When Coach Chris and Coach Sebastian told me I was selected as Athlete of the Month I was surprised and honored. There are so many amazing athletes at our box and I wanted to represent you all well. I have been physically active and fit for most of my life playing sports, organized or backyard, I was always competing. I didn’t start working out until I got into H.S. and then it was only because I had to. I spent most of my athletic life competing at a high level getting by on natural ability, whether it was baseball, football or basketball I was able to out will my opponent and achieve success. I joined the military in my early 20’s, shortly after 9/11 and working out became a part of my job. Begrudgingly I would wake up at 4am and show up for organized P.T. (physical training) and do what needed to be done. In 2008 I separated from the military and “rebelled” against working out.
By June of 2014 I was a shell of myself. I was disappointed for letting myself get so out of shape. I looked in the mirror and physically didn’t recognize myself. Psychologically I had lost my competitive drive. My edge was gone. I had no energy and emotionally I was on a rollercoaster. I knew a change needed to be made so I signed up for the local gym and spent the next 3 weeks toiling away, alone, on the treadmill and lifting weights with no real plan or system in mind. I lost 3lbs, I was overwhelmed and defeated already. My wife, Jessica signed us up for CrossFit. 6 months ago, I went to my first On Ramp class and little did I know that my life was going to be changed forever.
Having only seen CrossFit on ESPN, I thought, “we’ll go and get this over with, it won’t last”… Day 1 I was HOOKED. I was challenged. I was motivated. I was part of a team. I was part of something bigger than myself. I became part of a community, a group of people that were committed to making themselves better. Evolve Fitness Clearwater was exactly what I needed.
I realized that all I had to do was show up, follow instruction and work hard. It became a part of me. I quickly became friends with the other athletes and I wanted to excel. My competitive juices were flowing. I began setting goals for myself, with my first major goal being to lose 30lbs before my 35th birthday on September 26th. Not only did I achieve my goal, I blew it away. I was almost 90 days in and was down 35lbs; I was 210lbs and stronger than I had ever been. The funny thing was, it started as a goal on the scale but it quickly became more than that. It became about the person inside. Every day I wanted to be better than the day before. My body was changing before my eyes, I had new motivation. I had more energy and a better outlook all thanks to my family, my team, my coaches and Evolve Fitness Clearwater.
Very rarely are people ready for change and I feel so blessed that I was ready when given the chance. I have now been doing CrossFit for just over 6 months and I have never felt better, I’ve lost 40 pounds and my body fat is down 15%. Psychologically, no challenge seems too great and emotionally I am more complete than I have felt in years. I have had many challenges since starting this journey and I don’t know if I would have been strong enough to overcome them without you, my EFC Family. CrossFit has given me back my competitive edge and changed me from the inside out. It started with a desire to change, a belief that it was possible and burning desire to make it happen and that is Evolve Fitness Clearwater to me.