Would you get a FITAID tattoo for $1k bucks?

September 14   |   POWERED BY

Good morning and welcome to the Morning Chalk Up.

In today’s edition:

• Affiliate raises $100K in 24 hours for children’s cancer research.
• Would you get a FITAID tattoo for $1k bucks?
• A Games athlete’s wife was diagnosed with breast cancer.

“Fear of what other people will think is the single most paralyzing dynamic in business and in life. The best moment of my life was the day I realized that I no longer give a damn what anybody thinks. That’s enormously liberating and freeing, and it’s the only way to live your life and do your business.” - Cindy Gallop

Georgia Affiliate Does 24 Workouts in 24 Hours, Raises $100K for Childhood Cancer Research

From August 27 to 28, more than 70 athletes participated in the fifth-annual 24 in 24 fundraiser at CrossFit Dynamo in Cumming, GA, raising $102,042 for the Rally! Foundation, an Atlanta-based organization that brings awareness to and supports childhood cancer research.

Why it matters: “Childhood cancer treatments are grossly underfunded by the federal government, with only 4% of the National Institute of Health’s budget earmarked for childhood cancer, and that’s over ALL their different forms of cancer,” reads CrossFit Dynamo’s event page.

• The Rally! Foundation grants funds to promising research, working to find better treatments and, ultimately, cures for childhood cancers.

By the numbers:  In the past five years, CrossFit Dynamo has raised over $350,000 to support the Rally! Foundation.

• This year, they hit two major milestones: the total raised broke $100,000 and, athlete Michael Mendelssohn had an event PR, personally raising $17,000.

The details: Similar to how other 24-hour events are structured, participants in the 24 in 24 completed one workout every hour. John Manser, owner of CrossFit Dynamo, described the day as “a whole month of programming thrown into one day,” noting that he changes the WOD lineup to keep things fresh and prevent injury.

• “It’s painstaking to keep up with body systems, rep counts, loads, and rest in between usage, but it’s worth it,” Manser added.

Participants signed up in teams of four or more in competitive and social divisions, with prizes awarded for the “best exercising” and fundraising efforts.

• “From my point of view, it’s a terrifying prospect, honestly,” Manser said. “This year I ran 48 WODs and participated in all but three of my 24.”
• “I figure if people see me on my feet for 24 hours, doing the WODs next to them, it gives them the belief and conviction to keep going when body and mind are telling them to stop. They come out of the event better for it in all facets all the while being shown that they are supported far more than they thought they were from their friends and family,” he added.

The bottom line: There were a handful of reasons Manser says he chose to start fundraising for Rally!. First, though the funding is national, the organization is local to his affiliate. Second, as the event page states, research on childhood cancer is lacking, leaving those affected with outdated, unsuitable treatments. And third, Rally! runs lean; Manser knows that only 7.5% of the money raised at 24 in 24 goes towards administrative costs.

• He added: “I proactively fight so that fewer parents and their children will have to go through that. I also give thanks that my son and I were spared. It’s just unimaginable to me how much they go through.”

Though by the end of 24 in 24 you’re, “stripped of everything physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually,” Manser is already prepping for next year’s event. He’s hoping to get more gyms, those looking to do “something special for their members and community,” and has the date set: August 26, 2022.

"It's Just a Fluke"

That’s exactly what Dena Garner, Ph.D. first thought when her research started to show the impact a mouthpiece could have on breathing during workouts.

Like all good scientists though, she then spent years trying to disprove her findings. But…she couldn’t.

Over years of sleep studies, CT scans, and hands-on research she found that using a mouthpiece to put your tongue and jaw in a better position increases endurance, recovery, and even strength.

Try the AIRWAAV™ Performance Mouthpiece today and see the difference a mouthpiece can make in your WOD.

😢Cassandra Moorad, the wife of CrossFit Games athlete Will Moorad, received the very sad news that she has breast cancer, at the age of 30.

• Will: “Two weeks ago my wife, the love of my life, was diagnosed with breast cancer at 30 years old. Invasive ductal carcinoma that’s Her2+ and ER+ to be exact. “
• “To Cass, Life gives us challenges to help us grow, to make us stronger. I’m more than confident you’ll beat this thing. You’re built for this. We’re built for this. Love ya babe.”
• Follow their journey and discover ways to help support them.

Economic relief for community gyms, like CrossFit Affiliates, were left out of the most recent 2022 budget markup despite a massive lobbying effort from the Community Gyms Coalition and the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. Both organizations represent more than 40,000 independent fitness across the U.S.

• “While we are disappointed that the Small Business Committee did not include targeted relief for the fitness industry in its section of reconciliation, we are heartened by statements from Chairwoman Velázquez and Rep. Phillips that the Small Business Committees in the House and the Senate are working on a targeted relief package for gyms and other hard-hit industries.”

FITAID ambassador applications are back open again for a limited time.

The Norwegian CrossFit Championship launched a new same-sex team of three competition: The Norwegian Winter Throwdown in February with nearly $2500 up for grabs.

Would You Get a FITAID Tattoo for $1,000 Dollars?

That was actually a serious challenge posed over the weekend on Instagram: “If you get a FITAID tattoo before this upcoming Monday I’ll pay you $1000 AND hook you up with a 12 pack a month for the next year.” And yes, they meant a real tattoo.

One big thing: This isn’t the first brand to ask their most loyal fans to go ’till death do us part’ but this is the first time we’ve seen it happen in CrossFit.

• Reebok Sweden in 2014, built an on-site tattoo studio at Sweden’s Tough Viking race, offering various prizes, gear and even a full sponsorship to those who got the logo tattooed on their body.
• More than 4,000 got tattoos of Anytime Fitness’ running man logo. Instead of it resulting from a specific marketing campaign, the trend grew organically.

Any takers: Six, actually, according to FITAID’s head of marketing, Emily Sommariva. She also challenged yours truly but due to the time change (being that I’m in Rome) I missed the deadline. Dang nabbit.

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Celebrating a PR, hosting a fundraiser, this, that, or otherwise. Send us a tip.

• 💍 Congratulations Jeff Adler and Caroline Lambray on the engagement.
• Casper Gammelmark, the 20th Fittest Man On Earth, does 20 unbroken hang power cleans at 225 pounds/102kg.
• 🤯🤯🤯 Not CrossFit, but wow. Croatian freediver Budimir Šobat broke his own Guinness World Record by holding his breath underwater for 24 minutes, 33 seconds.
• Games athlete Carol-Ann Reason-Thibault completed her first half Ironman race, finishing in 5 hours, 40 minutes. She held a sub 5-minute km/8-minute mile pace for the entire run portion of 13.1 miles.
• Congratulations to Matt Mages from Kato CrossFit in Mankato, MN on getting PRs in the bench press, deadlift and back squat while taking first overall in the Powerfit Competition.
• Congratulations to John Gleich on a lifetime snatch PR at 44 years old, hitting 197 pounds.

😢 We’re sending our love and prayers to the CrossFit South Brooklyn community as they mourn the loss of Melissa Arnold, who suffered a ruptured brain aneurysm during class last Wednesday evening.

❤️❤️❤️ CrossFit changing lives: Five years ago, Nevin Smith, who was born with Down Syndrome, told his mother that he wanted to do CrossFit. He hasn’t missed a training day since walking into CrossFit Challenge in Cedar Rapids, IA:

• Laurie Smith, his mother: “He is more determined, his cognitive skills have improved, his ability to listen…Following instructions, confidence has gotten so much better in all areas of his life. Obviously, he has found a community that welcomes him, includes him, accepts him where he is, and encourages him to keep growing. He belongs.”

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