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

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. For the last several years, I’ve worked as a
school counselor, both at the elementary and high school level. Crossfit
ignite has taught me to value self care and that my health should always be
a priority!

My favorite part about being a coach here at Ignite is meeting all these
amazing community members…YOU! Hearing your stories, your struggles and
watching you grow as an athlete is the best reward I could ask for as a
coach.

“Growth is painful. Change is painful. But nothing is as painful as
staying stuck where you do not belong”

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.

Growing up I was always involved in sports. Besides enjoying the competitive aspect of the game, I oddly enough enjoyed the fitness aspect of it all as well. The idea of pushing myself and my teammates to be better kept me motivated and determined. After playing soccer in high school, I continued my soccer career at Rowan University where I studied Health and Physical education. After seventeen years of soccer, it was finally time to hang the cleats up! I was lucky enough to have a best friend/teammate who persuaded me into trying CrossFit once my senior year season had come to an end. Fall of 2016 I tried one CrossFit class and I never looked back! CrossFit has allowed me to become stronger, mentally and physically, as well as provide me with a different challenge everyday. As a coach and an athlete at Ignite, it is truly fulfilling and rewarding watching others reach their goals within the gym as well as improving their overall lives!

“You’ll have to work very hard, harder that you’ve ever worked before. It will be tough. It’ll hurt. You might fail a thousand times before you make it. Others will beat you in competition. But I can assure you, if you keep your head in the game and train harder than you think you can, the reward will be sweet in the end.”

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!”