Botox and Burpees
Botox and Burpees
S05E95 Challenges in CrossFit Journalism: Teaganne Finn Senior Writer for Morning Chalk Up
Special guest Senior Writer for Morning Chalk Up and CrossFit Trainer at CrossFit Union Square @crossfitunionsquare in NYC, Teaganne Finn @tfinn94 shares her journey from journalism to CrossFit coaching, illuminating the power of community in personal transformation and the evolving dynamics within CrossFit HQ.
The conversation delves into the state of CrossFit as a company, the challenges affiliates face, and the evolving fitness landscape. Join us as we navigate the dual landscapes of CrossFit journalism, from engaging community stories to profiling elite athletes. Teaganne provides a behind-the-scenes look at the editorial process at Morning Chalk Up and how their acquisition by Bar Bend has fueled growth.
Looking ahead, Teaganne offers insightful predictions on the future of CrossFit, discussing the impact of leadership changes, the return of Dave Castro, and the challenges facing affiliates.
• Teaganne's transition from journalism to CrossFit coverage and coaching
• Resilience found in CrossFit’s community
• Coverage of both grassroots and elite athletes
• The importance of transparency from CrossFit HQ
• Highlights from upcoming competitions like Wodapalooza
• Future predictions for CrossFit’s evolution
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Hi, welcome to another episode of Botox and Burpees. I'm your host, Samri, and I have a very special guest with us today, Tegan Finn and her standard poodle. What's his name again?
Speaker 2:It's Bruce.
Speaker 1:Bruce, bruce, yes, and Tegan is senior writer at Morning Chalk Up, which covers CrossFit and CrossFit News as an outlet, and I really thank you, tegan, today, for coming in or meeting with me today and talking a little bit about yourself, about CrossFit, about where do you think CrossFit's going, your personal involvement and your perspective as a journalist covering CrossFit over the past couple of years.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'm so happy to be here. Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1:So I know you've been working for Morning Chaka for a couple of years. Tell me your background first, like how did you start in terms of your career education? What got you into journalism and writing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I'm from upstate New York, the Finger Lakes region, so I'm used to some brutal cold weather. But I went to Hobart William Smith Colleges in Geneva, new York, for my undergrad. I studied like writing there and I did a lot with different, the local newspaper there, and so I kind of just fell into writing. To be honest, it just came naturally to me and I really enjoyed it. And so then I moved right into grad school. I went, I moved to DC and I went to American University for my master's in journalism. So I moved right to DC, kept going with school and then, after I got done with school, it was like a year program.
Speaker 2:So after that year I ended up getting a job at Bloomberg it was Bloomberg government at the time, but now it's Bloomberg Industry Group and I covered agriculture, I covered like all things like farm country, farm subsidies, like a whole range of topics, and so that was like my first real journalist job and it was a really a great job. And then I kind of fell into working with the breaking news team at Bloomberg LLP, the main Bloomberg that people know about. So I started working there and did a lot with breaking news a much different animal than a beat writing, a beat writer per se. So it was more fast, fast hitting news, very short stories, kind of a much different role in journalism. And then I got hired at NBC. And so I worked at NBC for about a year and then unfortunately, you know, ended on bad terms with that job. I was accused of plagiarism. It was a whole really, really rough situation for me, but I was an adult and I took accountability situation for me, but I was an adult and I took accountability and it was the life-changing moment for me to realize that, you know, I had made mistakes, I was lacking oversight in my job and I picked myself back up and honestly transitioned to CrossFit in that time, when I had lost my job and I got my L1.
Speaker 2:I started coaching. I was like trying to find something to fill the void of being unemployed, being fired, trying to figure out what to do with my life, and so I started coaching and it really got me through some really, really difficult times for myself, and so I started coaching and then I applied to Morning Chalk Up and so I, you know, whatever has happened to me is very public. People can Google me and look it up, so it's all out there and they gave me an opportunity to interview and to talk with them and talk with the editors and bring me on to their team, and so I was able to join as a freelance writer, like like I am now. But I started off slowly and took took a year to really build back some confidence as a writer and yeah, so it kind of brought me here now and so now I'm been at Morning Chalk Up for going on three years at this point.
