Gayle

My crossfit journey started a year ago when I was searching for something that could... 

Satisfy my need for competition. 

I was a division 1 collegiate pole vaulter and played for a California club soccer team in Europe after my NCAA eligibility ended. After I graduated I continued to workout at the gym and began running half marathons, but nothing compared to the daily competitiveness I received while being a college athlete. I discovered crossfit and... 

I immediately found what I had been searching for. 

Everyday I compete in crossfit and I've never been happier with my training. I'm also in the best shape of my life, which would make anyone feel amazing! After a year of crossfit, I have PR'd consistently and most recently I cut my "Filthy Fifty" time in half from a year ago! I couldn't imagine my life without crossfit and the community that comes along with it.

GAYLE'S FIRST MUSCLE UP!
Dec 21, 2012

Terry

I started Crossfit in the Summer of 2011, I guess i could say that...

"the rest is history"

as i pretty much instantly fell in love with this sport. There is a lot more to the story and I will try to keep it short.

I have been an active person all of my life, football, wrestling, martial arts, hiking, backpacking, hunting, SCUBA Diving, mountain biking and a plethora of other activities. I have been doing many of these activities since before the age of ten, so being active in my life has never been an issue. Then i joined the US Navy in 1996.

Joining the Navy was great, it showed me the reasons that you can't really list for being physically fit, being in an area of "Conflict" made fitness extremely important, i worked out...A LOT, then I busted up my ankle pretty bad (bad enough, I almost required a below the knee amputation). With the reduced mobility due to being in a cast up to my hip, and the appetite of an "athlete"....let's just say that is a horrible combination, i think my belt is still a bit pissed at me for that one.

That broken ankle was the start of a mostly sedentary life style, i got out of the Navy in 2006 and into a desk job, it was nice...then in 2009 I tried to get into a pair of jeans that i hadn't worn in some time and that was like a big smack in the face. ouch! I could NOT even get them passed mid thigh, i was pretty devastated, that really hurt. I started running again, with the encouragment from a friend i signed up for a 3.1 mile race called a Mud Run, that was SO MUCH FUN.

My very first mud run took me about 40 minutes to complete, to put it into perspective, the course was on a Horse track, at sea level...i was OUT OF SHAPE!!! but the best part was that the little fire inside that made me want to be better, life's little pilot light, was lit again! Almost immediately, i went and purchased a new pair of running shoes and started running, it was nice...it was slow, but i was doing it, almost every day. Then i got bored, running, really? yeah, that was boring. so i started to mix it up.

I had heard about this "CrossFit thing" on the internet and such, so i looked into it, it looked cool! so i started doing "crossfit" on my own (haha...or at least what i thought it was), i added pushups and squats to my running, yeah, i would sprint up the hill, do 10 pushups, 10 squats, 10 situps and then go back to the bottom of the hill and do it all over. about the time i got bored with that, i walked into a real crossfit box. The owner, Rick, had let me try out a workout...you know...just to see if i liked it. what can i say, i was HOOKED. My first workout was on "Tabata Friday", wall walks, passthroughs, knees to elbows just to name a few, i pushed it so hard (i thought) and for the next couple of days i couldn't even pull my own pants up (this is funny if you think about using the restroom at work....). I decided right then, that...

i NEEDED to be a part of the CrossFit 

community...

and signed up at that gym and started to look into getting my CrossFit coaching certificate, what better way to learn that just get immersed, right?

So, there i was, a "regular" at the box with either the 5:15 or 6am CrossFit family, 3-5 days EVERY week, and a year later i wasn't bored, there is something cool to this Crossfit thing, Yeah, i signed up to become a CrossFit coach, then immediately earned my USAW Olympic lifting certification. Since that time i tossed around the idea of opening my own box and ended up opening an Equipment supply company instead, 

BUFF 

(Boise Ultimate Fitness Factory) 

www.boiseultimatefitnessfactory.com

was born, more out of need than desire..you see, there really isn't any kind of CrossFit equipment company this side of the Mississippi, and if i was gonna own a gym, i might as well supply it with my own gear. I most likely won't be opening a Gym anytime soon, but i LOVE interacting with all of the various local gyms and helping to make sure that they have the equipment that they need to help make more people fall in love with this sport.

Currently, i am a CrossFit coach at Expedition Crossfit, and 

i LOVE teaching people and pushing 

people past their own self imposed limits.

I absolutely LOVE to see people light up when they hit a new PR. Most of all, i love the community that i am a part of, the environment is awesome, the people are great, it's always positive. Crossfit seems to have put itself on the same playing field with my kids, i really can't imagine life without them...so, it goes back to the summer of 2011 when i started CrossFit, it's been an exciting journey so far and... 

i can't wait to see where it takes me.

John

John Hassell

I found a love for athletics and fitness at an early age. I started Karate when I was 5. Then it was football, powerlifting, and track all through high school. Next was off to the Marine Corps where the background of lifting and track really started to pay off. Life at Parris Island is much easier when you are already in good shape. Then in 2009 I was ...

introduced to CrossFit by a friend 

while in Afghanistan. After returning home I sought out a CrossFit Box. After a quick Internet search I was off and running. 

After being greeted by the Box's owner and everyone else in the gym we got started . I don't remember exactly what the workout was but it completely wiped me out. 

