S06E118 BISON 15 - CrossFit as a Lifeline When Facing Adversity - Karenn Marin

We talk with guest Karenn Marin @karenn.mrn about how CrossFit becomes her anchor through a brutal stretch of life changes, from long-standing body image pain to a sudden family crisis and a fresh start in a new city. 

The constant in her life is training, mentorship, and community, which helped her rebuild confidence, boundaries, and mental health one workout at a time. 

• growing up non-athletic, extremely skinny, and self-conscious about body image 
• a Peru hiking trip and the pandemic creating a wake-up call to build real fitness 
• learning consistency the hard way, including injuries from training without coaching 
• starting CrossFit to learn form, progress safely, and feel capable 
• navigating divorce and a house fire, using the gym as a daily coping tool 
• experiencing real support from new gym communities during crisis 
• recognizing how toxic relationship dynamics can derail training and self-trust 
• returning to CrossFit Bison, making friends, and unlocking rapid improvement 

#crossfitcoach #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #gymowner #HealthyLiving #GymLife #CrossFit #FitnessJourney #BotoxAndBurpees #podcast @botoxandburpeespodcast @crossfitbison

Transcript

Welcome And Quick 15 Setup

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Hello, welcome to another episode of Botox and Burpees. I have with me Karen Marin. This is our second episode of our Bison Quick 15. And today I have my very sec special second guest. She's uh rookie of the year at CrossFit Bison. Uh fantastic athlete. And then just as soon as she won the award, she ups and leaves and goes to Denver, Colorado, where she already is killing it at her new gym. What's a give me a shout-out for your new gym out there at Denver? What is it?

SPEAKER_00 0:36

CrossFit Verb. Um, it's a rhyme now, it's a huge gym. Uh they already invited me to like a baseball game last weekend. So I'm in the right crowd.

SPEAKER_01 0:47

That's pretty awesome. And so um we'll so we're gonna talk a quick 15. It's gonna be about a topic, and I'm just gonna let Karen uh go ahead and introduce it and uh and get started. Welcome, Karen. Thank you so much for doing this.

SPEAKER_00 1:02

Thank you so much, Dr. Sam Ring. I appreciate it. Uh I appreciate the platform. So I thought I would uh talk about like my introduction to CrossFit because it's been a very, very short CrossFit uh lifespan for me. Um and I like to say that it's very symbiotic with um with the rest of my life. The way I operate as an athlete affects like all other aspects of um like the way I operate as a human. Um and it's kind of like uh it sets the tone for the day for me and it sets the tone for my mental health. Um, so I'd like to start with.

Body Image And Not Being Athletic

SPEAKER_01 1:45

So, what's your start story? Yeah, give me your start story. So, how did that all come about for you?

SPEAKER_00 1:49

So, I'd like to start by saying that I was never an athlete growing up. I was extremely skinny when I was uh young. I was I looked malnourished half the time. I just had a very fast metabolism as a teenager, and my parents never encouraged me to do sports. Um, and they always thought like girls don't do sports, girls actually play instruments, girls do arts, uh, girls don't get hurt. Uh so um I definitely would raise my kids differently if I had the opportunity, but um they were just not encouraging about sports. And so I spent like the first 25 years of my life being an extremely athletic human being, um, being extremely skinny and being very self-conscious about my body also. Um I remember in high school, I was so skinny that I was uh shy about wearing shorts in the summer in the hot weather. Um, and I remember my homeschool my senior year, my homeroom teacher was kind of like picking, would pick on different students. And one day I I finally had the confidence to wear a pair of shorts to school, and they were a pair of red shorts, and I felt so confident walking into my homeroom, and then he drew a chicken on the board with a pair of red shorts on, making fun of my chicken legs.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_00 3:16

And I ran out of the room crying because I was so upset. But that really uh I feel like that really sums up, you know, how how skinny I was and how I had a hard time uh dealing with that. Um, and so I I kind of took for granted like fitness because I felt like, well, I'm already skinny. Like, what else is there do I need to do? Um, I don't think I even actually like picked up a weight until like my late 20s.