Speaker 1:So that's a really interesting story. I think all of us can relate to times when we've been really down probably almost devastatingly down, I would imagine and being able to find something to keep going with. Was it finding CrossFit that really sort of helped you sort of not focus on all the crazy stuff that was going on, or was it something else at that time?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I had been doing CrossFit. I started doing CrossFit, in God, probably like 10 years from 10 years ago now, but I at the time was a member of my gym and it was a community that I was really in and I was still really into CrossFit. But I had never, never, thought about coaching. I lived a very traditional nine to five life, like that was. That was kind of it. And then, um, obviously with a lot of more downtime, I was like, okay, my, why don't I get an L1, maybe start some some sort of stream of income for myself? And so I've I started coaching and it was a real outlet for me and that I felt like I had purpose again. Obviously it was. It was a huge loss to my confidence in my life and so um to just be able to coach a couple classes a week?
Speaker 2:um was a slow you know a slow build-up to having confidence again where did you start coaching? And because you're now at crossfit uh union square in new york, in new york city yeah, I, I started in dc uh at CrossFit Balance, and that gym is sadly no longer, but CrossFit Balance was like the best community it was. It was like three different locations within within DC and I had bopped around to all of them, and so the one in Thomas Circle is where I started coaching and it was yeah, it was a wonderful time.
Speaker 1:And then you moved to New York at some point.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I moved to New York in 2022.
Speaker 1:Yeah, OK, and then I know CrossFit Union Square is huge. It's a very big place.
Speaker 2:I would assume. Yeah, it is a big community, it is a very, um, yeah, my path to. Well, we can talk about that. So I, um, uh, you know, moved to the city and I had some friends who started at CrossFit Union Square and I, um, was, went to a class and I was immediately humbled by how good their athletes were. And I was like this gym is so competitive, it is so like the energy is great and, you know, they're coaching, they have a very highly respected coaching staff, and so I, you know, had to kind of, you know, work my way up and interview and, and, you know, try to get myself in a position where I was like, hey, I, you know, I've only been coaching for a little while, but I feel like I could fit into this community and you know. So I ended up essentially applying and and got a position at union square and it's been a great, a great opportunity. That gym is really a phenomenal place.
Speaker 1:Talk about your coverage of CrossFit for Morning Chalk Up. You've done a wide variety of pieces that I've seen. Talk to me about that and what your experience has been wide breadth of the sport.
Speaker 2:So I would say when I started right, the usually I think where folks start in terms of a morning chalk up at least, or maybe in the sport itself, is the community, because you know you can relate to people and you can talk to people and affiliates are always open and open to speaking to folks. And so I started really with doing a ton of community pieces, so speaking to different boxes that were running certain fundraisers, or if a box or if an affiliate, you know, had a had a storm and then they needed some, some financial assistance, it was like we could write a story about them and talk about their past. And so that's kind of where I started. So that's kind of where I started. And then I ended up going more into the professional side of the sport and reporting more on professional athletes and talking to different athletes and profiling them and talking about their season and talking about kind of how they have evolved in the sport too.
Speaker 2:So it's kind of both. It's a community side and it's a professional side too. So it's it's kind of both it's a community side and it's a professional side. And then I think there's also a side of um talking about CrossFit, the company, right, and so, more so in the last year, I would say we've we've obviously talked a bit more about, or reported more about CrossFit as a company and, um, so those different buckets are kind of where I live in, but I do, I really love writing about the community. It is what makes up this sport, and so for me, those are kind of like the stories that I would rather write about.
Speaker 1:How do ideas come about? Do you pitch the stories? Do your editors tell you what to write?
Speaker 2:Is it a combination? Yeah, it's definitely a combination. So we meet three times a week and so we have pitch meetings and I, you know, I'm coming in with different ideas, different things, like people bring different stories, ideas, story ideas to me or I'm thinking of them on my own. Just because I'm a coach, I also am an athlete, so I can see the sport in all these different ways. So it's kind of a mix. I would say it's a bit of both.
Speaker 1:And I know that they changed ownership right, they went to Bar Bend. So what was that like?
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. So when I right, yeah. So before. Well, when I was hired, yeah, I was not owned by Bar Bend, and then, about two years, in Barben purchased Morning Chalk Up and, to be honest, not a ton has changed. Our editors have editorial ownership over what we do. Barben's a great company. They've kind of just made it really easy for us. I would say, if anything, it's given us more of a platform. Barben has, you know, a lot. Obviously there's weightlifting and then there's powerlifting, and so it's given us kind of a bigger audience to look at our work anyway. So I would say it's been a pretty, a pretty easy transition for me at least. I'm an editor, so I don't know, I'm just a writer.
