"We ignored the fact that very few people in the Western Cape of South Africa had ever heard of CrossFit."
CrossFit in South Africa was in its infancy three years ago with only three to five affiliates. All of those affiliates were in the most populated province of the country, Gauteng. At the time, the affiliates were still unsure about the prospects of CrossFit in the motherland, but Jobst Olschewski saw opportunity on the Cape coast.
“I love Cape Town, and the thought of pioneering CrossFit here was very appealing,” Olschewski says. “We ignored the fact that very few people in the Western Cape of South Africa had ever heard of CrossFit. We began training a few individuals in a park, but were looking for a decently-sized facility from the get go.”
The founder of Cape CrossFit’s attitude was “build it and they will come!” Three years later, Cape CrossFit still resides in the original facility. They have 500 square meters of space, of which 350 is training space. They have a total of nine staff, including four full-to-part-time coaches. Coach Christian Oman has been with the team for two years.
“I began coaching one advanced class a week, and now I run nine of them including regular classes and on-ramps,” Oman says.
Oman was part of the Cape CrossFit team that participated at the CrossFit Games in 2011. Oman balanced Games training and coaching by training twice a day in between classes. “I get to do what I love — coach people in a gym that offers me all I need for my own training, especially a great chef preparing our meals throughout the day in the gym.”
For Oman, the community vibe, constant hunger for improvement and endless training possibilities are what he loves most the affiliate.
“Eight months after opening our facility, our membership numbers doubled over one week. It seemed the message that what we do does work finally got out there. Since then, we’ve had steady growth, many ups and a few downs,” Olschewski says. “The only notable down was my well-documented uneven loading of a barbell in a head-to-head workout versus Batman (Oman), which resulted in me missing an easy lift and the loss of a series.”
To celebrate its three-year anniversary, the affiliate recently held a weekend event of different CrossFit and sporting activities. “The most important aspect of the anniversary event was to show appreciation to our members and to bring the community together,” Oman says.
For JP Seini, member of Cape CrossFit, the most enjoyable aspect of the event was the greater community involvement. “Ballistix CrossFit and CrossFit Tokai sent through numerous teams to support CCF in celebrating their three years. It really made the day,” Seini says.
A team event, women’s strength-meet and tennis event rounded out the weekend.
The strong sense of community at Cape CrossFit is something their members hold in high regard. “You walk into CCF and immediately feel acceptance, community, camaraderie and all-round general stoke,” member Tash King says.
Cindy Malga, one of the newest members, says the atmosphere is positive, fun, family, intense, supportive, encouraging and authentic.
Cape CrossFit has established a strong legacy and community in Cape Town in the first three years of operation, but they’re not done yet. “There are many exciting plans in the making, which we will reveal in due time.”