From that point on I was hooked . 

I was there everyday and the Coach would have to make me take days off. After trying to get to a CrossFit Level 1 Trainer seminar for well over a year I was finally able to get to one in February 2012. 

I had an absolute blast...

and learned a lot. In June of the same year I was able to attend a CrossFit Kids Instructors Course. I had just as much fun there.

Since January of 2012 I have been a coach at CrossFit Camp Phoenix in Kabul, Afghanistan. While here I have had the pleasure to coach numerous Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines. Not to mention several Canadian, French, Bulgarian, and Australian soldiers and members of various U.S. government agencies. 

This has been a great experience for me as a CrossFit coach. It has allowed me to develop my own...

unique coaching style...

and learn how to improvise when some of the people I'm working with don't speak a word of English. 

I have been back home in Boise for a little over two months now and have been able to open a 2nd location Expedition CrossFit BFE. I work 7 days a week usually 12 or more hours a day and couldn't be happier! I have the Best clients and staff anyone could ever ask for and absolutely LOVE my job.

www.expeditioncrossfit.com

Aaron

My name is Aaron Miner. I have been pretty active my entire life. I grew up playing competitive soccer and running track or Cross country. I decided to join the Idaho National Guard in Sept of 1998 after one semester of college at Boise State. In the one semester, I participated in what was called the Ranger Challenge program. I didn't know what a Ranger was at that time. I just knew it was harder and the group was more dedicated than the others of the ROTC program. I joined the Guard and was sent to Basic Training a few months later. Once at Basic Training I realized that my life had to have fitness in it or I would not be happy. I was naturally a faster than average runner, and with my Ranger Challenge training, could do well at push ups and sit-ups. I did well in Basic and went on to graduate among the top of the class. I then went to Advanced Individual Training in Ft Huachuca AZ, and continued to enjoy the training I was receiving and did very well physically. I went on to run a few races while I was there 

and pushed others to strive a little harder than they would have on their own.

When I completed the training I was sent back to Idaho. Once at home I began to sell cars, and take care of a new family. I did not have a good relationship to say the least and found that fitness was the best and less expensive thing for me to do. It started one day when things did not go as planned at work or home. I ended up taking off and running about 17 miles. I was hammered for about 5 days after that!! I went on to train for Robie Creek that year and ran a time of 1:30 I believe. Things continued to get worse at home, so I decided to join the full time Army. I was sent to Advanced Infantry School at Ft. Benning GA, and again did very well. I was sent to Ft. Lewis WA. as my first duty station and spent 5 years there as an Infantry Battalion Scout with Second Infantry Division Stryker Brigade. I completed one year in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 and was forced to leave the military due to a family hardship. Right before I was released 

I did this crazy work out that left me sick in the corner, wondering what the hell happened to me. 

I was in pretty good shape I thought. I had been running and could do about 90 push ups in 2 minutes and about the same sit-ups. I am pretty sure that this new Officer had just introduced me to Crossfit. I out processed from the Army and two months later got hired by the Ada County Sheriff's Office as a Patrol Officer. I completed the Police Academy and was able to set a small record running the Swan Falls Damn Run. Not a bad run, 2.5 down and 2.5 back up to the top. I think the time was 37:48. I was told it still stands.. I am pretty proud of it! Once with the Sheriff's office I began to see people I worked with who were not all that impressive to look at. I remember the first thing we did each morning at the Academy was PT! The first thing each morning in the Army was PT. I knew what made me feel good about myself, being active. I began to go to the gym, but did not know how to do my own programming, or training. I knew how to run, do push ups, and sit-ups. That was it! I began doing the different machines at the gym, taking supplements and watching the trainers. I then paid about $1100 to be personally trained. I had one of the 3 trainers actually see what I wanted, and he tried. I ended up going to BSU sports medicine for a shoulder injury. 

I was told to look up this new program called Crossfit, that was giving people like me a challenge. 

It took about 3 months for me to get started, but by March 2006 I had begun Crossfit. I had no idea what I was doing. What the F was a clean and jerk!!?? I began by doing all the body weight exercises I could do and the easier workouts that I could figure out. I did the WODs at Idaho Athletic Club. I did this for about 3 years. I had persuaded a few of the people in the gym, along with my mother to try it with me. It was amazing! I began to get fed up with all the people on my circuits, or equipment that I had set up. I signed up for my first level one certification in Portland OR at Crossfit HEL in 2008. I did my first FRAN with the proper equipment in 3:36. It was 3 second slower than the fastest guy!! I then continued to do Crossfit where I could and when. I had been a part of Boise Crossfit, and Crossfit Refinery. Both great gyms and great trainers. 

I just always wanted to run my own gym and train my own clients. 

In 2011 I began to train clients in my garage in Boise. Calli was my first client. We had a few more come in and out. I ended up moving to south Boise and began to train a different group there. I was able to build up to about 20 consistent paying clients. I went to a recertification for my level one in February 2011 at Crossfit Refinery. Once I was certified to the new standards, I began to look for a business. I ended up meeting John Hassell at the cert in February. We both had military back grounds and similar interests and decided to partner up with our Business. We Opened the first gym, Expedition Crossfit and in January 2013 opened the second Expedition Crossfit BFE.

www.expeditioncrossfit.com