Project Warman

On Episode 227 I sit down with Melani Dizon to discuss, well, me. I have been getting the question as to why I don't have other people interview me on my podcast or why I don't ever take a lot of time to talk about myself for a very long time now. After years of brushing it off, I realized that they had a point and it was time to do something about it.

So, here we are. This is part 1 of a series where I am going to bring old guests back onto the show and allow them to fire away with questions for me.

Let's see what we can discover in the process.

As allows, thank you for listening and I hope that you enjoy the show!

On Episode 226 I sit down with Dave McKeag. I didn't know Dave before sitting down for this conversation and he was introduced to me through my friend Brian Yolitz. I was instantly interested and inspired to talk to Dave and have a hand in helping him tell his story.

Dave is a retired middle school principal. He was a 2-sport athlete in college where he played Football and Track. Dave found CrossFit in the early 2000s and remembers anxiously refreshing main site to see what the workout of the day was going to be the next day.

In early October 2021, Dave heard the words that nobody wants to hear, "You have a cancerous tumor on the head of your pancreas." Fortunately, the tumor was caught early and the prognosis was good. Even so, Dave talks about the intensity of the chemo, treatment, and some pretty significant surgeries that he had to have throughout this process.

Dave credits his recovery and ability to push through the treatments to CrossFit. And that is where we spend a large amount of our time today.

We recorded this episode early last week and it was only a few days later that Dave got the confirmation that he is now, cancer-free.

I really enjoyed my conversation with Dave and I hope that you all are as inspired as I was!

Thank you all for listening and enjoy the show!

On Episode 225 I sit down with Ian Blakley. Ian is a friend of mine from CrossFit Roots and someone that I have gotten to know better during my time here.

Ian grew up in Oregon, went to school at Cornell, and works in tech. He started at Google in New York City before making the move out to Colorado where he eventually met his fiance Jackie.

On today's episode, we talk about ancient aliens, computer tech, Ian's journey into CrossFit, and his decision to tie the knot and marry Jackie.

Thank you all for listening and I hope that you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

On Episode 224 I sit down with Kevin Brockman. Kevin is a friend of mine from CrossFit Roots and probably one of my favorite people that I get to cross paths with in that gym.

Kevin grew up in Colorado and has traveled and lived all around the world. He was an anthropology/religious studies major in college, so naturally, we go down the rabbit hole of religion, the origin of the world, and we challenge religion and the different ideas/philosophies that different people believe. Kevin was an 80s kid and is pretty open about his experiences growing up in that time. We also talk about CrossFit, what he likes about it, and more specifically, what he enjoys about the community and the people at CrossFit Roots.

Thank you all for listening and I hope you enjoy the show!

On Episode 223 I sit down with Annie Yolitz. I was originally introduced to Annie through her husband Brian, who you may remember from Episode 203. I met Brian at the 2022 Big Fish Fundraiser and Annie ended up coming to Boulder a few months later for a Diesel Day.

Today, we talk about her Diesel Day experience, her path to becoming a nurse, becoming a recently new Grandparent, and CrossFit. But what really fired me up about this conversation was Annie's desire to do hard things and just how fired up she is about life in general. Her energy and attitude are contagious and I think we can all learn a thing or two from the way that she approaches life!

I hope that you all enjoy this conversation as much as I did! Thank you for listening!!

On Episode 222 I sit down with Robin Opie. Robin is a friend of mine and someone that I have gotten closer to during my time working with him at CrossFit Roots.

Robin is a small-town Kansas kid who ended up throwing Shot Put at a very high level at Princeton. He went into the corporate world where he worked at multiple companies before landing where he is today working for CrossFit HQ. But what inspired me most about this story was Robin's journey to finding CrossFit. In his own words, CrossFit saved his life.

And today we talk all about that story and how it got him off of the hampster wheel and day-to-day grind of the corporate world and investing more in his health and fitness. We talk about how, for years, he was reluctant to start anything to improve his health because he believed that if you weren't working all the time, then you weren't working hard enough. Robin explains that if he didn't get into CrossFit when he did that he was on a trajectory to weigh over 400 lbs. at this point in his life. It wasn't until his boss, Eric Roza, stepped in and paid for him to start going to CrossFit that things began to take a turn for the better. Now, Robin is hooked and the rest is history that is being written every single day.

I was inspired by this story and it reinforced to me the power of CrossFit. Robin's story is one that is happening at CrossFit boxes all around the world and one that everyone needs to hear. All it takes sometimes is a little nudge to change someone's life and put them on a trajectory to living a happy and healthy life. It's stories like these that fire me up every single day to go to work and do what I do.

Thank you all for listening and I hope that you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

On Episode 221 I sit down with Molly Ware. Molly is a friend of mine from CrossFit Roots and someone who I have gotten to know better during my time here.

Molly grew up in Maine and rowed and skied in college at Harvard. She ended up in Med School in Denver and is now a Cardiologist who practices at Boulder Heart. Molly started CrossFit at the age of 40 and enjoys it for the community and the fact that it feeds, as she puts it, her slightly competitive edge. I really enjoyed this conversation and learned a lot from Molly in the process.

Thank you all for listening and I hope that you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

On Episode 220 I sit down with Jon Sisenwein. Jon is a friend of mine from CrossFit Roots and another person who has to put up with my shenanigans on a daily basis.

Jon grew up in New York just outside of New York City. Jon got into advertising after college and was a creative director for over 20 years before finding his way into Real Estate. Jon got into CrossFit via his wife Sara and we talk all about the key role that CrossFit has played in his life, why he does it, and what keeps him coming back for more.

Thank you all for listening and I hope that you enjoy this conversation as much as I did!

On Episode 219 I sit down with Danny Garbe. Danny is a friend of mine from CrossFit Roots and someone that I have gotten to know a little bit better during my time here.

Danny is a Colorado native and went to school at CU. He took a year off after college to live in Hawaii and it is mind-boggling to me that he didn't spend any time surfing while he was there. When he came back, he randomly fell into what he is doing today working as a real estate broker.

Danny got into CrossFit via his wife Tina, who you might recall from Episode #201, who had been at CrossFit Roots for about a year and a half or so before finally wearing him down and getting him to join. The rest is history.

Thank you all for listening and I hope that you enjoy the show!

On Episode 218 I sit down with Jackie Batrus. Jackie is a friend of mine from CrossFit Roots and someone that I have gotten to know pretty well over the last couple of years.

Jackie grew up on the east coast just outside of New York City. She went to Boston College for Undergrad and is now at DU for Graduate school in Marketing. Jackie has worked as a content creator for influencers and now works as a content manager.

Jackie got into CrossFit right around the same time that I started coaching at CrossFit Roots. She is very passionate about fitness and is currently searching for a way that she can make an impact through storytelling in that space.

Thank you all for listening and I hope that you enjoy the show!