Around 8:30 AM on April 12, 2011, I met Danny on the El Medio bluffs in Pacific Palisades. It’s a discrete location insulated well by the beautiful Palisades community. Soon after we parked, I followed him out on the the dusty, rocky bluff that doubled as a dog park. There were 180 degree views of the ocean. “This is it,” Danny said.
Day 1
That day I watched as Danny led the first ever Functional Fitness on the Bluffs class. Lucy, Christy, and Nikki showed up and they were eager to train. The setting was unique and the hour was packed with thoughtful instruction and hard work, but the mood was loose and fun. I was starting to wrap my head around the idea of creating a program out of thin air.
Momentum!
Flash forward a year, next Thursday, April 12th, will mark our 1st Anniversary of FFOTB. Just look at how far we’ve come! A website, over 30 members and hundreds of fans and avid ‘drop ins,’ fancy online software, FFOTB shirts and bottles, and that’s just the superficial stuff!
Students have come and gone. Some have changed their lives in profound ways. Nikki ran her first 5K…without stopping, D.Pat lost 100 lbs, Jacob kicked asthma to the curb, Jun got a scholarship to play college baseball, Scotty is running pain free for the first time since little league, and dozens and dozens of our community members have changed their perception of health and fitness. Hell, we actually look forward to tough training together because for some reason… it’s FUN!
This whole experience has been incredible. I know I speak for Danny when I say I could only hope to have half the impact on our students as they have on us. So, here’s to our first year of ‘Awesome Practice!’
If you can make it, join us next Thursday we’d love to celebrate this past year with you at Baby Blues BBQ restaurant in Venice. It’ll be a night chalk full of great food, great people, and probably way too much chatter about working out!
"EUREKA!"
Logan Gelbrich
——————-
Wednesday’s Workout:
4 rounds:
5 Turkish Get Ups (Right)
5 Turkish Get Ups (Left)
10 Jumping Lunges
50m Bear Crawl
