I found CrossFit in 2008 and immediately knew it is what I wanted to pursue. At the time I was involved in boxing and training athletes. I would always create high intensity workouts for my self to keep my muscles strong and mobile, body building was making me to stiff, Circuit training we called it at the time. Once I found CrossFit it put specific parameters around what I already believed in. CrossFit introduced a time aspect, a self awareness to your output threshold and it was just down right FUN!.. I fell in love at first WOD and have not looked back since. Fast forward 9 years later, YES 9 YEARS! I am still as much in love with the idea of CrossFit and owning a CrossFit Gym as I was in the beginning. Ignite has shown me so much about people and my self. The amount of blood, sweat and tears that I have seen run through the gym over time is something I am truly proud to be a part of. It is more than fitness for me, it is about influencing and positively infecting each and every person who walks through that door. We all feed off each others passions and weirdness. I like to call it the land of misfit toys. We all have our “stuff” we deal with, but TOGETHER we are a supportive community of like minded people ALL working TOGETHER as one unit to make EACH OTHER the best we can be. For that I am forever grateful.  To be able to play that part in peoples lives is something I do not take for granted and every day I am thankful I can wake up and be around people who truly have a selfless invested interest in me and the people around them.

Favorite movement or WOD? I love doing Turkish Get Ups.. I can be a bit stubborn about my expectations from people with this movement because I believe in it so much.  Balance, Stability, Mobility and Strength. It is just beautiful.

Least favorite movement or WOD? Any WOD that takes over 10 minutes!! I am by far not even close to the top athletes in our box.. Expect me to be cursing and sucking wind right next to you on the gym floor saying “why are we doing this?”….

What do you like to do outside of CrossFit? I have been an entrepreneur since I was a child. I was always trying to start something, from my first venture stealing golf balls off the golf course then trying to re-sell them to the golfers, to opening CrossFit IGNITE, to now running my own DIY vinyl record label. I was meant to always be a Do It Yourself Guy.  I love art, and music is my passion. I grew up skateboarding and attending punk rock shows on the Lower East Side of New York City at a young age and I am still heavily involved with that scene and culture. The values I learned in that world are the foundation of the ethos of who we are at CrossFit IGNITE. We do not run with the pack, we are out of step with the world!

“We do not create an identity in our past failures”

“I was early to finish, I was late to start, I may be an adult BUT I’m a minor at heart!” – Minor Threat

“Come out of the masses. Stand alone like a lion and live your life according to your own light” – Osho

Teacher by day, CrossFit enthusiast by night. I am a Montclair State University Graduate in Psychology and have obtained a Masters degree at William Paterson for Education. CrossFit is the only other think I’ve found to feel as passionate about other than my love for teaching!

Barbells…..AND heels…that’s my motto! I sure do love my heels BUT I may like my Reeboks and chalky hands better! I have been into fitness for as long as I can remember. I worked at a health club and would work out for hours on end. Coming from a sports background, pushing my limits was something I was use to…BUT finding CrossFit brought that to a whole new level. I started CrossFitting about 6 years ago. I could never imagine doing what I am doing now…and as a woman knowing you are strong, is empowering! I am now physically fit AND mentally fit. CrossFit, Ignite to be specific, has shown me who I am as a person and what my body could actually handle. I am moving weights that I wouldn’t have fathomed; I am competing in competitions with a drive I’ve never had before, I am humbled after almost every workout and I WANT to be better than yesterday, every day. I have an overall positive mindset on my life and I truly believe that it is because of Ignite. In one decision, I gained a family that is so supportive and understanding as well as an incomparable healthy lifestyle that I wouldn’t trade for the world.

All I can say is….TRY IT. Put yourself out there and strive….you’ll be surprised at what you can do…

~ Though she be but little, she is fierce! – Shakespeare

Doing CrossFit and kettlebell workouts for himself, he started coaching and became part of the Ignite Crew. The highlight of coaching at Ignite is the ability to work with so many amazing people and watch them accomplish physical feats they never thought possible. It’s great to see someone have that A-ha moment when they nail a movement for the first time.
Favorite Wod: Diane
Favorite movement: HSPU
Least favorite wod: duh, Fran
Least favorite movement: AIR SQUATS

Outside CrossFit I enjoy playing golf

I have been exercising as long as I can remember. At the age of 16, I started lifting weights in the basement with my brother and his friends. Basement workouts were the gateway to many global gym memberships. As I studied Exercise Physiology in college, weight training became a way of life for me, eventually leading me to compete in a few body building competitions.

I am a graduate of William Paterson University, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science. Upon graduating, I began personal training and have continued down that path for 15 years. My love for exercise led to my decision to go back to school and earn a Post Graduate Degree in Physical Education. After teaching Physical Education, Health, and Drivers Education for just one year, I realized I enjoyed Personal Training much more.

