Katie Hogan has been lifting since she was 13.

“I understand the stigma against girls getting bulky and strong, and I’ve had that feeling myself: ‘I don’t want to get too big,’” says the Level 1 Seminar Staff member. “But I love the feeling of being able to go up and rip a bar off the floor and have guys, girls, whoever look around like, ‘Oh my God, did she seriously just do that — with a side pony?”

Originally from San Jose, Calif., 29-year-old Hogan moved to the Los Angeles area because she wanted to work for a record label. She jokes that she still has a pipe dream to become a CrossFit trainer to a musician.

“Going on the Level 1 and getting to meet people who tell me that they’ve seen video of me, (I think), ‘Like, who am I?’ But they care. And my experience is now a part of their experience,” says Hogan, who finished second at the 2011 Reebok CrossFit Games Southern California Regional. “Getting to connect with a different group of 60 people every weekend has given me more as a person than as a coach.”

To register for a CrossFit Level 1 Seminar, visit CrossFit.com.