Shortly before 4:30 a.m. on the first day of individual competition, Director of the CrossFit Games Dave Castro sums up the collective feeling of the day.

“This morning is going to be awesome. Or a complete fucking disaster,” he jokingly pans.

His comment is just one of many in this five-part series that offers behind-the-scenes glimpses and interviews from the 2013 Reebok CrossFit Games, held in July in Carson, Calif.

CrossFit Inc. journalist Sevan Matossian catches organizers, volunteers and athletes before and after the events, grilling them in his signature style with a bevy of unrelated questions. Interviewees talk about everything from the competition to relationships and personal secrets.

“Did you just take a dump?” Matossian asks one competitor as he grunts during a stretch in the athlete area.

Then Matossian moves on to questions about whether athletes listen to rapper Eminem and more serious queries concerning balancing family with training for the Games. He even asks Jason Khalipa, who won the 2008 Games, if he goes to church.

“You’re so freakin’ random, dude,” Khalipa tells him with a big smile.

Video by Sevan Matossian and Adam Cline.