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Luis has made huge steps towards his health and fitness. His first class nearly ended in defeat. It was one of those typical terrible workouts that leave you beaten and wanting to quit. The entire noon class rallied around him and he refused to give up. Luis was hooked on the fitness and community.
Since that workout, a little over two years ago, Luis has become a staple in the noon class and an occasional guest in the a.m. He’s achieved over 60 PRs, taken ABF to several countries, placed 3rd at the ABF Games, and is registered to compete in his first local competition at New Year’s Revolution.
Perhaps the best example of Luis’s dedication is the extra time he’s putting into his competition prep. Several mornings since registering for NYR, Luis has been coming into open gym hours, working on his technique, and practicing the events.
He’s determined to give everything each and every day. Congratulations Luis, you’ve earned it!
These two amazing athletes have placed 1st in the overall standings throughout the year. The points are based on 12 Member-Of-The-Month workouts, the CrossFit Open, and culminate with the ABF Games. They’ve shown incredible dedication to ABF, progress in their performance, and support for their community. Dan and Amber rocked the entire year, won 2020, and are our Co-MOM’s.
CrossFit ABF is proud to announce Andrea as November 2020’s Member of the Month! An honor well deserved so yeah, we’re sneaking her in before she’s officially coaching. ;)
Andrea started way back in January of 2019 on a Groupon. She’s been a super energetic and enthusiastic part of the community every since.
She’s a foodie for sure. Several of Andrea’s Facebook and Instagram photos involve her eating something delicious looking. See what I mean :)
Andrea’s a quieter member. In fact, you’re more likely to notice her two horses tethered to the yoke than you are to notice her. She quietly crushes her workout and frequently posts a score towards the top of the whiteboard. She’s put a lot of hard work into her fitness and is already hitting few workouts at Rx weights.
CrossFit ABF is proud to announce Dan Stone as October 2020’s Member of the Month!
Dan Stone has been at ABF since its inception in November 2015. He’s considered a Founding Member – more like an OG Member. There’s hardly any event at ABF that Dan hasn’t had a hand in. He’s the kindest, most innocent person Ryan knows! And if you haven’t noticed, he’s pretty freaking fit and quite the cardio master. However, it wasn’t always like that.
When Dan first started CrossFit in 2014, the coaches at his gym thought he was hopeless. I know! Pretty unbelievable! Now, it’s pretty typical to see Dan toward the top of the leaderboard on almost every metcon. You might have seen his 1000m row time of 3:23. That’s crazy!! When it comes to fitness, Dan is very serious. Probably the most serious. Maybe you’ve seen one of Dan’s diary entries under the comments section under his score that looks more like a novel than the normal weight entry. And to be honest, he’s famous for his incredible workout faces. Take a look.
CrossFit ABF is proud to announce Amber as September 2020’s Member of the Month!
CrossFit ABF is proud to announce Samantha Taha as August 2020’s Member of the Month!
Self-proclaimed CrossLIFTER, Samantha Taha came to CrossFit ABF after a long stint only powerlifting at Gorilla Bench. Usually when you hear about a powerlifter joining crossfit for the first time, you hear about them hating all things metcons or cardio. Samantha is our Unicorn. She loves metcons, and has been crushing them since we came back to the gym. To add to her Unicorn behavior, one of her favorite crossfit movements is Sumo Deadlift High Pulls. I didn’t know that was allowed to be anyone’s favorite until I watched her perform the movement better than anyone in class (AND with a big smile on her face). Sam is notorious for her big smile. Her happiness and positive attitude is infectious! She walks into the gym smiling, then spends the entire class having a good time. And we love her for it!
This woman right here crushed Stay-At-Home workouts! While a lot of us struggled to get our butts off the couch, Jessie saw this time as an opportunity to push her fitness to the next level.
Jessie joined ABF back in October 2019. She started with the nutrition/HITT Challenge at ABF looking to lose body fat. She walked in the door as a very tiny person, but now she’s pretty shredded! Her transformation has been amazing, and we’re so glad she decided to stick with it after her 6 week challenge into Crossfit. Look at her now, she successfully completed her first Murph and is one of the gym’s best runners. Seriously, you should see her! She now loves running and will take up any opportunity to do so with her running buddies, Sarah, Dan and Joey!. She even competed and swept the ABF Games. Impressive to say the least!
