At the start of the Open, S2S CrossFit had a pull-up bar, a squat rack, one barbell, a few kettlebells and dumbbells. And that's it.
Photos courtesy of Crissilia Suta
The announcement of Open Workout 13.3 sent many affiliate owners across the world scrambling to purchase medicine balls of the right weight.
That solution was simply not available for one owner.
S2S CrossFit, one of the world’s youngest affiliates at just about a month old, is located in the idyllic island paradise of Bali, Indonesia – a gorgeous place to work out, but not the easiest place to stock up on CrossFit equipment. At the start of the 2013 Open Workouts, S2S CrossFit had a pull-up bar, a squat rack, one barbell, a few kettlebells and dumbbells.
And that’s it.
S2S owner and head coach, Crissilia Suta, tried various solutions to her 13.3 conundrum – filling basketballs with sand, for one – but ultimately had to cancel the workout for her box. However, Suta has ensured her athletes have been able to partake in the rest of the Open by borrowing barbells and weighted plates from local globo gyms, while her equipment sits in a Jakarta port waiting to clear customs.
Though she’s found this entire building process challenging, Suta has no regrets bringing CrossFit to her new home.
“I’m lucky everyone’s very understanding about our limitations,” Suta says. “My regular clients are so pumped for CrossFit right now. They don’t care how fancy my gear is. They just can’t wait to get stronger and fitter through this.”
S2S (which stands for “Strength to Strength”) currently occupies a 750-square-foot open-air building in the Canggu region of Bali, next to rice paddy fields and down the road from the beach.
Suta has lived by the water for much of her life, originally in Jakarta, then in New Zealand for about 12 years and finally back in Jakarta for the past year, where she worked as a trainer at CrossFit Equator. The avid surfer and former competitive swimmer found herself visiting Bali with greater and greater frequency in the past year, until she decided she simply had to move to the island.
“I’m very much in my element in Bali,” Suta says. “I’ve always had my eye on living in Bali for the surf and all. I couldn’t bear to think of having no CrossFit in Bali, so I figured it’s time Bali got introduced to CrossFit.”
Bali officially met CrossFit in the form of an AMRAP of double-unders, box jumps, burpees and dumbbell thrusters in February. Since then, Suta’s been encouraged by the local reception to the sport. Besides a steady stream of two to three tourist drop-ins a week, S2S has attracted six regulars.
One is a big-wave surfer who reports that his bottom turns on the surf have already become sharper and more aggressive. Another is quickly shedding the “Lazy Hawaiian” nickname he lived by for years because he could never stick to any workout plan for long.
“I avoided workouts, runs, gyms and fitness programs like they were the plague,” Matt Fredeluces says. “But then I was somehow convinced to try CrossFit and found that the functionality, mindset and fun that it provided was what I needed to finally get there. I now feel better than ever. I feel stronger, healthier, full of life and energy, and feel more stoked about life in general.”
No longer is he a “Lazy Hawaiian.”
It’s examples like those that motivate Suta to keep plugging on despite the speed bumps she’s faced equipping her box. She is already planning her next step for S2S – adding more than 300 square feet of workout space and an outdoor track around the neighboring paddy fields.
The scarcity of gym equipment suppliers isn’t the only challenge she has faced. Most parts of Bali remain very traditional, and its population is predominantly Hindu. S2S’s building lease came with two shrines in the front and one on the back wall.
“I look at it and think, ‘Hmm, perfect spot for a pull-up bar,’ but obviously, I have to respect their culture and leave it as it is,” Suta says, laughing.
No matter, Suta is determined to make it work, just as she has from the day S2S CrossFit opened its doors for its first workout.
“Yeah it’s great to see the box up and running, but the most satisfying part is seeing my athletes get so pumped up about getting stronger,” Suta says. “All in all, we already have a little family of CrossFitters.”
And hopefully box members will be able to complete all the Open workouts in 2014.