SPEAKER_01 3:45

Um then what drove you to CrossFit itself? So you were thin. Um girls were supposed to be skinny, they weren't supposed to be like, you know, functional or strong or any of these things that we talk now, especially with with the younger generation. And and so you got through two decades and a half, and people actually made fun of you for being skinny, which is very traumatizing when you're when you're developing. And then something changed for you. What was that?

SPEAKER_00 4:13

Yes, and so in

Peru, Pandemic, And Building Consistency

SPEAKER_00 4:15

so actually March of 2020, I was a very different person. Um I was married at the time, I was living in Georgia, and uh I had just gone to Peru for a hiking trip. And I had gone to Peru, and the hiking trip was the worst experience because it was not only was it a very hard trip, but also like it was physically taxing, and I felt like I wasn't keeping up with the rest of the group. And um, this is a story for another time, but we ended up actually being trapped in Peru because the pandemic had just started, and there was obviously like a national quarantine, and we had to take repatronization flights back to the United States. That's a whole different story. But anyway, when we finally got back to the United States, I remember thinking, and I was like 25, 26 at the time, I remember thinking, like, this cannot be like the peak performance of my body. Like, there's gotta be something more to this. This can't be like just the best I could do. And luckily the pandemic had just started. Uh, so there wasn't anything to do except exercise. And being the fact that I was living in Georgia, in the south, everything was open, um, especially the gyms. Um, so I know that in the Northeast, all the gyms were closed, but I had the benefit of having the gym open. So I developed just the habit of working out, um, even if that meant like being on the treadmill for 30 minutes. I had no idea what I was doing, but um, I think it built like the habit and the consistency of wanting to pursue just being better at something. Um, and that that kind of motivated me. So that was until from like March until like August of 2020, and then we moved back to New Jersey from Georgia, and then the habit had kind of like been established. Um, so I kept going to the gym. Um, and again, I had no idea what I was doing. I ended up getting hurt very frequently.

SPEAKER_01 6:16

I was you would just do this by yourself?

SPEAKER_00 6:18

Yeah. I would just come up with my own programming. I lost a lot of weight during that time, like a lot of fat, but I was also like back to just being very skinny. I didn't really know what I was doing. I had probably terrible form. And then in January of 2021, one of my best friends who is into CrossFit already recommended me to try CrossFit. She was like, at the very least, it'll teach you very better form. Um and I remember I felt extremely intimidated to start. I felt like I was nowhere near the athletes that I saw at the gym that I started. This was a gym in Metutcheon. Um, called, at the time it was called All-Star Athletics. I think they rebranded to a CrossFit gym since then. But I remember my only goal when I started was I want to graduate from the training bar. I want to graduate from the training bar for clean and jerks. I want to graduate from the training bar for like push presses, for snatches. That was my only goal.

SPEAKER_01 7:16

So I always So you had already picked up some Olympic lifting already when you were when you were starting all of this, which I think most people who had not started at CrossFit had not done. So that's that's pretty amazing that you were actually sort of barbell aware at that at that point.

SPEAKER_00 7:31

More or less, yeah. But um, but definitely CrossFit like taught me better form and how to not hurt myself during lifts. Um, so that was a good place to start. And so that wasn't until I was I think I was 27 at the time when I first started CrossFit.

SPEAKER_01 7:48

And which was your first CrossFit gym, actual CrossFit gym you went to?

SPEAKER_00 7:52

All-star athletics.

SPEAKER_01 7:55

Oh that was and then after that, because I I want to connect you because I know you came over with Bobby from his previous gym, Bobby Wallum, one of our coaches. So so connect me up with that.

SPEAKER_00 8:06

This is part of the story.

SPEAKER_01 8:10

Okay, go for it.

