Our Male Athlete of the Month for May is Dan Morrison! Dan has been a member of FitTown for one-thousand, one-hundred, and thirty workouts! (It sounds that much larger when written out.) He is one of the loudest (unpaid) cheerleaders in the gym, and is always introducing himself to new faces to make them feel welcome.
Dan has been crushing it this year so far with 105 workouts already in 2021. He just completed our 28-day Nutrition JumpStart and lost 2.2% body fat. He says at 42 years old, he’s now in the best shape he’s been in, in the last 20 years. He’s taken his fitness he’s gained at FitTown and has used it to compete in 8 different Spartan Races (the real ones, not just the BeachFit version).
Dan gives some great advice in his athlete feature and it really speaks to why we’ve chosen him as athlete of the month and why we choose anyone for the honor. He says, “If the Dan from 7 years ago was in front of me, I would tell him to trust the process, slow down, don’t worry about the leader board, worry about being a better leader. Work on being stronger for those that are starting as SO many were for me when I started. It’s more than fitness, it’s about the ability to live a great life in and outside the gym, and do it with amazing friends.”
We love that Dan, and love having you in our FitTown Family. Thank you for being a huge part of it over the years!
Here is Dan’s story…
I am originally from Arizona but moved to Jupiter 7 years ago with my wife and 2 kids. Parker is 12, Shelby is 13 and Danielle my stepdaughter is 23. I own the custom workroom Shelby-Parker where we create custom interiors for Homes and Boats.
I had always been in good shape as a kid and young adult. I started racing jetskis at the age of 12, and won multiple championships in the men’s division even as a young teenager. Wrestled all through high school and into college and played Rugby for ASU.
Then life hit, sports participation diminished, work happened, life happened, ups and downs happen and CrossFit wasn’t a thing that I knew of. A decade passes quicker than I remembered and the next thing you know I am moving across the country to Jupiter Florida.
As many know I love to eat, love to cook and love trying new and creative things with food. I was certified as an expert by the French Court in wine also know as a Sommelier certification and have a passion for things that are delicious. The downside is I had become fat but didn’t even know it.
I immediately found the gym and enrolled within my first few weeks of being in town. I thought I was still in decent shape, but Coach Brendon quickly showed me that wasn’t the case.
I don’t know why I kept coming back in the beginning, I was sore and it was hard, but something about it became addictive. Even with all the failures in my early days and the general realization that I was in fact, not fit, I still kept coming.
I realize now what it was. CrossFit and FitTown are a grouping of people that are a lot like me. It was this draw that I didn’t even notice. We work hard, we want better in life for ourselves and the people around us. Some of my most trusted friends I met at FitTown and they know I would bail them out of a Mexican prison and they would come get me. It’s also a place I find relief, because as we all know life can be a grind, but for an hour or so a day all I have to do is listen to a coach, chat with friends and drop some fitness hammers on life…and I have done that almost 1200 times to date.
At 42, I am in the best shape I have been in for the better part of 20 years. I have competed in many CrossFit events, 8 Spartan races including the Super’s and Beast races, and was invited to the world finals in Sparta Greece. FitTown has changed everything.
I am a significantly stronger person in part because of age, maturity, my family and life but also because of my fitness family. I am surrounded daily by successful, driven, smart, caring friends who want the best for me and me for them. When we do Murph, we do it and suffer together, or when JMac says let’s do the Hero WOD “Chad”, it’s together.
If the Dan from 7 years ago was in front of me, I would tell him to trust the process, slow down, don’t worry about the leader board, worry about being a better leader. Work on being stronger for those that are starting as SO many were for me when I started. It’s more than fitness, it’s about the ability to live a great life in and outside the gym, and do it with amazing friends.
My advice to anyone who wants to start is to try it once, just once, meet with a coach, watch a workout, but don’t let that decade go by and wish you would have joined that one place, that one time. Winston Churchill said, “History shall be kind to me for I intend to write it”. This is the start.
I am honored to be your male athlete of the month. I appreciate all this community and coaching staff has given to me over the years and although I think I should have been AOM like 15 times by now, (only kidding) I cant tell you how much I appreciate the recognition.
