Tyler McBride
I started doing CrossFit in April of 2007. Before CrossFit my lifestyle was about looking fit, not being fit. From the minute I set eyes on the main site, that all changed. Coming from a wrestling background, I loved pushing my body to the limit, but I never fully understood the correlation between exercise and intensity, which was one of the reasons I was attracted to the Crossfit workouts. The similarity between the awful yet amazing feeling of a wrestling match and a CrossFit workout of the day (WOD) exceeded my expectations.
After persuading my best friend and current business partner, Logan, to “drink the juice” (which was no easy task) both of us knew this was the path we were meant to take. Having followed the CrossFit methodology for about a year we flew out to California to obtain our Level 1 certs. We were so hooked that two months later we went back for our second Level 1 certification, followed by a trip to Canada to receive our Olympic Lifting certifications.
I first started coaching at a typical big-box fitness franchise that offered CrossFit classes. A little over a year later I branched out and accepted a coaching position with CrossFit “The Rock.” Another year went by and soon Logan and I were talking seriously about the big dream of opening our own box. The extraordinary feeling of changing people’s lives had to be something I did more than a few hours a week.
It’s a special feeling to watch a person first speak about what they cannot do and then watch them transform into someone who thrives on exceeding their limits and achieving their goals. That look you get from someone when they rip through their first pull up, lose that extra weight they’ve been fighting with for years, or when they come in and tell me they didn’t need to call anyone to help move their sofa, that’s just the best!
Everyday my clients remind me why I love what I do. They change my life as much as I change theirs.
Email: tyler(at)crossfit516.com
Logan Schecter
I was introduced to CrossFit in early December 2007. My current business partner Tyler turned me on to it. At the time, I was a traditional gymgoer doing the typical globo gym type stuff. My previous regimen consisted of bicep curls, tricep extensions, chest flys, shoulder raises etc. Looking back at my pre-CrossFit routine, it was more of an exercise in vanity than anything else.
Once I started doing CrossFit, I quickly got stronger. And, without even trying, I got bigger and more muscular in all of the areas that I was obsessively trying to isolate at the globo gym. CrossFit gave me the tools to do things I never thought I would be capable of doing. Being the fittest I have ever been, I felt like I could do anything. And I did.
I soon realized that I wanted to share my experience with CrossFit with other people. So Tyler and I went to our first CrossFit Level 1 certification in San Diego, California. Upon certification we had the opportunity to intern under our mentor and learn how to effectively run a class/group and coach the Crossfit movements. We were based out of a small gym and CrossFit was a small program inside of it. It wasn’t long before I wanted to grow this program and make it more than just a once a day class in a typical gym. I had built up a good base of clients and was ready to open a grass roots, wholly CrossFit-dedicated gym… and I knew just the trainer that I wanted to work alongside.
Tyler and I both shared the same dream, to run a small gym built on a spirit of camaraderie, respect, and fearlessness.
Since opening up our own box, it’s been amazing to see the community grow. For me, there is no greater feeling than helping someone accomplish a life goal, whether it is one they have struggled with for years, or better yet, one they never dreamed was within the realm of possibility. Thoughtful Crossfit programming inevitably sets up a series of personal milestones, and I’m lucky to have the honor of guiding our members as they surpass their own expectations every day.
Email: logan(at)crossfit516.com