SPEAKER_00 8:11

So I started at this gym in January of 2021, and in hindsight, I think the universe works in mysterious ways, right? I think somehow the universe needed, uh knew that I needed like a community right away, or like a foundation to start. Um, so I was at this gym from January 2021 to July of 2021. And at this time, um, my husband and I had been married for two years and the marriage wasn't working, and we had decided to get a divorce, and so the house that we were living in uh had only been purchased

Divorce, House Fire, And Training To Cope

SPEAKER_00 8:55

like in December of 2020, so it was only six months old under our ownership. Um we had decided to get we had decided to get a divorce, and so I kind of went away for a couple days. This is July 28th and of 2021. And while I was away, I was using the car because we shared a car. Um and I was going to work on a Tuesday morning, and I get a call that uh ex-husband was in a severe accident at the house. And so we had just decided to get a divorce, and so immediately I thought this guy must have like self-injured himself or something. Um, and so I was I remember like being in the car, about to go to work. I hadn't even gotten up the parking spot yet, and they said, um, no, it's actually an accident happened to the house, and there's been severe fire damage, and we're and he has severe burns, and we're gonna take him to the hospital in a helicopter. And at that point, I was like, I don't really understand what's happening, but um tell me what hospital you're going to and I'll meet you there. And so I was like in my business attire because I was about to go to the office, and I rushed to the hospital, and I actually got there before they did. So they put me in the room that they were gonna wheel him into. And then they did wheel him into the room, and he had like third-degree burns on his hands and his arms. His like skin was falling off of his hands and his arms. He was intubated at the time uh because of the smoke damage to like his lungs and his throat. Um so like the adrenaline was kind of like wearing off while the sedation was kind of coming on. So his body was reacting to it, and it was just a very gruesome, aggressive scene for a Tuesday morning as a 27-year-old. And I want to keep like emphasizing this because I look back and I I keep thinking like I was so young, and I don't know how like I had the the mental or emotional capacity to deal with it, but there's only like one way through, right? Um, so that happened in July of 20, that July of 2021. Um, and then immediately uh after he was in the emergency room, they sent him over to St. Barnabas in uh Livingston, New Jersey. And this was just like a huge catastrophic day. Like they were telling me that the house was completely uninhabitable, that we had two dogs at the time, that the dogs ran away, and uh they were trying to be found by the animal shelter people. It was just like mayhem going on, and I had no idea what to do other than to like, okay, I need to call the house insurance to start the claim. I need to call um the work, I need to call my job to tell them I'm not coming in. I need to call his job because he was uh doing an actual, he was doing an internship with my company at the time. So I need to let everybody know. I obviously need to let his family know. I need to let my family know. I need to figure out where the dogs are. Um and all of this, I I also had to figure out like where I was gonna sleep that night because um, like I said, the house was completely uninhabitable because of the smoke and the fire damage. Um, so the home insurance sets up like a hotel that you could stay at, but that also kind of adds to the chaos because you don't really feel comfortable in a hotel. Um, so I remember I was there like the first night, and I remember thinking, I just need to get a workout in. Like for the love of God, I need to get some exercise in and like just release this like enormous stress that kind came into my life from one minute to the next. And so I went to a gym that was called um, I want to say it was called like Excel Performance, something like that. It wasn't uh like 100% a CrossFit gym. They offered different classes, but they did offer CrossFit classes, and this was in Caldwell, New Jersey. And I remember I walked in to the gym and they're like, What brings you in? And I said, Oh, I was interested in CrossFit classes, and they're like, Are you new to the area? And at this point, this had only been like 24 hours since everything happened, and I was like, And I'm telling them the story solved hysterically. The dam broke loose, and you're yes, and they're like, Oh my gosh, like they're trying to, you know, put Humpty Dumpty together again. Yes, and and they're like, and how's your husband doing? And I was like, he's good, but like sobbing again, and they're like, Oh my gosh! And they're like, and where are you staying right now? And I was like, I don't know how to it sucks. That gym, it's good to have a sense of humor while telling the story, right? Um, that gym immediately was like, sign on for classes, we'll give you a free month, and um, I which was a blessing. And we have a realtor that works with us, we'll help you find an apartment. And I keep saying like the dates because this accident happened on July 28th, and by August 1st, I was moved into my own apartment. So again, like the community was the biggest blessing in getting through like an experience like this. Wow. And so that was the second CrossFit Gym I ever started at. And I was there uh for a few months until um he got out of the hospital. And then the apartment that I was staying at was in Montclair, and then all this to say, like the guy survived and he had to get skin transplants on his hands and his arms, but as of present day, he's 100% okay, and that alone is a miracle. But for a moment there, we didn't think he was gonna make it, and it was a very, very hard and difficult time. And I remember the only thing that got me out of bed in the morning was going to work out, and that was like the highlight of my day, and after that I was just counting the hours until I could go back to bed. It was a very difficult time. And then um, thankfully he made it out of the hospital, and that itself like kind of changed the course of the way we were moving forward. And then I was living in Montclair, so I started a new gym actually in Montclair that was a little closer than the Caldwell gym. And that gym was called uh Bridge Athletics. Um, also a CrossFit gym, but not an affiliate uh clearly. And that gym I started in October of 2021, and I was there from October, November, December of 2021. So in my first year doing CrossFit, three different gyms.

