Building the 718 Community

By: Reuben Pearlman

You’ve all heard it before. To outsiders, Crossfit is viewed as a “cult.” The thing is, Crossfit is more than simply an exercise routine. What makes Crossfit unique transcends coaches and programming. Crossfit, centered around your local box, is a community of people who are all interested in the same goal: bettering themselves. This Crossfit community is what really sets us apart from your average globo-gym, and leads to that “cult” label.  As Allison Truscheit says in her article for theboxmag.com, “Communities form at CrossFit gyms in the most random ways. People from all walks of life end up in a class together, sweat together, suffer together and work hard on weaknesses together. Through these experiences they become friends and walls are broken down. People become friends with people they never would have expected.”

I think it’s safe to say that many of you reading this already know that Crossfit is a community. You already attend the same 6am class on Tuesday with the same handful of people every week, and you’ve already experienced the camaraderie and support from your fellow athletes. But what about the community experience outside of your daily WOD? Reading this monthly newsletter, for instance, which highlights non-WOD events and box members, is a great way to keep informed and learn about your fellow 718-ers.

Thankfully, in the age of social media, building a community is easier than ever. Crossfit 718 has an active Facebook page, where athletes can find information and communicate with others. “Like” us, and stay up to day automatically. But did you know we also have a blog, where members can post about whatever is on their mind? By going to the “Members” -> “Workout of the Day” tab, athletes can “Leave a Comment” regarding their experience with a particular workout, funny memory from their time at the box, or simply trash talk with fellow 718-ers who might have done the WOD at a different time! You can email alerts: check the box at the bottom of any post that says  Notify me of new posts by email.

In addition to an online community, Crossfit 718 also does a ton of things to build a physical community. We host parties, movie nights, BBQs, and 5ks. Many of these events have excellent turnouts, but all too often athletes don’t find out about events until afterwards. If this sounds like you, you might want to subscribe to our email list by visiting our website, if you haven’t already.

And to ensure you don’t get left out of the fun, Crossfit 718 is excited to be hosting a Pot Luck Party on Sunday, March 27^th, from 11am to 2pm at the box.  Go to the “Events” tab on our website to learn more. And while you’re there, “Leave a Comment” and get the conversation going!