*note: on the right is Pat Sherwood. Great guy. I'm not him.
If you've been around CrossFit for a few years, you're going to meet people who become your heroes.
You won't be able to stop yourself. That handshake at Regionals will be like an autographed baseball from a 50-home-run-hitter; though fleeting, just as memorable, and far more personal. In a sport where you can still walk onto the field after a major event and high-five the winner, most CrossFitters look to the athletes for inspiration. I'm not immune. I also look to the coaches, and the writers.
There's art in CrossFit, and my first exposure to Jon Gilson was when Lisbeth posted Don't Quit on the A-blog. I linked through, and spent hours reading his stuff. Here was a guy who wasn't going to the Games, but was running an equipment company....and the net total of his advertising, the part people remembered, was his essays. Motivational, some; instructional, others. He wrote essays to help others; he wrote essays ABOUT helping others. I frequently checked back for new posts.
When Lis confronted a non-CrossFit gym for plagiarising one of her essays, I had the idea to post - with permission - an week's worth of essays from each of my favourite four CrossFit writers. I chose, and asked, Lisbeth; Jon Gilson; Mark Twight; and Robb Wolf. Each responded immediately and graciously. It was like Mean Gene giving that kid a Coke: I was gulping CrossFit like it came from a bottle.
Months later, Jon agreed to let us write the first half of "Don't Quit" on our Catalyst Games 2009 t-shirts (above.) At my L1 Cert (taken nearly a year after we opened on an agreement with HQ,) Gilson was there. I grabbed him, and I don't remember what I said, but it probably sounded like this:
"HeyJonIreadeverythingyouwritenandyou'reawesomeandI'msogladyou'rehereIpostedyourdontquitarticleonthebacksofoureventshirtsand...." He laughed and said, "See you in there."
I listened to him all morning, and when it was time to learn the SDHP, Jon was my team leader. We practiced for a few minutes, and then he called me into the middle of the circle and asked me to demonstrate. Never has my back been straighter, or the pop from my hips crisper. "Here's a good example of a guy doing everything wrong," he said, and everyone laughed. Awesome.
At the Games last year, I found myself walking across the top lot at a very early hour (Masters athletes get up early.) I was hunting for coffee. Jon appeared out of the fog, veered toward me, and asked how I was doing. I hadn't seen him in two years. "Just want to thank you for all the support, man. Means a lot." It's like bumping into Michael Jordan after he'd retired and having him tell you, "Thanks for clapping so loud, and when you yelled, "Go, Michael!" in that sixth game, it really helped."
These days, admiration is often confused with star worship. I'm going to get teased about "man-love" and "bro-crushes," I know. But for a kid who wanted to be a writer and wound up owning a gym, having a guy like Gilson in the mix reaffirms that I can do both. Here's a guy who makes his living by selling, and makes his sales by...talking about the stuff he loves. He still does Level 1 seminars every month, repeating the same passionate message to beginners that he was saying four years ago. He still shoots video to help people do better pullups, and creates spreadsheets to help CrossFit Affiliates learn about cash flow. And he writes. His video crew is everywhere. He makes it look fun.
Tomorrow, Jon and I will be on a Q+A session together for CrossFit Affiliates. It's free. You'd be crazy NOT to listen to this guy talk for an hour. You may not run out and PR your snatch afterward (then again, you might!) but you'll PR your business. Thanks, Jon.
Sign up for the free webinar here.
More Jon Gilson stuff:
Jon on facebook (his posts are also great)
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