SPEAKER_01 16:08

Wow. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 16:09

The three three different gyms that like really got me through kind of like the worst six months of my life. So that was a rough time. However, then it takes a turn. Um, I don't know if I want to pause it at all if you have any questions.

SPEAKER_01 16:29

Well, now I understand why you make such a great impact at all the gyms you go to because you've been to so many different gyms. You know how to navigate these new because a lot of people, when they're CrossFit athletes, like they go to one gym and they'll they'll stay like I stayed at CrossFit Bison ever like it was my first gym I started at, and it's uh it's the only gym I've ever been to. But you've seen all sorts of gyms, and not only have you seen them, they've supported you. You you've been a big part of their community, they've been a big part of your support. Um, and I think a lot of people can relate to that uh that the gym is a refuge, that when there are so many, and I mean, let's face it, like we have issues, but what you are going through at that age, at that time, is like really overwhelming. I mean, near like probably um almost unbearably overwhelming for some people. So if they can find um, like you said, that hour where you you you know you can just not have to think about the things that are facing you. Like we just talked about a little bit earlier. You come out of that gym and it seems like the things you have to face are not quite as bad after you've done a workout. And so um that is an insane story. Like that is really the cre one of the craziest CrossFit start stories I think I've ever heard of in my life, uh honestly. And I'm so thankful that you you're okay through that, and you're you know, you you actually in a lot of ways became a better person, like especially on your fitness journey, like incorporating that into your coping and um dealing with tragedy. So um very inspiring. I uh it's uh that's pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_00 18:11

Thank you. And then when life's what's uh what was that?

SPEAKER_01 18:16

No, go ahead.

SPEAKER_00 18:17

It definitely um like made me addicted to like the working out. Um like if if the year before I had only built a habit, the year after, like it became like salvation to me. It became therapeutic, it became like the exact thing I needed to get through each day, each week, each month. Um, and then you make connections too. So like I still have friends from that gym in Montclair um that I have and that will be with me for the rest of my life because they know how much growth I've undergone over the last five years. Um and I still have to bring you to when I even met Bob because I even haven't even got to that point.

SPEAKER_01 19:00

Yes, you gotta connect me now from bridge to um to Bob to Bison.

