It's all sweat, chalk and happiness at CrossFit Central Helsinki.
Affiliate Name: CrossFit Central Helsinki
Affiliate Owner: Ben Liuzzi and Hanna Koskenranta
Affiliate Since: January 2012
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Square Feet: 3,300
Number of Members: 104
Describe your affiliate in six or fewer words:
Sweat, chalk and happiness.
How did you get your box started?
It was a dream to open a box for five years before we pulled the trigger. We relocated to Helsinki from China in 2011 and the process really began. We trained a very dedicated group of people for free in a local park for six months before the doors finally opened. The outdoor training-group created a critical mass that gave us the confidence that the affiliate would be successful.
Tell us who you were/what you did before you owned a CrossFit affiliate.
Ben has been involved in the health and fitness industry for more than 10 years in various positions including working as an exercise physiologist back in Melbourne, Australia. Hanna is a self-confessed China geek, and spent a large part of her time working and studying in various parts of China. Both of us have had the opportunity to travel in various parts of the world and that remains a passion of ours.
Do your members compete in the CrossFit Open/Games or in local competitions?
We had only just opened when the CrossFit Open began in 2012. We had 11 members officially register and compete. Since then, the affiliate has grown and the interest in competition has developed significantly. We expect that we will have more than 30 people register this year. In addition to the Open, we just recently held our first ever intra-gym competition over three weeks. It was a great success, and many of the members set new records under the influence of some crowd support.
What do you and your members do together besides train?
We have organized a few official nights out and other social events to give everyone a chance to let their hair down. We are lucky to possess such a wonderfully social group of people and many of members are friends outside of the gym.
Best lesson you’ve learned so far:
Hard work pays off. Our members work their arses off each week and get great results because of it. There are no shortcuts. Effort = reward.
Advice you wish you had been given:
It is not that critic that counts. It is easy to get swept up in emotion and pay attention to “keyboard heroes.” We put all our effort and care toward our members that are willing to work hard, learn and forget their egos.
What question would you love to ask other affiliate owners?
Do you dream about burpees?
Why do you do this?
How many people can say that they get out of bed and look forward to working long hours? We can. Using our knowledge to support and encourage our members who are willing to work hard is extremely satisfying.
Tell us something cool, unusual, or just slightly different about your affiliate.
As an Australian, Ben coaches his classes in English. As he coaches most of the classes, this means that 95 percent of our members receive their coaching in a non-native language. Our greatest fear before opening the box was that the language would be a barrier for potential members. Thankfully, our members, and Finns in general, are an extremely smart bunch and they handle the language faultlessly. Ben’s Finnish skills are progressing at a snail’s pace, but he is gaining an excellent knowledge of Finnish swear words from when double-unders or burpees are programmed.
Is there a story in your affiliate that needs to be told? Tell us!
One of our members, Hans, had never held a gym membership before starting with us. In his late 30’s, Hans was a regular runner and wanted something to catch his interest and provide some variety. Having now trained consistently for over six months, Hans just got his first muscle-up, can clean his bodyweight and has overcome years of accumulated stiffness to be able to overhead squat with correct position. Of course, like all true CrossFitters, Hans has his eyes on the next prize, and the next one and the one after that!
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