Speaker 1:What are any of your pieces? Stand out as any particular favorites that you covered or did that you really liked?
Speaker 2:Yeah, let's see, I would say on the I'm a bucket them. So on the on the community side, when I had just started writing and I was like coming out of this hole from NBC and like am I a good writer, am I even capable of being a writer again? So I interviewed this gentleman whose son had had I believe he had committed suicide and he you know we were doing a memorial workout for them and it was just a touching moment to interview the father and to talk to him about losing his son and talking about how doing a memorial wad was like one of the main fixtures of his healing process, and so that just really humanized CrossFit for me and and how it is a sport that really helps people through some of the toughest times in their lives, and so that was a story that really stuck out to me. I believe he was a member of CrossFit Krypton, the father was, and so that story really stuck out to me.
Speaker 2:Um, as one in the community and then one in on the side of the sport, I would say is that I've had an opportunity to interview some of the best of the best. So I did a long interview with Cole Sager and Noel Olson and Bjork and Carl Goodmanson about how they've been in the sport and have gone to the games 10 years, and so that was a really really, for me, a really big moment to get to interview some of the best of the best and talk about how they see the sport evolving, how they've trained, how they've evolved in the sport as well. So that was a pretty cool one Cool one too.
Speaker 1:Do you have a favorite pro CrossFit athlete, male or female?
Speaker 2:that's a good question. Um, I really like like quiet work, hard working types so I would say I really I I admire like a bkg type. Yeah, um, I think that the folks who are just like grinding in the background are really are really cool, like alexis raptus or, um, I'm trying to think who else. But I mean, like, primarily, I'm a big Tia Toomey fan.
Speaker 2:I think she is incredibly talented and I admire someone who can just be a workhorse and like, no matter what, she's going to be out there and she's going to work, and so I kind of like that.
Speaker 1:I love that. So tell me about your assessment of CrossFit as a company. You've seen them for the past couple years. How are they doing? What would your assessment be in terms of what they've done over the past couple of years as a, as a HQ not the affiliates, obviously, but HQ?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So you know, I started I believe I started writing in 2022. And so I went to the games in 2023. And so I kind of got to see I feel like the last year in Madison as a year before everything that obviously happened in 2024, but I think it before then we were kind of and and maybe folks feel differently, but I feel like we were in a really good spot. Like Dave Castro was in a manager of sport position, we kind of were getting our flow back, I feel like in terms of the elite, the community, all these different pieces. And so I feel like at that point in 2023, it was like okay, we're coming back, like Dave's here, he had just come back and like started programming for the games again and people were kind of like okay, this is the norm, this is where we're at.
Speaker 2:And then 2024 happened, right, and so everything that happened with Lazar Dukic was just a horrible. Everything that happened with Lazar Dukic was just a horrible, horrible, horrible event. But I think the handling of that matter was really not done in the right way for the community. It's not what they needed, it's not what they wanted, and so I I feel as though they, if they want to. If Don Fall or Dave Castro or some of these folks at the top want to stay in these positions, I feel like they need to come out and be more transparent.
Speaker 2:Right Like we're seeing this sport start to splinter. I think, and I think we're seeing the, the company start to splinter because people are losing trust and losing interest in, you know, keeping with the norm when it's not the norm anymore, like something really bad happened, and so I think that we need to see some sort of communication from them for folks to be able to air quote move on right, no one's going to move on from what happened, but try to get past what happened and and come back to crossfit um, how has your affiliate done over these past couple years in terms of growth, success, membership increase or decrease, and does that relate at all to CrossFit HQ?
Speaker 2:That's a good question. Yeah, no, CrossFit Union Square has gone through the trials and tribulations of being an affiliate in Manhattan, right? I mean, rent is incredibly expensive, it is hard to maintain buildings. So we've moved quite a bit since I've been there right, I've only been a coach there, for we're going on three years now, and so we've had to move within that time frame.
Speaker 2:But I believe that, you know, when we joined, or when I joined, the membership was very high and I believe it is still high and it's still. You know, when I joined, we had to have like a wait list for full-time memberships. That's how popular we are. So I don't think it was really shifting, but I do think the interest in doing things like the open or things that involve CrossFit as a company have shifted, if that makes sense. So I think that you know we at CrossFit Union Square are trying to, you know, give people an opportunity to do the open if they'd like to.