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Yes, yes, yes. Uh okay, so so from January, so sorry, July of 2021 to December of 2021. Again, the house was uninhabitable, so we couldn't live there anymore. I was living in Montclair from that time. And then my ex-husband had gone back to his parents' home to recuperate after being in the hospital for a month, and he was having a hard time with his parents. And so I told him, listen, I'm not happy in Montclair. I feel like I want to live somewhere that I get to choose. So you take over my lease in Montclair, I'll leave like big furniture, like the bed and the couch, and that way you can get healthier in an environment where you actually feel a little more independent. And I'll choose to move to like a place where I actually want to be. And I moved to Jersey City,

Meeting Bob And Finding Real Community

SPEAKER_00 20:05

so obviously it's right outside of Hoboken. And when I moved to Jersey City, it was in December 2021. Um, I tried out a few different gyms, some really close to my apartment, and then others like uh Hudson River Athletics in Hoboken. That was like a 10-minute drive. But at that point, like it was so important to me to find a place where I just felt the energy was right. And so I walked into Hudson River Athletics, and the first class I took was with Bob. And and then there was a ironically, there was an explosion at uh CrossFit Hoboken, and all the members of CrossFit Hoboken were displaced. So they were going to a bunch of different gyms in the area, and they told me to not sign up for Hudson River Athletics until February 1st, when things kind of settled down a little. Um, so I did, and I I started at Hudson River Athletics on February 1st. And the second class I ever took was also with Bob. And immediately when he saw me, he was like, Karen, welcome back. And so to see like someone who I I barely even knew. Um, I only had taken one class with, and he already remembered my name. Um, I already felt like it was a special place. And at the time, everybody felt like elite athletes. I felt like the absolute bare minimum of the elite athletes that I was working at alongside with. But I spent the next three years, about three and a half years there um at Hudson River Athletics, growing and becoming a better athlete. And obviously under Bob's guidance and mentorship.

SPEAKER_01 21:50

Yeah, you you take programming from him.

SPEAKER_00 21:53

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And that I feel like the experience I had um in those three years in Trade City school. Because I ended up moving closer to the gym also. It was like a whole different chapter for my life and for my growth and for I don't know who I am as a person. I got to meet so many people, again, people that um are still in my life now and will be for the rest of my life. I got to, I they named me member of the year at one point, which was really sweet, and just felt like such a a 180 from the person I was when I first started the gym. I was very, very closed off the first year. Bob will probably uh tell you this too. I was kind of in and out. I didn't want to make friends. I just showed up to work out and then I left. And then it was like at the end of the year, December of um 2022, I kind of hit like a turning point where I was like, okay, I feel more comfortable being myself and making connections with the the people around me. And it changed my life. Um it it it changes like the journey that you're on and the environment that you're in. And it was the best three years in in that time.

SPEAKER_01 23:13

That's awesome. Um and then after those three years, it sounds like it was everything was copacetic, everything was great. Um, yeah, I know uh Hudson River, like I know um a few people who go there for like uh Steve O'Day is a former bison member who's there.

SPEAKER_00 23:31

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I knew him there.

SPEAKER_01 23:32

Yeah, yeah. Uh great guy. And so then what prompted you to go to your what is it, sixth gym, maybe at this point, and and leave Hudson and leave Hudson River?

SPEAKER_00 23:45

That's a great question. So this is another good chapter. This is the post uh house explosion and divorce chapter.