The woman who has The unsung hero of Crossfit ABF, Valerie Potucek is our honorable member for the month of May. She’s a founding member – hooking her flag to ABF from the very beginning. And believe it or not, this woman is responsible for everything from the ABF logo, branding, marketing and any promotional graphics/material for each competition. She’s an accomplished graphic designer.
The woman who has every reason in the world to be glum right now, and instead she tackles every day with massive positivity like I’ve never seen! She gets her workouts done with a smile and a beast mode photo, and then spends her work day navigating video classroom teaching. She is an amazing human making the absolute best out of a crazy situation.
Bre originally joined the gym to lose weight to fit into her wedding dress. And not long into her fitness journey, she was hooked on ABF and making supreme strength gains. And Bre never cowers from a challenge. After joining the gym, she hit the ground running participating in the 2018 Crossfit Open. Bre made a name for herself very quickly and even registered for her first competition with Stevie, Beauty is a Beast III.
Brandi Bryant is our first member to be Member of the Month twice! This time for never backing down at all to the ABF Challenge! She made an incredible transformation and landed in 1st place on the Wodify Rise app with an amazing 298 points! You go girl!
We’re all so proud of you and so happy for you!
Look out for her MoM WOD to show up later this month
Theresa’s a former physique competitor and Chad’s a giant nerd. They sound mighty different, but boy spend one evening out with them and you’ll know why they are made for each other. They met over 10 years ago and married in 2013. These two travelled high and low for a good time like their visit to Germany for Oktoberfest! Are you even surprised? It’s like their Mecca! And we love them for it! These two may be leaving us, but they will always be the wild and crazy couple one-wheeling all over town and straight into our hearts…
Kelly Zerlin joined ABF on July 25, 2017, and she’s been the single most consistent person at ABF (even more than Ryan). As a matter of fact, she attended the most classes out of anyone in 2019 with a total of 195. That’s more than 60% of the available workouts for the year. Kelly was no stranger to Crossfit when she joined ABF. She’s been crossfitting (shh…you know it’s a word) since as early as 2013 over at Crossfit Manta Ray. If you haven’t noticed, she’s the Queen of Sit-ups. She loves to show up early to class and spend her time warming up with a hundred or so sit-ups. NBD. Once class starts, don’t be surprised how strong Kelly is. She’s pretty casual about it, but her name shows up toward the top of the leaderboard of most lifting days lately. And we couldn’t be prouder of how far she’s come…
Kelly Scanlon discovered ABF through the 6 Week Challenge. And she hasn’t slowed down. She accomplished the challenge (more on that later) and ultimately decided to stick with us (because we’re so magical). Since then, she’s been a force to be reckoned with and uses classes at the gym as an escape! She even inspired (dragged?) countless friends to try out ABF and drink the kool-aid with her. Kelly looooooves dogs, and she’s got a couple of kids that she adores (as any mother would). She definitely has a huge personality and embraces her red-headed-ness more than even our fearless leader. If you don’t know Kelly, you can find her in the evening CrossFit Classes around 4 to 5 times a week…
Jeff is one of the original, founding members of Crossfit ABF joining way back in 2015. And boy has he come a long way! When he first started, he really didn’t know much about regular exercise and pretty much stayed attached at the hip with Sarah McCallister. Nowadays, Jeff has found his true calling in Crossfit as an incredibly proficient olympic lifter with particularly impressive technique at the Snatch. Those hips snap Waaaaaaaaaay open real quick. He’s not only a lifter. This guy is fit. He has competed in several competitions from Clearwater Beach Brawl, WOD Wars, New Year’s Revolution and most recently in the Pillage of Palm Harbor…
Seth joined the gym during the 2019 Open back in February. Crazy time to join, right? Well, somehow we made a great impression on him and he decided to stay. AND, he loved the gym so much he booked a long-term membership. Now that’s dedication! Seth works as a gaffer on most days. Most recently he worked on productions for the Tampa Bay Lightning. They’re pretty badass! He’s also a husband and a self–proclaimed father of 4 cats. They’re adorable too..especially the little black kitten! Seth has also participated in Half-Marathons, OCR and Spartan races. So it’s safe to say this guy LOVES running…
