VIP experience will include access to a second location front and center at the North Park Stadium.

Erik Jacobs on losing 100 pounds in ten months…“I walked into my first CrossFit class on August 15th, 2017 weighing close to 350 pounds. I couldn’t bend over to tie my shoes; I couldn’t fit in a movie theater seat; I needed a seatbelt extender on an airplane. My bad cholesterol was extremely high, and I was on medication. I was sick, and the doctor told me if I didn’t make a change soon, I would need bariatric surgery.

“I needed a tribe to surround myself with; people who had like minds and goals and would support me; people who would lift me up when I would falter and never let me lose sight of my goals; people who would hold me accountable and make me a man of integrity. I needed CrossFit.

“I have no idea how many WOD’s I’ve been to. It’s well over 100 now. In 10 months, I’ve lost over that many pounds. In that time, the transformation is truly complete. I am a different person- mind, body, and soul. I walked into the box expecting to lose weight. Turns out, I gained my life.”

“You Are Enough,” by Sarah Loogman, Morning Chalk Up.

The world of fitness is an incredible tool to help us realize our true potential. We fight back the captivities of society – fast food, desk jobs and a manic mindset. When we find community in that, we thrive.

The collection of seeking our best selves alongside others is a powerful dynamic that all sorts of team, sport and business alike, recognize its value and its power. The community you surround yourself with matters.

Yet the reason so many chase after fitness often begins at an emptiness rooted in a distain for self – we’re not slim enough, we’re not strong enough, we aren’t beautiful or buff enough. We walk into the gym with a mindfulness to work hard so that we can reap the better versions of ourselves that we seek.

We create discomfort and we overcome it and we face our fears of physical pain and we tell ourselves to “grind” through it. Yet we’re always seeking more and we get increasingly frustrated as we don’t see the results we expect, the ones we think we deserve. We’re always seeking something more, something to satisfy our cravings and something to tell us that we “made it.”

But what if I told you that you already have it?

6/29: Bare Knuckles Weightlifting Meet (Broomfield, CO)

6/29 – 6/30: The Grinder Games III (Tall City, TX)

6/30: Summer Stampede (Bethlehem, PA)

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

6/30: Battle Between Boxes: Will Lift for Food (Des Moines, IA)

6/30: Jill’s Warrior WOD (Suffield, CT)

6/30: Keefe Fundraiser (Salem, NH)

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

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

7/6: Garage Games Firebreather 5k (John’s Creek, GA)

7/6 -7/8: The UG Games (Collingswood, ON)

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

7/6 – 7/8: Garage Games Junior Champions Invitational (Roswell, GA)

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

7/7: Capitol Takeover 2018 (Springfield, IL)

7/7: 2nd Annual Liberty Dash (Johnston, PA)

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

7/7: Barbellas (Anaheim, CA) 

7/13 – 7/15: Beach Throwdown 2018 (Schevening, Netherlands)

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)

7/14: Atomic Throwdown (Kennewick, WA)

7/14: Fitness for Faith (Livingston, TN) 

7/14: Sweat Angel Showdown (Indianapolis, IN) 

7/14: Barmageddon (Oklahoma City, OK)

7/14: Red, White, and Blue Showcase (Kearney, NE)

7/14: CrossFit for Hope 2018 (Peoria, IL)

7/14: Team SuperFit Charlotte (Charlotte, NC)

7/14 – 7/15: 2018 Freshcoast Games (Muskegon, MI)

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

7/15 – 7/16: Lubbock Summer Games (Lubbock, TX)

7/21: Second Annual Summer Showdown (Nicholasville, KY)

7/21: Swole Wars II (Burleson, TX)

7/21: Sacred Pines Invitational (Ladson, SC)

7/21: Battle at the BallPark (Peoria, IL) 

7/21 – 7/22: The Rubicon (Centerton, AR)

7/28: Garage Girls Hard Core Fit (Watkinsville, GA) 

7/28: Garage Girls CrossFit HardCore (Boca Raton, FL) 

7/28: AZ FitCom Competition (Phoenix, AZ)

7/28: Summer Knights Showdown (Springfield, IL)

7/28 – 7/29: CF Summer Circus (Des Moines, IA)

7/29: Summer Sizzle (Wadsworth, OH) 

7/30: Legends of Lebo (Pittsburgh, PA)