Speaker 2:But I feel like there's also an opportunity for our athletes to want to do something else. Like, if they want to focus on local competitions, there's an opportunity for that. If they want to do high rock, there's an opportunity for them to go and focus on high rocks training. So I think as an affiliate we're doing fine and I think that membership wise we're doing fine and I think that membership-wise we are a popular gym. But yeah, I think Crosby Union Square kind of keeps themselves separate from CrossFit as a company.
Speaker 1:You know, I was talking to Aaron Hind, who's the CEO of FitAid, and he literally said there are some affiliates who are affiliated but not actually putting CrossFit on their name. So they're just calling themselves, you know so-and-so strength and conditioning, and they're not putting CrossFit because they don't feel like CrossFit necessarily adds value to who they are as a gym. Do you feel that way, At least for your affiliate?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that affiliate owners I've talked to a lot of affiliate owners and I think that they make up the bread and butter of their business.
Speaker 2:I do not think that adding CrossFit to the end of the name really matters that much, other than the fact that if you're Googling and you want a CrossFit gym, you're going to find CrossFit Union Square because it has CrossFit in the name. But I don't think you know if CrossFit Union Square dropped CrossFit that it really would change that much. It's the coaching that makes up that gym. It is the caliber of athletes that make up that gym. So I think that you know it's a good question, but I personally I feel as though it doesn't hold that much stake to keep CrossFit in the name, especially now that it to some, has a bad association adding CrossFit to the name. And I also feel like CrossFit has an exceedingly high, or perceived exceedingly high, barrier to entry. So when you slap CrossFit onto something immediately some folks are like, oh, I can't do that, right, you get that. All the time People are like I can't do what this girl's doing and so making it, you know something X, strength and conditioning. To me it could also be a benefit.
Speaker 1:Wow. So, it's a tough call. How about the programming? What programming do you guys follow? Do you do your own? Do you roll your own programming? Do you follow CAP or something else?
Speaker 2:Yeah, no, we follow. Jay Adams is our head coach and he's our programmer. Yeah, follow um. Jay adams is our head coach and he's our programmer. Yeah, so he, um is a former games athlete and he also is um works for the, the training plan. It's like a european-based um training program. I think I believe bkg follows it and at one point in time annie thoris daughter did follow it, or um was involved in it. So he is our programmer, his um. And then personally I follow, uh, jadam's programming too. So um, he's our, he's our programmer.
Speaker 2:But it's it's folks who come in and we get a ton of drop-ins. We're in the middle of manhattan right, come in and they love our programming. Right, we fill an hour like you would never see. Right, it's like a lifting, a hard lifting segment into a really tough conditioning piece. So so we balance it out. We get folks. Uh, if you're just following class, you're squatting once a week, you're lift, doing an olympic lift at least a week, and then you're doing some sort of strength training on Friday followed by a workout. So we also Tuesdays and Thursdays are like the longer conditioning pieces. So it's a little bit of both.
Speaker 1:Now, I know you're competing in Waterpalooza in a week or two, next week, right Next week? Yeah, you're part of the teams, right? And what division are you in competing in?
Speaker 2:I am, yeah, no, I'm on a team called Team Union Stronger A parenthesis around ER because we're that creative. So we have a team union strong, union, stronger. And then I believe we also have a team union strongest.
Speaker 2:So, um, we have, uh, six teams going to wadapalooza, which is really exciting for for our affiliate, but I'm on an rx women's team okay so, uh, myself, alissa brown and taylor short are my teammates and we, yeah, no, we last year did it and we were intermediate and then this year we actually made made the rx division, which is exciting because, you know, we all have, uh, full-time jobs and we have crazy lives, and so it's, it's a real honor to be able to, to compete and be, um, you know, representing our gym and then also just it's nice to obviously, you know, see improvement as an athlete, uh, because it's sometimes really incremental and really slow, but then when you you do a comp or do a qualifier and you see where you end up, it's hopefully sometimes satisfying, sometimes disappointing.
Speaker 1:But this time it came out yeah. What does Waterpalooza do right? Like you obviously had gone last year. You've had experience with it, you're going back. What is it that they do that maybe CrossFit could take away from in terms of how they execute their, their festival or their competition?