Toxic Relationship And Losing Your Groove

SPEAKER_00 23:56

Um so at this time, this is like July of 2024. I had been living in Hoboken for like three years, and it was just getting really expensive. My mom lives in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and she was sharing her house with like a roommate that she trusted, and a roommate like had to move out um abruptly. And she said, I don't know what I'm gonna do. Like I'm 70-something years old. Uh, I'm just not gonna find like a new roommate right away. And so I said, Well, let me see if I could end my lease. I'll float the idea to my landlord and I'll see what he says. He he was fine with it, and so I moved in with my mom to Burkefield in July of 2024, and um, and it worked out, and I was glad that I could spend I lived with her for like 10 months during that time. Um, but that's kind of why I transitioned out of Hudson River Athletics, um, because I moved to the suburbs, and then I started dating someone, and this is a good this is a good chapter. Uh, and it's important to the fitness journey too. Um, I started dating someone who uh had very toxic qualities to himself, but men never show that in the first couple of months. In the beginning, um, he was actually like really supportive about like how much I was into fitness, and he's like, it's great that you do CrossFit. He even came to like a CrossFit with class with me. Uh, we did a class at Great White. Um, and then that was like in August of 2024. And then slowly but surely his true character starts coming out, and he would say like very passive-aggressive comments, like, um, your back is so wide because of all the CrossFit you do. Or he'd say, like, I'm personally more attracted to women with larger, like uh lower body. So maybe you should do like lower body three times a week instead of doing CrossFit so much. Things like that, that you know, they were very like passive comments that you didn't do all too long on, but ultimately like sting at you, um, especially if like the journey that I've had with fitness has been so short um but so profound during that time that you don't realize like how much um those comments like become ingrained in your mindset um and end up changing like your habits. Um so you would think things like that, and then eventually I thought, okay, maybe like I'll take a break from CrossFit. Maybe I'll just go to a regular gym. And at this point, Bob was doing my programming, and I like to say, like, I am so thankful that Bob didn't fire me as a client during this time because I was telling Bob, I don't want to do CrossFit anymore, no more programming for CrossFit. I want um more programming just for strength training, focus more on lower body, and he would say, Well, like you still need to do like other aspects of cardio, it's good for you, and you still need to work on like these other things. And I was like, Yes, but I don't want to do that. So unfortunately, like I had to go through that time to learn more about myself. Um, and this relationship lasted into like early 2025, and again, it starts to wear on you. Like the comments, and then it's not just comments about your body, it's comments about your lifestyle. Like you're too social, you're too friendly, you talk too much to um men. Um, I feel like I talk to everybody, you know. I'm just a friendly human. Um and it starts to wear on you, and all of a sudden you're like, I don't like who I'm becoming anymore, and I don't like like how much I'm changing myself to accommodate someone else in my life. And so I got out of the relationship in May of 2024, 2025. Sorry. And it was going through it was it when you go get out of a toxic relationship, it really makes you question like, how did I even get in here? Um and it kind of makes you question like all senses of normalcy, like, am I normal? Was that experience normal? What did I just go through?

SPEAKER_01 28:19

Um how did I let myself do that?

SPEAKER_00 28:24

Exactly. Especially like I remember thinking after everything I've gone through, I just experienced that. Um, how could I be so stupid? And you're so hard on yourself, um, unfortunately. But all this to say, I remember texting Bob um, like end of May, all right, I'm ready to come back to CrossFit. And he said, Well, bison is a really good place. You're more than welcome to join. And I think I started on like June 1st. Um and those first couple months, yeah, and those first couple months, again, I was a shut-in again. I I just came, I came to work out and nothing else. I barely talked to anybody. Um, I was having like a hard time still emotionally and mentally, and it wasn't until like end of August, early September, that I was like, all right, Karen, that's enough. You you waited too long to make friends at the last gym, and you're not gonna make the same mistake here. It's time to start making connections. It makes life so much better. You know this already. Um, and immediately life got better after that. And I felt like I excelled as an athlete after that too.