In 2010 I was introduced to Crossfit Ignite by a couple of friends. So thankful that they did!! About two years later I began coaching. Everyday at CFI I continue to learn something new. What I enjoy most about coaching others is the excitement they get when they finally get their first kipping pull up, hit a PR, or a movement just clicks for them. I love how the community truly becomes an extended family and how each Crossfit workout can be Humbling, yet rewarding all at the same time. Crossfit Ignite has become my sanctuary.
Favorite movement: Cleans
Favorite Wod: Fran/Helen
Least favorite movement: Squat snatch
Least favorite Wod: Isabel
When not doing Crossfit I like to spend as much time outdoors as possible… preferably in warm weather!!
“Trust the wait. Embrace the uncertainty. Enjoy the beauty of becoming. When nothing is certain, anything is possible”

I have always loved sports, playing outside as a kid, and doing physically challenging things. While I enjoyed playing sports and being in a team environment, I always had that drive to see what I can do…personally…to prove something to myself. Studying Kung fu certainly puts that focus and drive to the immediate test, as any martial art will. Reality hits you quite literally in the face if you’re not 100% focused!! After studying and practicing for many years, I felt the need to be better conditioned for my art. Enter Crossfit Ignite. From the day I walked in here, I knew my life had changed. I found it to be quite like the study of Kung fu, in the way we are studying “motion” rather than just “lifting”. I also found that crossfit immediately brought your mind into focus, as if your are not mindful of what you are doing, reality will hit you in the face!! When I was offered the opportunity to Coach here, I jumped at the chance! I truly enjoy coaching, teaching and learning. The experience is richly rewarding on many levels. We all have different reasons and goals for being here, so I love helping everyone who walks through our doors try to achieve their goals, no matter what they are. I love being a Coach and am athlete here, learning, studying, and training with some of the most knowledgeable coaches and people I have ever been around. It truly is an honor.

“If you stop moving, you stop living!”- unknown

Fitness has always been an important part of my life. I always enjoyed the competitive atmosphere and camaraderie of a team. After playing four years of college level basketball at Rowan University, working out at your typical health club left me feeling frustrated, bored, and unmotivated. October 2013, I walked into Crossfit Ignite and my life forever changed!

Crossfit encompasses health, fitness, and community and brings them all into one environment. Not only has crossfit provided me the physical challenge I was looking for, but also has helped ensure my overall mental and emotional well-being. As an elementary school counselor and high school girls basketball coach, daily stressors can easily get in the way of self-care. However, Crossfit Ignite offers the family-like support and motivation that we all need!

After the many years of crossfit, there are still new goals to set for myself and some love/hate relationships with those oh so famous movements and WODs. Give me some double unders, cleans, and burpees (yes i said burpees), and I’m a happy girl! I think of probably several movements that make me want to cherry pick and eat a slice of pizza but we all suffer in them together and come out better and stronger in the end!

“Check your ego at the door! It doesn’t matter where you finish, only that you finished with INTEGRITY and give it a solid effort. Leave the gym better than when you walked in. Head high and be proud. This stuff is HARD!”

One of my favorite inspirational quotes is “ My mission in life is not merely to survive, but to thrive, and to do so with some passion, some compassion, some humor, and some style” by Maya Angelou. This fits my life motto pretty accurately.

While I was attending OCCC for my AAS I decided to take the personal training course as well. That was eleven years ago and it is still one of the best decisions I have ever made. Helping other people set and hit personal goals is truly enriching. Through personal training, coaching H.S volleyball, and teaching self-esteem boot camp for teenage girls I have learned a tremendous amount.

I came to Crossfit three years ago and it has been a thrilling and humbling experience. Crossfit Ignite gave me a sense of community I was yearning for and now coaching for them has fulfilled a desire to continually help people. I am currently finishing up my bachelor’s to become a Registered Dietitian at EMU. In the beginning of April I will be getting Crossfit level 1 and Crossfit Kids certified! I look forward to many more rewarding years at CFI.

I first discovered Crossfit in 2011 while visiting a close friend on the island of Oahu in Hawaii. While surfing every day for weeks I found myself deconditioned by the pounding of the waves. I then got turned onto CrossFit training and started spending one hour each morning training in and not before long I was able to hang with the best of them out in the water!

Having been a competitive wrestler throughout middle school and high school I have always been a gym nut. Even well after wrestling I started to focus on body-building style training but then found Crossfit and realized it was a perfect fit. I soon fell in love with gymnastics and olympic lifting within Crossfit. I combined that with a passion for helping people and it wasn’t before long that I started to focus my energy on sharing my knowledge of Crossfit with others. Having completed my Crossfit L1 and L2 I soon started olympic lifting training with some of the best around the world.

I have been with Crossfit Ignite since 2011 first as an athlete then mentored by Head Coach Steve to become a coach and soon after became part of the coaching team at CFI.

“I have trained all over the world, at some of the most renowned boxes and found that CFI holds something others miss the mark on. It is the one on one intimate coaching and time spent with the athlete whenever possible to make them a better, healthier, stronger athlete. CFI’s strong sense of community is bar none!”