Words That Come Later

Updated Beginning To This Blog: It’s kind of emotional that my last entry was announcing the opening of Tribute Strength. Fast forward a fast five months and my next post is this…

I mentioned “words come later” the other day in one of the Tribute instagrams and it seems that “later” is right now. Saturday was a whirlwind of a day for obvious reasons and I’m pretty sure the nerves and adrenaline didn’t quite begin to calm down until Sunday morning. For those that stayed from start to finish you heard me say a few things at the end that you’ll recognize now. Personally, I see no harm in repeating myself since every word out of my mouth I meant. And every word out of my mouth that day came from the heart not the mind.

Thank you. Again, thank YOU. First and foremost. I’ve said it before when I’ve had the floor and I’ll continue to say it for as long as I’m able. Tribute Strength may be the name on the check that goes to Sgt. Wishnia and the money may have come via a fundraiser that TS held but there is no dollar figure on that check and no 8 minute AMRAP in that gym if there are no willing participants. 

It’s the community, and not just the CrossFit community, that deserves all the credit in the world for helping make “Tough Love” happen. We received donations from friends and family from all over. And personally, every time someone reached out to me my heart would skip a beat.

When this idea was in the planning stages we were thinking we’d be thrilled if we could be a part of raising some money and saw 40 teams as a dream! 60 teams later and the dream not only materialized but it multiplied. Multiplied to the point of secret concern about whether or not we could be efficient in event planning as well as ensuring event fun. I’ll leave the opinion of how the event was run to others but I’ll say this - I could not be more thankful for the people involved. Specifically people that are not only great event organizers but also great people. People that I can trust. People that stick to their word and will have your back no matter what. People I can legitimately call friends. People that I love. People like Aimee and Marlon Dungo, Jen Guiliano, John and Colleen Frank and my beautiful wife, Michelle Greco.

Countless other people that offered and provided assistance without being asked. People that shared the event and told friends and family. People that reached out and wished good luck if they could not attend. People that genuinely cared.

This all may seem like a dramatic thank you but for me it’s not. It’s honesty. Like I said earlier, I don’t speak from the mind. I speak from the heart. My heart was heavy on Saturday. Seeing a group of people come out to support a friend in ridiculously cold temperatures on an early Saturday morning is humbling. It’s special. It’s selfless. In the world of CrossFit where “community” is thrown around almost as much as “PR videos” are posted to social media it’s refreshing to see an ACTUAL community gather.

Which leads me to repeating myself once again. Thank you again to the following gym owners that not only supported verbally and financially but supported physically as well.  Joe Romano and Mission Fitness, Jason Reo and CrossFit Nutley, Martha Mistretta and CrossFit Caldwell, Rick Buro and Full Dimension CrossFit, Karen Agrifolio and Exit 153, Jamie and Pete Hasselberger and CrossFit Passaic Valley, and Cornell Hunt and Hunt For Strength.

Gym owners coming together to support a single cause that doesn’t involve a podium finish. Gratifying.

Not to be left out are those that participated representing other gyms in the area. Your support is something that we cannot adequately convey with just words.

Thank you also to Lululemon Athletica Montclair – Bloomfield Ave for assisting in the planning and logistics of the event. Including but not limited to, providing the Kettlebell Kitchen treats, the tremendous DJ Anthony Colon and generous gifts for the raffle. Specifically Brittany Burlazzi and Christian Lee-Fatt. Lulu has a great team in Montclair that also includes the likes of Julie Derosa, Kelly Corcoran, Renee Mlynaryk and Alex Schulien that are tremendous supporters of Tribute and for that we are grateful.

Thank you to our great friends at Iron Physical Therapy in Caldwell. Geno Mayes and Co. reached out offering to help in any way and help out they did. Geno is all class and so are the people that work alongside him.

Thank you to Israel Cronk and Bangz Salon and Spa for an incredible no questions asked donation that someone was lucky enough to take home.

Last but certainly not least. Thank you to the Wishnia family for being supportive and open with their story. That may be something that gets overlooked in all of this. It’s no easy task to open your soul up for public evaluation and opinion. Especially a wounded soul. Thank you Michael. Thank you Linda and Bernie. Thank you Dave and John. Any little bit helps so I hope this bit helps. Love you guys.

Next up – a podium finish for your country as opposed to your ego. #RoadToRio #TeamUSA

A Tribute

June 6, 2011 I walked into the doors of Brazen Athletics as a member and what ensued was a whirlwind of life changing attitudes, experiences and friendships. One experience in particular I want to point out as it directly relates to the meaning behind this blog.

I was in Boston watching the Northeast Regionals at a time when about 37 people gave a shit about watching competitive exercise. I spent some time with longtime friend, Rick Buro, whom I had not seen in a while, and he told me he was opening his own gym in a month. I was floored. Quite honestly, and he knows this, I was impressed.

I’m still impressed.

It’s now 2015 and here I am. Sitting on my couch thinking out loud. Thinking about how unbelievable it is that I’m in the process of writing a blog with an announcement of my own.

I’m opening my own gym. Sorry. Let me revise…

I’m opening my own gym!!!

So where does this blog go from here? Not sure. My fingers are shaking in both excitement and nerves. Grammar and punctuation are now at serious risk and I’m not going to apologize for it. After all, I’m opening my own gym…

…and it’s called Tribute Strength

www.TributeStrength.com

Open Your Door

"Deep down inside that's why I was so emotional yesterday. That's why when I was by myself I had tears in my eyes." - Constantly Learning

In the days prior and shortly after writing that blog I had a ton of people ask me if I would ever do it again. Not the blog – the triathlon. They knew how hard it was for me both physically and emotionally ‘cause, well, I wrote about how hard it was. My answer was always a resounding “absolutely...”

Some called me crazy while others called me a jackass. Despite the fact I may agree with them I’d rather make note those that said things like, “awesome,” “good for you,” and “more power to you.”

I’m a firm believer that if you are going to ask others do something than you better damn well be willing to do them yourself. I’m in the part-time business of asking others to do things that challenge them. Do things that force themselves to face fears. Fears that can be as simple as raising their hand in class amongst a group of people or as commonly frightening as climbing to the rafters of a warehouse with nothing but 20’ of time and space in between them and ¾” floor mats.

That being said, training for the 26th Annual starts tomorrow and if there is one person out there that finds the fact that I am facing an “ultimate fear” inspiring then the second I shut the door on that challenge is the second I’ve shut the door on that one person…

…even if that one person is me.