Speaker 2:Yeah, that's a good question. You know, I've I've interviewed Dylan Malitzky, one of the organizers of of Wadapalooza, from the start and up until now, and he's a really, a really great guy guy and he also has a good pulse on what you know is happening in the sport and I think what they get right is that they do not take themselves too seriously. Yet, at the same time, are a very serious and one of the most, I would say, coveted competitions of the year for community members and then also for elites like who doesn't want to be in Miami and in January, right? So I think it's a lot like a lot of things. I think their location is great, I think that their timing is great for folks who, me included, want to get out of the cold, and so I think that they get it right. In terms of also making it a whole three-day competition. I like that they did it. They moved it where individual elite individuals compete the first two days and then they can also be on a team. So it kind of gives you, as a spectator, an opportunity to see elites for a total of four days, which is like really fun, and it's also there for fun, so it's just made it a really exciting, fun and like easy time I don't know how to explain it like it's just an easy competition to kind of get to.
Speaker 2:For people, miami's not that um tough of a trip and so I think you know it's. It's a whole mix, but Dylan has gotten. Whatever formula he and his team use, they've gotten it right. They do a great job with programming and I think folks love to be on teams right. Teams are really fun and so I think that they also do a good job of programming like the team workouts and then keeping it separate from the elites and kind of just working the whole day. I feel like that's also the key part of Bada. Palooza is like okay, how are we going to segment the day where people get to compete and then they also get to stick around and watch elites, and so they just do a great job of everything, and the vendor village is always really fun and talking to brands, and so it's just a really exciting time for them.
Speaker 1:I see the workouts. Out of these workouts, which one are you most excited about? Which one are you most scared of? There's race to the top 3-3-3-4, warms up, hands down overhead. Squad block party the trio triplet.
Speaker 2:Okay, good question. I would say we just came back from Beacon, new York, because Jay lives and coaches up in in beacon and they had ropes and unfortunately at crossfit union square square we do not have tall enough ceilings so we had to go and do rope climbs. So I would say I'm excited, I like rope climbs. Um, I came from a gym in dc that had high ceilings so I like rope climb, that I guess you you know the names better than me whatever the one with the rope climb and the box jump over.
Speaker 1:Yes, heavy it says race to the top, it's a race. Rope climbs, box jump overs 30 inches, I guess for you guys. And then yeah. And then cleans at 165.
Speaker 2:I know, yeah, but I yeah, though for me those are like really doable movements. So for I, we tried it yesterday and I had a lot of fun, so I'm excited for that workout. And then the one I'm least excited about is probably probably three, three, three, four. Ok, that the buy in is just long enough to jack your heart rate. And then you have to go right into these. Um, heavy for me, heavy dumbbell movements a 50 pound dumbbell is not like the easiest thing to move, and so for me that is gonna be one where I'm just like holding on for dear life and trying not to let go. Um, this looks brutal it's three.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's so. It's three, three, three, four, so it's four rounds and then three, three, three minutes for the first three and then four minutes for the last one, and each round buy-in at the same time I guess everyone does three. Uh v lights, heavy dubs. That's a heavy, like a weighted jump rope, I, I assume.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so there, and they'll probably correct me, but I believe the jump rope itself, I believe the handles are the heavy part which is interesting.
Speaker 1:And then it's a so we'll see yeah, and then it's a. So you haven't tried it yet. You're going to go and see what-.
Speaker 2:I haven't. I've used a heavy jump rope like a Zeus rope before, but the rope itself is heavy and the handles aren't that heavy. So I don't I, I'm all. I will see. We'll see what happens.
Speaker 1:And then it's a four for the women 400 meter assault row and then a 400 meter assault run. So one of you guys is doing one of those each right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, so we've worked it out. Yeah, so, essentially, where you, you could be strategic, um, um. Again, it might change on competition day, but if you are a strong runner, I'm a bet. I'm a pretty strong runner, I'm doing majority of those rounds running right right. So it's kind of like a?
Speaker 1:a strategic workout and then in the remaining time of each round it's 50 synchro dumbbell thrusters, 35 dumbbell snatches, 20 synchro devil press plus thruster with, for the women, 50 pounds. That's insane. Wait, how many? Is it a single dumbbell thruster? Is it a double dumbbell thrust?
Speaker 2:it's a single okay, and only two people working out at a time, so you do get rest okay. But it's like not enough. I've tried it a couple, we've tried it twice now and it does not get any better, but it's definitely fun.
Speaker 1:How far can you get through that 50-35-20?
