I didn’t grow up doing CrossFit. I was a runner my whole life. Cross country and track through high school until a spontaneous pneumothorax ended my “prestigious” career. 

I was told by doctors to never run again. Smart.

So I listened and took up beer pong and turning just about anything into a drinking game. Thanks, Doc.

Eventually I stopped listening, because running can’t be worse than beer pong. I did a few half marathons, some 5Ks, long runs with fitter friends, and met my wife, Amy.

We got married and a few months later found out we were having our first baby, Aubrey. That was the turning point for me.

While Amy was growing our daughter, I did what every husband does and signed up for a triathlon two hours away. (I’m still not a great swimmer, last in my age group)

After the tri, I joined CrossFit AFCO in Zionsville, Indiana. Mostly because it had a 6am class and the biggest American flag I’d ever seen in a gym.

I met the owner, Casey, and asked him about all the things people say about CrossFit. Too intense. Intimidating. You’ll get hurt. He didn’t dismiss any of it. He just asked me one question: why are you here?

What is your why?

My answer was simple.

I want to be present and capable for my family.

I want to throw my kids around for fun and when they deserve it. I want to say yes when they ask me to do something, not wonder if I can. I want to be able to get up and down off the floor 50 times a day to play dolls, I want to move the baby carseat with ease, I want to be able to toss the kids in the air at the pool in a (definitely) unsafe way

So I went to my first class, pathetically did one rope climb, felt like I was near death, but survived and went back the next day. And the next. And the next.

Over the next few months, I realized that with CrossFit, my why was possible.

That’s what NewDawn is about.

There’s a whole world out there that people miss out on because of their health. My goal is to help people take ownership of their lives so they can stop asking “Can I?” and start answering with “Yes.”