SPEAKER_01 29:38

I I can certainly say, having seen you, I think the first time I really had you on my radar, because I would see you at the gym, like at the 7 a.m. or and then you'd stay, and you and you did all the way up until you left for Colorado. You know, you'd you'd stay for open gym and you do your training. And it the first thing I would say is that by the time you left for Colorado, you're you had made some major transformational changes physically in terms of your your ability on the rig, the way you looked overall, like your body shape. Like I feel like a lot of people commented how how all all that time and effort um seemed to really pay off for you. Um and I remember um seeing you last year, it if it was August, it was probably like around the holiday party, and and you had really integrated yourself into the community. Like there were so many people who knew you, you were you know super bubbly and like the person that I know now. Um so so that was really, really impressive. I mean, the the the fact that um so many, so many people sort of gravitated uh to you socially, as well as just the effort you put in. Like you, you were so determined to um to better yourself as an athlete. And that um and it I and I see a bunch of people at our gym who do that. And when they do, like that effort pays off. Like it's not easy to do that, but it's really um inspirational, especially for others who watch people who make that change and then see those improvements. And and I think that that's why you won Rookie of the Year was because um they could see how much and you're not somebody who's um now that I know, I didn't know any of this beforehand, but uh, you're not a neophyte. It wasn't like you had just started CrossFit, like you had been doing CrossFit for years and years and years before that. And yet that I think shows a lot of people there's always room for improvement. Like you may have been CrossFitting for three, four, five, six years, but you can, if you put more time into it, you can you can become a uh like a much, much better person in in so many ways, which which I think really impacted a lot of people here who saw that.

SPEAKER_00 31:56

Oh, I appreciate that. I I like to say this just in life in general, like there's always a time to start over. Start over at any chance you get, rebrand yourself, like start over tomorrow, humble yourself, um, like forget any bad habits and start over tomorrow. Um, like there's never too late to do that. And I think like bison was a start over for me for sure. Um, and even in the first couple of months, I felt like I had to start over at the beginning of the months each time until I felt like the most like myself.

SPEAKER_01 32:29

I would also say the thing that um stands out with great athletes that I really like inspire me at the gym are they they're not show-offs and they're not doing anything for others. They're just sort of doing it for themselves, like not in a standoffish way, but in a just like, I really love to do better, and I'm just gonna focus on that and not like, well, I wanna beat so-and-so in this workout, or I wanna, you know what I'm saying? So it was really just for self-improvement more than anything else. And I think a lot of people saw that and and they like that. I think the other thing that also stands out to me in in what you're talking about is it's really hard in relationships. Um, there are a lot of people in our lives that try to influence us, sometimes for the better, for sometimes for not so great. And especially um, there are always people, you know, people who are um, you know, they're they lack self-esteem, they're insecure. And when you try to exert control over somebody by um, you know, saying those types of comments about either your appearance, your physical appearance, how you act, uh, you know, I actually have also seen that at the gym with others where there's um a significant other or or someone close to them who who doesn't work out, and then there's someone who who works out at CrossFit. It can be very difficult because um, as you know, if if you're really into CrossFit, you're really into CrossFit, and it's not just it's just not exercise, it's a community. And and so that's there, there's often a conflict. And when you have a relationship, you need somebody who can understand um and be uh secure enough to let that person enjoy that activity. And it doesn't have to just be CrossFit, it could be anything. It could be, I don't know, playing golf or pickleball or whatever other activity. Um and it is so easy, as you said, people don't always show themselves right away. Uh, but as you progress into relationships, um, all of those types of things where you have issues with um self-esteem, control, uh, insecurities, like um everyone can fall prey to it. You don't have to be um, it wasn't silly or or blind at all for you to be in that. Like we, you know, it's so s easy for all of us to sort of fall into that. Um, and so uh I'm glad that you again had um someone within CrossFit. Um I know uh and and sort of get you.

SPEAKER_00 35:15

Yeah, I can't tell you enough how thankful I am for Bob because he was patient with me throughout that experience. And it's almost like I Bob and I are we have very strong boundaries, the two of us. We operate completely on like just mentorship and uh programming, and that's it. He really doesn't ask me too much about my personal life, and I really don't share too much about my personal life either, and vice versa. Um, but I feel like somehow he knew like, uh, let me just be patient with her throughout this time, and she'll come to her senses eventually. And it makes me a little emotional to think about like there are very special people in your life who like see the true sense of you and support that, and you don't have to justify yourself, you don't have to explain yourself at all. And those are the people that are like your truest supporters. So I'm thankful for people like Bob and ultimately everybody at Bison who just made me feel as true to myself as I am that I was able to move to Colorado because of it. So that's that's my little uh two cents on that.