Speaker 2:I think when we tested it last week we got 13 doubles press thruster combos, 13 doubles press thruster combos. So it's definitely teams will finish that workout, but it's tough, it is tough. You got to move.
Speaker 1:Yeah, all right, I can't wait to watch that. That's crazy.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that'll be a fun one to watch, yeah.
Speaker 1:All right. So talk to me a little bit about I mean good luck. But all right, talk to me a little bit about the future of CrossFit itself. So how do you think, what is your prediction for CrossFit HQ? What's going to happen in your mind's eye, or what possible scenarios do you envision could happen for CrossFit HQ in the future, based on what you've seen?
Speaker 2:yeah, I mean, I think to to take a step back and to look at what happened in 2024. I mean, everything that happened around the games was a real turning point for the company. I think that they clearly had to go into crisis mode, right, and figure out what to do and what to say. And then this year, I feel you know, we just saw the rule book for the, the season this year we just saw that the the entire season is is different from last year. There is no semi-final, there's only or I'm sorry, there is no quarterfinals, it's just the open to semi-finals, and so I think that for them, this year is a real game of just picking up the pieces and trying to just put it back together again in a sense. You know, we've also seen that they announced that the games is going to Albany, new York, a much different change than years before, and it's also, if I'm not wrong, it's only three days, so it's also a shortened competition weekend, and so I feel as though they're in a point of rebuilding. But you know, this is also just a personal opinion. I think to rebuild and to keep the same leadership, you have to be open with your community, and I think that there's a lack of openness community, and I think that there's a lack of openness. It's, you know, dave Castro went right to doing his week's week in review, don Fall is back to going around to seminars and, you know, talking to affiliates and it's like this elephant in the room of of what happened last year and I think that if there was an ounce of accountability and, you know, an ounce of just like taking ownership for, for what happened, or just an acknowledgement that people would Might Take that and, you know, accept it in some sense and maybe move forward and be more excited about the open. And so I think you know, for them as a company, it's going to be a transitional year.
Speaker 2:Obviously, there are folks and affiliates out there who are just going to always support the open and because their members like to have something to work towards. So I do understand that they will likely continue and continue on. But I think you know, a lot of affiliates are also just maybe fed up with the way things have been and putting less emphasis on the Open this year. So I think that they have to really square with themselves what to do and really listen to their community and, like I said, be a bit more transparent in the long run.
Speaker 2:But I guess it'll be an interesting year to see open signups. I know they are down from last year, just based off of some numbers that we've been we're talking about in our meeting, and so obviously that could change. But I think that just this, the world of fitness, is changing too. Um, we've seen high rocks uh take off in the last couple of years and and a lot of CrossFitters have turned to high rocks and so some are stepping away from competitive CrossFit and turning to a more, you know, conditioning heavy they're sort of engaging in and the separate organization structure how do you think that's going to play out?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I think the creation of the PFAA is a good thing for athletes. I think that they've always needed, you know, some sort of organization to protect them and have, you know, some some folks backing them up in a situation such as what happened in twenty twenty four. But I think that they, you know, will will run parallel to something like the World Fitness Project, the new, the new kind of competition coming from Will Morad and his team there. So I think they'll run parallel. I think that clearly more eyes will be on the PFAA this year, especially with, like, brent Fikowski at the helm. I think he is a very, I would say, knowledgeable, smart People look up to him. So I think that he being at the helm of that and Bruce is coming around him being at the helm of that is important and I do think that they there will be a heavy emphasis on them throughout the competition season, for sure.
Speaker 1:How do you think CrossFit? What do you think CrossFit needs to do in order to compete?
