The coaching staff and members are happy to announce the March 2020 Spotlight Athlete is Brian K.!
If you’ve ever had the opportunity to chat with Brian, you would know he’s not only a positive force within the community at Levo but also provides a worldly and articulate perspective on nearly any topic, even while voluntarily riding the assault bike in 30 minute intervals. However, even after sharing your opinions on current events, you might not know what motivates Brian as an athlete.
In large part, Brian has been active his entire life, but his father’s diabetes diagnosis in 2011 had both him and his parents searching for more intentional fitness. Naturally, he first obtained a globo-gym membership, and, like most of us, eventually became bored with the repetitive routine and lack of direction; additionally, he found himself battling back injuries. In 2013, his boss introduced him to CrossFit through a video stream, and he became intrigued. Again, like many athletes considering CrossFit, Brian immediately dismissed his ability to excel at a sport that looks very challenging at first glance, but his boss convinced him to try it. Brian recalls his first workout being one of the notorious girl workouts—Kelly (5 rounds of a 400m run, 30 wall balls, 30 box jumps)—which is daunting to even a seasoned athlete. However, after getting time-capped halfway through the workout and spending most of it being puzzled as to why a workout would be named after a woman, he was hooked and ready to push himself beyond his perceived limitations. Seven years after that first experience, he’s still challenging himself mentally and physically!
Brian developed a sense of comfort at his first gym, but after getting married and buying a house in west county, Brian found himself needing to find a new gym in June 2019. He decided to check Levo out having known some of the coaches for years. Describing his transition to Levo, Brian says, “I was nervous to leave my previous gym home of 6 years but the community at Levo has been great since day one. Everyone was so welcoming and friendly my first few classes that the hesitation I was feeling dissipated very quickly.”
Throughout his time at Levo, it’s hard not to notice Brian’s commitment because he can be seen crushing calories on the rower and assault bike in addition to traditional CrossFit classes on a regular basis. Brian has his goals, and it is very easy to see that he is not willing to compromise those goals no matter his schedule or the required extra effort. “I knew I liked him when he greeted me with a firm handshake and a strong name,” said Coach Brian. “But as a searcher or stimulus, I really appreciate Brian’s approach to working out. He knows his history and always scales appropriately to hit the workout best for him. He will even tell you that his goal is to be a competitive female RX athlete. It’s why we love having him as a part of our community”
When asked what he is most proud of Brian states, “Just being able to show up day after day and put in the work. I’ve battled many physical and mental setbacks, but I’ve never given up.” He also notes that his self-confidence has skyrocketed in the last seven years because “while not all of [his endeavors] have been successful, [he has] not been deterred and [he] continues to strive to improve [himself] in and out of the gym.”
Brian’s ambitious nature is best exemplified by him setting the goal to ride to Herman, MO on his bike this summer. Everyone can all take a page from Brian’s book, and the Levo family is glad to have such a positive influence from him.