Morgan Potter started CrossFit as a student at Florida State University. After receiving her Level 1 Crossfit Certification, she began coaching at a gym in Tallahassee. After a short while, she left and moved to St. Pete for work. That’s when she graced us with her presence and stole all our hearts. She joined Crossfit ABF as a coach in early 2018. She started off quiet – timid almost. And everyone wanted to know “Who is this girl with the badass Rogue hair?” It didn’t take long before Morgan drank the unicorn-flavored ABF kool-aid and burst out as the awesome coach we now know & love…
Introducing August’s featured Members of the Month powered by: Valor Fitness, Jenkins Law & Massage and Wellness Spa! CrossFit ABF is proud to announce Achilles & Dunkin as our August Featured Members of the Month (with honorable mention to Jillian Usher and Tiffany Sharier). These two have shown determination and fierce will to make a real lifestyle change. They came in as part of the 6 week challenge and didn’t miss a beat. They pushed each other from day one to not only complete the challenge but also make amazing transformations…
Introducing July’s featured Member of the Month powered by: Valor Fitness, Jenkins Law & Massage and Wellness Spa! CrossFit ABF is proud to announce Brandi Bryant as our July Featured Member of the Month! After spending two years at another gym, Brandi joined ABF on April 28th, 2019. She came in with a banger of a deadlift and at least one Crossfit competition under her belt. Her team, Snatch Sisters, took 11th place at the stacked Novice division of Valor Games last year. She’s certainly a rising star here at ABF and regularly attends the 5:30pm Crossfit class…
Joey Wheeler, one of the very first members at ABF, started in November 2015. He joined with Dan as green as could be. Probably hadn’t even touched or seen a barbell in his entire life. And now… he’s the guy running circles around you all while wearing a weight vest. Joey is a pivotal member of the gym and a huge part of the reason the gym is where it is today. He and Dan forced Ryan to run a Groupon and get the word out on how awesome ABF is to the everyday gym-goer. And together, they coordinated to improve upon the Groupon and expand the gym even more. Joey stayed consistent hitting the box 5 days a week for the better part of the last three years. He pushes himself in a workout even when he says he won’t…
Brandon “Kaepernick” Gordon has been a staple of the 7:30am class. After earning his nickname due to frequent periods of rest during a workout, he no longer has to take a knee thanks to consistently pushing himself and his fellow athletes. He’s a perfect example of a person dedicated to improving…
Eliana, affectionately known as “Brown Bear”, embodies the spirit of a true ABF family member. She’s made a permanent mark on our lives and gym since she joined over three years ago. As evidenced by the name, SwansonDottir shares her love for both fitness and family in everything she does…
I dare you to tell Pietro he can’t do something. A switch flips in his mind and the pain receptors must shut off completely. He’s one of those rare people who can push themselves past the threshold of discomfort to get that last rep or squeeze in one more calorie – It’s incredible to watch. Pietro’s frequently putting in two-a-days. He always comes to class early and stays late to work on his mobility. He’s always been strong and stubborn. Now that his technique is catching up, he’s keeping up with the most competitive athletes in the gym. He has a long way to go to reach his highly set goals but he has that stubborn strong will to get himself to the next level…
Kylene embodies the true spirit of a go-getter. She always gives her workouts 100%, rarely misses a night of CrossFit and frequently has questions to make sure she’s doing exactly what the coach is asking. Just look for the “lost puppy look” and a hand in the air and you’re sure to find Kylene. She’s become a staple in the evening class and is clearly passionate about her fitness…
CrossFit ABF is proud to announce Adam Swindell as our January’s Featured Member of the Month! Adam “flyboy” Swindell (okay maybe that’s not his real nickname but it totally works) has been with us for just over a year. Work moved him to the other coast for a good portion of 2018 but he stayed in shape and came back to ABF stronger than ever. Recently, a freak calf tear put his training on hold for a couple weeks. He found our local PT friend, finished rehab and has come back strong in December. He’s a staple in the noon class and always pushing his workouts as hard as possible…
CrossFit ABF is proud to announce Becca Wehling as our December Featured Member of the Month. Her eyes lit up as she watched the Rx females compete at Clearwater Beach Brawl, and she mustered up an, “I need to get better at this” attitude. Becca has made an amazing commitment to her fitness in November: She’s found an accountability buddy to encourage her to complete the “bitch work” nearly every day in November, she’s taking her nutrition seriously, and her attendance has dramatically improved. She’s joined the rowing club and now actually enjoys rowing…