Speaker 1:I mean, we've talked about the shortcomings and issues that they've had in terms of accountability, orange theories or or so many of the other type of boutique fitness um uh places out there, even stuff like Pilates I know a lot of women are uh starting to do a lot of core fire and these other um kind of boutique classes. Is there anything advice that you would give CrossFit in terms of how to be a more marketable? Or you've already talked about that barrier to entry in terms of athletes feeling like this is too difficult or not for them. We all started in CrossFit and none of us were like that awesome of athletes I think most of us when we started. So how is it that we can sort of overcome that and grow the base of athletes or people interested in doing CrossFit?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think that that is an always evolving question, especially I see it a lot in Manhattan. There's you walk down the street, you see an F-45, an Orange Theory, like you said, a Pilates studio, a yoga studio, and you're like, how are these places? You know, how are you attracting certain members and how are you keep retaining these members? And I think for CrossFit and I said this already with the barrier of entry is making an affiliate separate from CrossFit like making sure that folks understand that a CrossFit affiliate is absolutely nothing like how an elite athlete trains. Elite athletes today it is a full-time job. They are doing very high skills, they are training two to three times a day, and so for folks who are just, you know, scrolling doom, scrolling the internet and seeing people lifting you know a girl lifting 200 pounds over their head you know getting away from that and making sure that folks know that at a community level right and and use also started at a CrossFit gym that it is a very doable thing and it is a very like modifiable workout to do at all times, and so I think in it. I think it also varies from affiliate to affiliate, um, but in terms of marketing themselves as a place that is welcoming and a place that isn't, you know, so highly coveted, right, it's a place that everyone can come and it doesn't matter if you're really great or really bad, and I think that also is foundational to CrossFit, right, when you know, I had those horrible times back in DC when I lost my job.
Speaker 2:Like it didn't matter that I lost my job, I was there working out next to them. They didn't care, right, you're all the same in the middle of a Metcon, and so getting back to that idea, I think, would be a good thing for affiliates and also realizing that CrossFit is such, you know, it's such a lifestyle, for obviously, obviously, I'm someone who drinks the kool-aid, so I know that. But I also think that like it is such a lifestyle choice to go to the gym and hurt, like that right, like it is, it is just such a different thing than anything any other sport, and I've recently been to a couple Pilates classes, which, which are very, very hard, but a much different experience, right. So for me, it's getting back to community, it's getting back to the idea that it is an inclusive sport and getting back to just the basics and the fundamentals.
Speaker 1:What's your favorite workout or hero WOD that you like to do?
Speaker 2:Oh, that's a good question. People will know this, but but dt is my favorite workout um. I love barbell cycling and I like um.
Speaker 1:I like a fast workout and to me that is a fast like mean workout so I, that's my, that is my favorite I wish I could hang on to the bar longer. Yeah, yeah, that's the problem. Yeah, I always, I always end up dropping, not necessarily because of the weight, but because I just can't hang. I just I got to work on my grip.
Speaker 2:I think on on DT, so uh but yeah, that grip, it's a, it's a tough one, it's a tough workout yeah.
Speaker 1:I love that one too. Well so.
Speaker 2:And how do they? Where do they read your work? What social media handles do you have? How can we keep you know, stay abreast of your accomplishments? Yeah, yeah, so we all our work is published under barbendcom, and then you can go within barbendcom. On the homepage there's a CrossFit, you know tag and so you can press that and that's where all our work is. You could also subscribe to our newsletter and get it to your inbox every day. It is easy to subscribe. I think there are two levels of membership. One is pretty inexpensive and then another is an RX version, which is a bit more expensive, but it gives you some premium content. So for interviewing different coaches or interviewing folks about analysis or trying to get some topic that's a little deeper, it gives you access to that content. And then I'm really just on Instagram. My handle is tfin94. Awesome, and so I post a lot of fitness, a lot of dogs, and I'm posting a lot about our stories and different interviews I'm working on with different writers on our team.
Speaker 2:So, yeah, just there.
Speaker 1:That's awesome. Good luck at Waterpalooza. I know you guys are going to crush it, but I'll be checking out how you guys do. And thank you again, tegan, for taking the time to talk. I think what you said is super illuminating, super illuminating. It's nice to see someone who has the, who, drinks the Kool-Aid, is all in, not just as an athlete, as a coach, but also has a great perspective as a writer. I've, I've, I've read so many of your pieces and I know you probably don't remember I did see you briefly at 23.2 when you covered it. That was one of the open workouts over at my gym, crossfit Bison in Midland Park.
Speaker 2:Oh Bison, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we gave you a hard time coming in just because we were overwhelmed. But then, like, because we weren't letting anyone in, and then I remember, like or like, all right, she's a journalist, so we, we let you in because we there are so many people just wanted to come in to watch Vellner and Krennikov throw down on that workout.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I mean talk about a community. Bison is a huge community. That was a really fun event. Yeah, no, well, thanks for letting me in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, well, we needed the publicity. I mean, you're the one who was right, we needed it yeah. So yeah, we needed. But thank you again, tegan, and good luck at Waterpalooza.
Speaker 2:Oh, thanks so much for having me. Yeah, no, I'm excited.