CrossFit Mayhem – A Family Affair
Our trip to the US was not just a family holiday; it was a magnificent opportunity to meet some of our most influential CrossFit athletes, Rich Froning and Tia-Clair Toomey. While this wasn’t the only plan, it was part of the equation. Additionally, I had hoped to see my favourite country music band, Lakeview, in Nashville, but they were on tour, so we didn’t get to do that. Instead, however, we got to enjoy performances by other favourites like Jordan Davis, Keith Urban (Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi!), and a new family favourite, Hardy. However, this article isn’t about that! It’s about what we learned from the CrossFit gyms we visited in America and what that means for VSC.
For me, fitness coaching and the experience we can bring is a passion as much as my job. I love that our actions and words can impact someone’s day. People think they come to work out but leave with an entertaining fitness experience. Visiting CrossFit Mayhem wasn’t just a dream; it was an opportunity to see how one of the most iconic CrossFit gyms in the world operates. Knowing that people travel internationally to experience the red, white, and blue of Cookeville, Tennessee’s most unlikely tourist destination, made it even more exciting.
Honestly, the class experience at CrossFit Mayhem was a bit lacking in structure. The classes were flatly presented, and group control was minimal beyond the initial brief. While the gym wrote the warmup and workout on the board, it was up to the individuals to set up, move through, and organise their workout within a small window of time. If it was a workout, then a strength piece, you were quite often left to do it alone. Not the most coached classes we would experience in the US, but the workouts were creative and fun, thanks to the availability of pieces of equipment such as GHDs, ski ergs, concept 2 bikes and the varieties of air bikes used in many of the workouts, plus the connections to individuals in the classes passable.
At VSC, we are used to this part of the workout day being 100% structured and controlled by the coach, from the warmup to the room setup and every single movement a member makes. This autonomy felt quite strange to us, but as experienced coaches and athletes, we adapted quickly and easily. I’m unsure how someone with minimal experience would handle this kind of autonomy, but I’m sure it works somehow.
What we did love about CrossFit Mayhem, though, was how welcomed we felt. From the moment we arrived, we experienced good old-fashioned Tennessee hospitality. Everyone was welcoming, said hello, talked to the kids, and helped us figure out our workout week. We received a tour and the necessary emails, and everything was seamless. The best part was that people remembered our names—Laura, Josh, Makayla and later our coach Levi, who was off to do his DBS (Discovery Bible Study. What a Southern thing to do!) training the following week. I remember their names because they remembered ours.
The highlight of our visit was meeting Rich Froning. As we were leaving on our first day, Rich pulled up in the car park and, noticing we were new faces, came up to our car and said, “You guys are new here.” We nearly died! Nine years ago, I started CrossFit, inspired by Rich Froning, the Michael Jordan of Fitness. I’ve read his book, watched his movies, followed his YouTube channel, and even become more of a Christian because of him. We were even staying at his wife’s Airbnb; that’s how much we like this guy and everything he and his family are about! Rich introduced himself, met the boys, and invited us to join him and other athletes in Knoxville for the semifinals that weekend. At one point in the conversation, he asks the boys names, and we respond, ‘Brooklynn and Laikynn’, ‘Laikynn? Sounds a lot like Lakelyn?’ Yes, it does. Our son’s name may have been inspired by the name of your oldest daughter. For at least an hour, I was stunned. A lifelong bucket list activity ticked off ‘meet Rich Froning’. This friendliness was consistent throughout our time at CrossFit Mayhem!
At CrossFit Mayhem, we felt like family. What was a magnificent moment for us was also a superb moment for them. There was no burnout from visitors encroaching on their territory. We experienced unparalleled hospitality and met one of our heroes without being let down. Every day, the coffee girl, Kate, asked about our days and adventures in Cookeville. On the day we left, the Head Coach Josh gave us a hug in the car park and wished to see us again soon. I’m not a hugger, but he made me one that day with his arms full of groceries; it was hard to deny him. We even met Rich’s mom, who was an absolute delight, and she loved our boys. Teaching them terrible tricks to bring back to the gym, but it’s Riche’s mum so ill allow it! We also had one of the other members’ kids there every day willing to hold Brooklynn and soothe him to sleep because she had younger siblings and, in her words, ‘knew what to do’, which made it even more special for us that a stranger, a child in fact, would be willing to look after our son so carefreely because she felt confident in how.
From our experience, CrossFit Mayhem truly is a family gym and made us feel that way. At VSC, we have high expectations for controlling the room, teaching opportunities, and setup. But if we can make people feel like family the way CrossFit Mayhem did for us, then we indeed took something valuable away from our time in Cookeville.