AOTM: “A Family Rooted in Fitness” with Charlie Baeza

From the Coaches: “DJ Charlie B! Charlie and his family have been at the center of the EFC community for a long time now. Charlie is an outstanding athlete and always a joy to have in class. He makes it a point to be as friendly and helpful as possible to his fellow athletes. You can find the entire Baeza family at any EFC gathering or competition. Charlie and his wife, Irma, have both seen the podium in recent competitions, and his son Johnny will be soon to follow. The youngest son, Xavier, is a CrossFit Kid as well. Basically, this family is FIT. Not only are they great athletes, but they are great people as well. Charlie is our Athlete of the Month – long overdue – because of his competitiveness and dedication as an athlete, but also because of his attitude and friendly spirit. On top of those great characteristics, he is also known to drop some dope beats as a DJ.”

Charlie Baeza

First of all I don’t like writing or talking about myself….so I won’t. I’d rather write about my accomplishments through the great people in my life.

I started CrossFit because of our good friends, Coach Luis and AnMarie Benitez. They have always inspired my wife and me to improve physically. Even though I have always been active in sports, regular exercise was becoming more and more difficult because of our busy schedules. My lovely wife Irma, purchased the Groupon, pushed me to join for Manta Ray fitness, and the rest is history.

Today, my entire family is a EFC CrossFit member and fitness is now part of our regular intense schedule. My oldest son Johnny has improved tremendously and in a short period of time he will surpass me in every fitness aspect…. I won’t be mad, but maybe I will ground him for a few months. My youngest son Xavier is a Crossfit kids athlete and is still learning the ropes, but he has got more energy than both his parents combined.

This would not be complete unless I mentioned my sincere opinion about our Box. I travel frequently for work and have visited various boxes during my travels. Even though every Box provides positive benefits to their Athletes, EFC has provided a very unique Athlete/Family/Friendship atmosphere that has touched our core. That’s the reason we are #200 Strong!

I could not finish without stating how much respect and admiration I have for every single one of our coaches: Chris, Steph, Sebastian, Sammie, Luis, AnMarie, Nick, Nick, Kyle, Chad, Cliff (yeah you). I am stubborn and impatient and the work that I have accomplished has been only because of all the good traits you have as coaches.

I have also had the pleasure in competing alongside some extraordinary athletes…either in a competition or day-to-day workouts. If I have not had the pleasure of working alongside with you I hope to do so in the future.​