Brief personal history and journey towards beginning your CrossFit journey:
I’ve never been a person who’s passionate about fitness or vegetables. I had tried joining gyms or doing at home workout dvd’s, but nothing really ever stuck; it was boring. My real wake up call was while I was working. I work with college students and share with them often how it’s important for them to take care of their bodies; we’ve only been given one and it’s all we got. But I realized that even though I told my students that they should be living healthy lifestyles, I was not. So my main motivation for finding something that works for me was to show my students that through hard work, discipline, motivation, and a positive attitude you can make changes in your life that honor your body and honor God.
What brought you to CrossFit Oshkosh?
I saw the New You CrossFit Challenge as a sponsored ad on Facebook. So I clicked the link and read about the program and the expectation of the participants and I thought, “Well…why not?” And that’s pretty much it. I had never really heard about CrossFit before I saw the Facebook post. The power of social media wins again.
Your first impression of CrossFit Oshkosh?
After my first day I thought, “This is it. This is how I die.” But I loved the classes and working out in more of a team atmosphere, so I kept going. Plus, my momma didn’t raise no quitter.
What has been your biggest hurdle since starting?
CrossFit has been more of a mental challenge for me than anything. There are some days where I just don’t want to go, but I’ve never regretted a class and probably never will.
What is your favorite aspect of CrossFit?
The people. I think people sign up for CrossFit for the physical challenge, but they stay for the community. Even though I’m new, it’s been awesome getting to know people and finding a new place to belong in the Oshkosh community.
What are your current goals in CrossFit?
To be shaped less like a potato and more like a french fry. But seriously, I just want to keep pushing my body in ways I didn’t know I could, continue to be an example of discipline and hard work to my students, and continue to gain more confidence in myself as a person, not just in how I look.
What is something we don’t know about you?
I’m a pastor which is pretty neat. My students called me Pastor Yo or P. Ray, which are both also neat. Otherwise my generic go to is that I have an extra vertebra in my spine; neat as well.
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