Chris Hogan has a certain mystique about him. The fact that he very rarely films or times his workouts reflects this. But one thing is for certain, when it comes to competition, Hogan delivers.
Reluctantly starting his CrossFit career in 2008 after being “dragged” along with his girlfriend, from the outset Hogan had a bright future in this sport. He quickly picked up technical movements and had a knack for staying composed and fighting through physical pain barriers.
“The Unicorn,” as he is affectionately known, has qualified for the CrossFit Games the past three years.
Whilst Hogan works as a trainer at Schwartz’s CrossFit Melbourne, in addition to running the Australian arm of mega-CrossFit company Rogue Fitness, Hogan maintains that CrossFit is “a passion and neither work nor [his] sport.” Plain and simple, he does CrossFit “because I enjoy it and loves to compete.” As soon as it stops being fun or begins to feel more like work, he will throw in the towel.
This natural gift for competition truly came to the forefront in the 2009 Games season – the first year where qualifiers were held. Hogan was a no name from Melbourne, who went about his business in the very first heat whilst Commando and others battled it out in the later heats. That weekend, he stamped his authority with a 2nd place finish and had his efforts rewarded with a ticket to the CrossFit Games in Aromas, Calif.
Hogan has steadily lifted his game from that point onward and has been a regular fixture at the top of the table in Australian CrossFit competitions. “The Unicorn,” as he is affectionately known, has qualified for the CrossFit Games the past three years and remains the man all other competitors in this region watch.
Other than Hogan’s impressive physical ability, many see humility and composure as his most impressive traits. The mental or physical strain rarely shows and Hogan genuinely appears to be relishing the competition. While wanting to win is an objective; rather than focus entirely on winning, Hogan keeps things in perspective.
Ultimately his end goal is “to try and find his physical and mental limits and to constantly improve in many different aspects of fitness.” In this way, the highly-strung mental game of competition is set to one side. Competition simply serves as a training ground for how he is progressing, with results by no means defining his year.
This relaxed take on competition has come from years of competing and he has learned to trust in his own abilities and just enjoy himself.
Whilst Hogan is a three-times Games competitor, making it to the Games year after year is “not indicative of [his] success.” Hogan has a set expectation of himself but the pass/fail rate is not whether he qualifies to the Games. However, Hogan is a true competitor and says he would love to continue doing so for as long as he can.
After a dominant performance at the recent Again Faster Hard’nup Challenge, Matt Swift, owner and trainer of CrossFit Brisbane, put it best when awarding Hogan’s winner’s check. Hogan was introduced as “the man that just cannot be kept down.”