CrossFit ABF is proud to announce Fawn Le as Novembers Featured Member of the Month. Fawn’s story starts out with a bit of trepidation. Like many others, she started her CrossFit journey with a free trial. She quickly realized CrossFit wasn’t for her and enrolled in our Bootcamp classes. A few month’s later 3-days-a-week Bootcamp turned into CrossFit and Bootcamp 5 days a week. Now Fawn’s and annual member, she participates in all the gym’s events and frequently brings in goodies for her CrossFit buddies. Fawn’s well known as one of our strongest ladies. In addition to her strength, she’s taken on our nutrition club and is showing serious progress keeping a journal of her diet…
CrossFit ABF is proud to announce AJ De Los Santos as October’s Member of the Month. Since January of 2016, AJ’s been getting faster, stronger and slightly more attentive. AJ wasn’t aware of how strong he was coming into the gym, having a full conversation about how “heavy” the weight was while he was squatting a couple hundred pounds. He’s since made serious progress with technique. Often the subject of what a lift should look like, AJ’s received praise on his form from boxes he’s dropped into while traveling. AJ’s an avid competitor and has truly embraced how CrossFit is changing his life…
Say hello to the one and only Acro Yogi, CrossFitting Superstar, Member of the Month – Evie! You might’ve noticed her constantly doing hand stands around the ABF floor. Not only is she extremely talented at CrossFit, but she’s got a whole new perspective on life…
It’s not often that your mother calls your gym to buy you a membership for your birthday. Unless, of course, you’re Stevie Scarlett. A cornerstone of the 6 AM class, Stevie has taken gym dedication to a new level. From daily Bitch Work sessions since she first started to being a “bad influence” on Daria Orlova, Stevie has shown that her positive mindset is a force to be reckoned with. Get to know July’s Member of the Month, Stevie Scarlett…
Simply put, Chad Welch is a go-getter. A member for a little over a year, Chad is relentless about CrossFit-ing five days a week. On top of rigorous hours in the gym, he’s even taken up spinning and has competed in several races with his brother, Chris. There may not be a more passionate person in the gym, either. Just take a look around. Those fans on the wall, the axle bar, rainbow pipes, the wall-ball target and even the cool platform we borrowed from Valor? Be sure to thank Chad for all of it. If there’s someone that deserves to cement his legacy in CrossFit ABF’s Member of the Month pillar, it’s Chad Welch. Get to know June’s MOM with this quick interview…
You don’t have to hang out at CrossFit ABF very long before noticing there are only a couple kinds of apparel brands for our members. Some wear No Bull Shoes. Most have the – hometown favorite – Unicorn Tee Shirt. But, are you really a member if you don’t own a shirt with a massive avocado on the front?
Step into a 7:30 PM class at CrossFit ABF and you’re likely to hear squeaky screams from Kristel Lugo. Kristel, like several of her 7:30 compatriots, hasn’t been a CrossFit devotee for long, but that hasn’t stopped her from progressing quickly…
While most of CrossFit ABF’s athletes are a little too loud at times, you can always count the quiet, steady demeanor of Daria Orlova…
Member of the Month (MOM) Kaycee Cholak wasn’t looking for a second family, but she found one at CrossFit ABF. Down the Rabbit Hole… Kaycee’s journey down the CrossFit rabbit hole began when she realized she wasn’t seeing the results she wanted from weightlifting. “My first attempt at CrossFit was three years ago,” Kaycee says. “I did a few trial classes at a different box in St. Pete. I liked it, but I couldn’t afford it at the time.”
This month we’re featuring the incredibly active, Chris Welch. Chris is a guy who’s truly dedicated to his fitness. He’s participated in an abundance of activities and challenges himself daily to improve his health. Check out some of the ways Chris is changing his life…
This month we’re featuring the sweet and innocent Sarah Markussen, affectionately known as “Wass”. Sarah is one of our first members and certainly one of the most well known. Give a squeaky, “oh my gosh”, and anyone will know…
This month we’re featuring the one and only, Robert Swanson. Not only did Robert crush our latest nutrition challenge by dropping 11lbs and 2% body fat in just 4 weeks, but he’s a pretty cool guy as well. You’ll most frequently find Robert at the 6:30 PM class after his afternoon nap. He’s occasionally sleepy but always in a good mood. He’s always one of the first people to greet new members and strike up a conversation; most likely regarding a dad joke. He pushes himself hard every day he’s in the gym and has been striving to become more fit for over a year. When Robert first started he was barely squatting to a 20” box. Now he has a full squat clean and split jerk, and is moving some serious weight…