SPEAKER_01 36:33

I want to thank you, Karen, because you made all of us here at Bison better for as short of a time as you stayed. It it it was really impactful for so many, and um, and I really appreciate you sharing your story. That is um that is a whole lot uh to have gone through in a nutshell, and I appreciate it. And this is a little bit long, yeah. I mean it it it it took a little longer than 15 minutes.

SPEAKER_00 37:00

I warned you.

SPEAKER_01 37:01

This is okay.

SPEAKER_00 37:03

This is um I feel like I didn't I barely even spoke about like what a transformation I would went through at Bison, you know? This was only how I got it.

SPEAKER_01 37:14

And at some point, I we're I would really like to pick your brains at some point about the programming, like what your goals were, like how you sort of got there. Your other side too. Like obviously, bodies aren't just built in the gym, but outside the gym. And I would assume that there were other things that you did outside the gym to really help. Yes. And so we we got to talk about that. But this is already a double-wide episode. We're gonna I'm I'm gonna call it a uh uh a double. Uh, but um, but I really appreciate

Habits, Boundaries, And The Next Chapter

SPEAKER_01 37:45

that you you shared that story.

SPEAKER_00 37:47

Hi, thank you. You're so sweet. I could truly like even the changes that I made over the past year, I could go into depth talking about how that had a huge effect, not just on my mental health, but also physically. I feel like everybody makes remarks like you look strong, you look like you leaned out, but nobody really gets to see like the changes that you're doing on a day-to-day basis, from like limiting the consumption of alcohol to protect your mental health, from making the right choices of who to spend time and not spend time with, from eating things that like actually nourish you to obviously things that have just spun for the moment. Um, it's it's huge sacrifices that uh changed like the composition of your body. Um, and that made me a better person at the end of the day. So we didn't even go into the details of that.

SPEAKER_01 38:40

And we will hopefully at some point, um, because I think there's a lot, including me, who could benefit from learning what you did because it was honestly very transformational. I've seen probably like, you know, out of hundreds of people at the gym, there's maybe like 25 or 30 that like had made pretty dramatic changes. And you're as big of a change as anyone within the space of less than a year. I would say it was like six months, maybe, where you really sort of uh made some some big uh improvements and gains in terms of, like you said, your overall health, well-being, you know, mindset, all of that. And so um we will hopefully delve in because like I I would want to know like how I could apply those things. I mean, if you can do it at 32, I think anyone can do it at at any age. And um so thank you for sharing that. I hope we get to share more.

SPEAKER_00 39:34

Absolutely. I'll say this to cap it off. You are a product of who you surround yourself with, and I think that best sums up my experience at bison. So that'll be the time. Yeah. That'll be my typical.

SPEAKER_01 39:47

Well, thank you, Karen. Yes, absolutely. To be continued. Please um continue. You just moved what, like a week ago, right?

SPEAKER_00 39:56

Yeah, I moved here on the I got here on the 12th. So it's really only been 11 days.

SPEAKER_01 40:01

So good luck with continuing the transition. I know um it sounds like you already got off to an awesome start, and I really look forward to hearing more about um your new gym, CrossFit Verb, and and everything else that you're doing there. So um, thank you again, Karen. It's been a pleasure, and uh I will hope to speak to you soon.

SPEAKER_00 40:20

Thank you so much. I hope to so also, and also good luck with uh like editing because I feel like it was a little bit more.

SPEAKER_01 40:28

We're just running straight through. Uh no, we're not gonna change a thing. Every word is gold. Don't worry about it, Karen. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00 40:34

You're so kind. Thank you again, Sam.