Member Spotlight - John Gilbert

I live in Lakewood with three gorgeous ladies- my wife Stacy and our daughters Elizabeth and Molly- and our Golden Retriever Murphy.

I’m a Sales Rep for Paychex Inc.’s Major Market Services, and I’m pursuing my MBA at Cleveland State.

I love fishing, especially Bass fishing. I even joined a BASS league a couple summers ago, but got my butt kicked in most of the tournaments- sort of like I do at CrossFit- but I learned a lot and hope to spend more time fishing in tournaments when I’m done with school, can afford a boat and the kids move out… maybe in 2030?

In the mean time my guilty pleasures include singing off key in my car- really loudly- and CrossFit. Before the baby wakes up, and before the toddler runs downstairs to harass the dog… and before the nonsensical work e-mails and calls start pouring in there’s a quiet peace I have at 4:30 AM when I arise for my daily beat-down courtesy of Paul and Nancy. The Workout of the Day definitely gets my day off to a great start, and I’ve noticed increased energy throughout the day since joining this summer. Of course that’s in addition to the massive strength I now possess. I hear people at work whispering when they see how many reams of paper I can carry to the copier at once. Occasionally, for show, I’ll even do a R.O.P. OHS for them.

In all seriousness, I love this place! I can’t wait to do my first muscle up in ’09! That’s a direct challenge to Trevor.

First Anniversary - Fight Gone Bad

We had a great turnout for the workout and the Open House that immediately followed. Thanks to everyone for coming out and celebrating our 1st year anniversary. We would not be here without all of you.

Check out the video Sean made and posted on our Facebook page. CrossFit Cleveland Fight Gone Bad 12/03/08

Sean has a look of disgust on his face at the end of the vid, anyone get why without reading the Comments? Doooh, so close! Here are a few more pics of the group.

Member Spotlight - Pat Graham

Pat started working out with us in January of 2008. He was a part of our first Executive Fitness Starter Program, along with four fellow members of the Westlake Bay Village Rotary Club.

Pat warned me early on that he might be my biggest challenge yet. He informed me that he never exercised a single day in his life and that he didn't know what one wears to a workout. By the end of the first few weeks he admitted that we had him doing things he never thought imaginable. I have yet to get him hanging upside down on a set of gymnastic rings, but he can do pretty much anything else now.

He now works out 3 or 4 times per week in the evenings and Saturday mornings. You'll be able to see him in action in our upcoming CrossFit Cleveland video commercial as well as hear his awesome clip on why he joined CrossFit. Stay tuned!

Pat lives in Avon with his wife Ann and new pup Sam. He is a Real Estate agent with Howard Hanna, working with people both buying and selling residential and commercial property. I know from personal experience that Pat is one of the hardest workers around. If you need something done, ask Pat. It will get done. You can view his Howard Hanna webpage here.

BTW-Pat claims to have lost approximately 40 pounds and feels much stronger and faster. He has made a lot of new friends and fits in perfectly with our crowd. Also - adding 30+ yards to his drives has helped his golf game and more specifically his wallet.

New shirt logos

Here are the two images for the long-sleev t-shirts and hoodies. The RAW Fitness logo with the barbell and KB will go on the front left breast and the CrossFit Cleveland logo will be centered on the back across the shoulder blades. You can click on the logos to see a larger image.

Executive Fitness Group and Saturday Free Class

The current Executive group works out together every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00pm and Saturdays at 7:30am. They are all doing a great job, pushing themselves harder than they thought they could. I've added a few pitcures of a recent Saturday class also. We hold free CrossFit intro classes every Saturday morning at 9:00am.

Happy Hour Workout and Cookout

We had a great time at our first Happy Hour Workout and Cookout earlier this month. About a dozen of us showed up for 'CrossFit Baseball" and a cookout on the patio.

CrossFit in the Metroparks

Ed puts is a good showing competing against his fellow CrossFitters, see how it ends.........