Yesterday I got asked how CrossFit Unstoppable came about…well, let me tell you a “little” story.
I’ve always been active (for the most part) and when I was a freshman, I knew that I wanted to become a PE teacher and Coach. So I chose that path in college and it happened. 🙂
Fast forward a few years, three schools, lots of teams/athletes, three kids and we are in 2009 – there I was a 41 yr old, overweight and miserable PE teacher and Coach. I was in a bad place and I needed to figure out how to get out of the hole I dug for myself.
I made up my mind that I needed to walk the walk and be a good example for my family and athletes. So in December of 2009, I made the decision to take my health back and get back on track with my fitness/nutrition. I weighed around 230# and boy did I feel uncomfortable walking into the Y that first day at 5am.
I started doing workouts with DB’s three days a week then HIIT cardio the other three days. I also got my nutrition in check and three months later I was down 19#! I felt so good! So I kept going. I started running…yes, me the shot and discus gal in HS started running, entered some 5K’s and was hooked on this fitness thing again.
Let’s fast forward again to the summer of 2010, when one of my friends said she found this new “exercise program” in Alabama. She started going to a gym called CrossFit Impulse; I had never heard of CrossFit so of course I googled it or searched for it and WOW…that looked intense. She would send me her workouts and I would try and mimic them at home in my garage gym. Kicked my butt!
I searched for a CrossFit near me and the closest one was in St. Louis; I was intrigued so I messaged them about setting up my Foundations classes. They couldn’t fit me in with my crazy coaching schedule so I just went about my way and tried to learn lifts and such on my own. I ended up doing another search in August of 2010 and a CrossFit gym in Columbia popped up – CrossFit United. This gym was about 40 minutes away from me so I set up my intro sessions with Scott and I Was Hooked! I tried to get to the gym at least 2x per week (back then gas was around $4/gallon!)
So my friend and I now got to trade CrossFit stories and in January of 2011, I got to visit her in Alabama. We were enjoying some wine one evening and we came up with the crazy idea that we should both become Level 1 trainers…was that the wine talking?? Well, I am glad it did because we signed up for our classes in March of 2011. I went to Leavenworth, KS and hers was in San Jose, CA. We passed!
My whole reason to get my L1 was to be able to use the name with my kids at the school I taught; I wanted to run the CrossFit Kids classes in a legit fashion.
At this point, about 18 months into this transformation, I was getting questions on how I was looking so lean. Exercise and nutrition – CrossFit/Running. In the 18 months or so I had lost 53# and 40” and went from 38% body fat to 15.8%. I was now comfortable in my own skin and didn’t have a problem walking into a gym. My confidence was soaring and I wanted to share that feeling with others.
So I started a boot camp for the moms at my school – we were the Boot Camp Babes. We would meet at 5:30am before I started teaching then at 5:30pm after I finished up coaching. They were so fun! This continued through the summer of 2011 and I thought to myself, what if I became an affiliate…Could I do this? Would my business be able to make it? Where would I go?
I applied for affiliation in September of 2011 and in October got the word that we were approved. Did you know that you have to provide 3 names to CFHQ to be approved? You can’t just name your gym. None of my names were approved, I only remember one and it was Mid-MO CrossFit I think. I went on a girls trip in October and was discussing it with my friends. A dear friend in our group gave us key chains the year before for Christmas; they were puzzle pieces and one side said “I Am” and the other side “Unstoppable”. My friend said, “What about CrossFit Unstoppable”? So I turned in that name and low and behold they accepted it! So now you know how CFU got its name!
We started with about 15-20 ladies (including my two daughters!) at a small, 3-car maintenance building on the west part of Jefferson City on November 28, 2011. I knew nothing about advertising so it was just word of mouth and the fact that we had a website and people could search for CrossFit in Jefferson City and we would pop up! We again had a morning class and two evening classes since I was still coaching and teaching at the time. We continued to add more people to the “gym” as people started talking. I think it was in late December that I was talking to a member about how we were getting a bit crowded and needed to look for a bigger space. Fast forward to January 2012, and we moved to our second location on MO Blvd Ct. My family and some of the members helped revamp the “old globo gym” that was there and mid-January we were able to conduct classes!
During this year of still teaching and coaching I was running classes at 5:30am, teaching/coaching until 5pm, then running classes at 5:30/6:30/7:30pm. To say the least, it was a long long day and in March I had a heart to heart with my husband about how I was burning the candle at both ends and something needed to give. We agreed that if I could bring in as much per month as my teaching salary then I’d go for it. So I took the leap of faith, prayed a lot and turned in my resignation in April of 2012. That was scary going from a salary to a small business where you just never knew what was going to happen.
The business continued to grow as more people started talking about it and I eventually was able to add more trainers to help with the classes. We added a kids program as well which really took off. Even with the extra classes and trainers, we were beginning to outgrow the space so little did we know that the building next door which had been vacant this whole time was available for lease. Again it was a scary step going from 2500sq ft to nearly 16000sq ft! Some friends and family helped me keep the remodel a secret so from the end of November 2012-early December 2012 we “snuck” into the big warehouse next door (the place was big enough that my husband and I could park our cars inside to hide!) and started the revamping of space. We tore down structures, built dividing walls, painted and made the place presentable to surprise our members at our Christmas party. That evening we walked the group over to the building and showed them CrossFit Unstoppable 3.0! It was a great surprise!
We have been in our current location since January 2013 when we officially moved in. We added more trainers and more classes; started a “Masters 50+” class, more kids classes and a ladies only boot camp. In August of 2013 we added a volleyball court/basketball goals/turf for baseball and soccer/hitting nets for golf/pitching machines. My idea for Mid-MO Fitness was to be a sports venue for the kids in the area while the parents could workout at the same time. This worked for awhile but then I made the decision to add a second volleyball court to increase the ability for volleyball opportunities in the area and Unstoppable Volleyball Academy came about.
I’m not going to lie, the path from 2011 to today has not been a straight or easy one. It has come with a lot of ups and downs with many hard days, but when I look back at all of the Bright Spots and where we have been and have risen from, the smile on my face and in my heart is huge! I am soooo grateful for the community that CrossFit Unstoppable has created, the friends I have met and have become like a second family, and to look at this sometimes and think, “This is my JOB??” How did I get so lucky? 🙂
Goodness, this was super long! I hope you have stayed with me! I’m sure it could have been much longer, but I need to get back to the gym 👍Stay tuned for CFU 4.0! 😉 Be Blessed!
