Emily Shubin
Emily grew up playing just about every sport imaginable and loves to make anything into a competition. About a year after finishing her last season of college basketball, she was itching for something new and challenging when a friend told her about CrossFit. Stories of people throwing up during workouts (but having really nice abs) were all Emily had heard of CrossFit at that time and it took her a month of drive-by’s before she actually walked into the CrossFit gym to see what it was all about. Her first workout lasted seven minutes. After countless hours spent on the elliptical trainer and doing the “look-good lifts” at big box gyms, those seven minutes rocked her world. The workout is a bit of a blur now but it stands out as the experience that completely redefined the way she viewed fitness from that day forward.
She loves the competitive and game-like aspect of CrossFit but also the dynamic and supportive community of people it attracts, especially at Xplore CrossFit. She believes in the use of functional fitness and nutrition for making people better at their everyday lives and is motivated by seeing clients push past mental roadblocks and come to view themselves as “athletes,” whether they are 18 or 80. Emily appreciates that CrossFit is infinitely scalable and strives to make it accessible and welcoming for people of every age and ability.
Emily continues to be amazed by the humbling nature of CrossFit, as there is always something that can be done better and faster and someone in the gym who can do it better and faster. Her most humbling experiences tend to involve workouts with thrusters and pull-ups (ahem, Fran), which sometimes make her feel like tall people aren’t meant to do CrossFit, but she just considers it entertainment for the other members of the gym.
Pete “TJARKF” Jendro
Pete has been involved in athletics and training in one form or another as far back as he can remember. Aside from his family and his faith, football and baseball were the dominant interests in his life growing up. Right up until his senior year of high school when he realized he may in fact not turn out to be the next Deion Sanders. Believe me, this was devastating news to a kid who never thought about the possibility of having to get a “real” job. Pete grew up in Gig Harbor, WA where his main ambition was to obtain a D-1 athletics scholarship and make it big at the next level. Alas, when this did not happen he had to refocus his passion and competitive drive elsewhere. Not knowing what else to do he attended college at Washington State University in the metropolis that is Pullman, WA. Although he obtained his degree in business administration and made friendships that have immensely altered his life for the better, the internal drive and desire to compete against his self and others fell by the way side.
For a few years he joined the globo gym circuit and consistently went to the gym and “worked out” for roughly two hours a day 3-5 times a week alternating amongst chest/tri’s and back/bi’s…why would he do anything for his lower body, after all that’s what jeans are for right? Finally deciding that this wasn’t going to fulfill his need for competition and testing his athletic abilities he solicited the advice of an old high school friend whom he had noticed online was involved in CrossFit competitions. Pete had no idea what CrossFit was, even after his friend vaguely described what sounded like circuit training, but nonetheless he was intrigued and instantly started looking around the area for the closest CrossFit gym. With some help from a few work friends he stumbled upon Xplore CrossFit and proceeded to get emasculated by box jumps, deadlifts and rowing while a rather large and intimidating trainer named JHo (could that really be his name?) watched as he struggled mightily through 10 minutes of work and collapsed to the floor. Since that day Pete has been hooked and enjoyed his experiences and friendships that he has created at Xplore CrossFit more than he ever thought possible.
Pete fancies himself a nice, compassionate person(push-over) who genuinely wants to see other people feel good about themselves and help them surpass pre-conceived emotional and athletic thresholds. Not everyone sees him this way but most do. Training athletes and meeting such wonderful people in the gym has been an overwhelmingly positive experience for Pete and he is grateful for the opportunity to be a part of the XCF community.
Devin Blaze
Despite the name, Blaze is actually NOT an African American female gladiator (though neither of them will take their shirt off while working out). He had a horizontally gifted (read fat) childhood before losing the weight and picking up football, hockey and lacrosse in high school. He heard about crossfit in college while a friend was bragging to him about being able to do Fran in under 3 minutes. Blaze remembered a few semesters back when he remembers doing Fran in 30 seconds flat. He was intrigued and began taking the bus to the only crossfit gym outside Pittsburgh 2 times a week while getting his nerd degrees.
Blaze moved to Seattle in January 2009 and randomly stumbled upon Xplore. After receiving a beating from Jordan consisting of 32″ box jumps and deadlifts, Blaze was hooked. He has been learning from, helping, training and competing with Jordan and Xplore crossfit ever since.
The sense of community at Xplore is what keeps Blaze around. The people, the work ethic, and the knowledge in the Xplore community is unlike any other gym he’s been to. No one thinks harder about training than Jordan and it shows in all of the athletes. Come competition season, you will always see Blaze working toward the team competition because that is where his passion lies; in the community. He wants to work with other Xplore athletes to win and prove to the entire crossfit community that Xplore is one of the best gyms in the country.
Blaze is most amazed by how far crossfit can push the limits of the human body; not only physically, but also mentally. It doesn’t matter if it’s a veteran finally pulling a sub 2-minute Fran, or a newcomer finally finishing Fran with 12 bands and an empty barbell, crossfit athletes are breaking through their own barriers almost every day and it’s amazing to watch. Crossfit usually ends up being the most humbling and confidence boosting activity anyone takes on. Every athlete has moments where they question why they are putting themselves through this torture. Then they look in the mirror, or lift 2x their bodyweight off the ground, or remember where they were months or even weeks ago. It’s an addiction, but it’s one of the best ones you can have.
Annette “Rexy” Auger
Annette’s number one goal is to be awesome. What that means changes on a yearly, weekly, monthly, daily, basis – but the pursuit – to exude, attain, and glimmer with awesomeness always remains. What brought her to Crossfit was a general sense of frustration and the want to be as “cat-like” as possible. What kept her there was the immense amount of STUFF to be good at, the decreased amount of frustration spent on boredom and lack of achievement, and then again an increased amount of frustration with the unending need to get better NOW. There is so much to be good at, so much to be aware of, and so many ways to get there. There is no room for boredom there is just space to get better.
Annette comes from the mitten-shaped state of Michigan and has dabbled in sports throughout life. In highschool she was an okay soccer player and a decent tennis player. In college she was enamored with aerobics and took many step, cardio-kick, and ab-hour classes. She began to teach a couple step classes, but found that coordination and tempo and especially cuing with both in mind were not her forte. Luckily, kickboxing was- no, it wasn’t Tae-bo and yes there were actual bags involved. She ended up teaching the kickboxing class where there was an emphasis on form and not on staying in tempo to Brit Spears.
After college she took a karate class and tried her hand at running. Running she hated and karate was great. In Seattle she fell in love with hot yoga and practiced Bikram almost daily for a year. She continues to practice yoga and loves the combination of CrossFit and yoga. She has been Crossfitting since April 2009 and in June she joined Xplore CrossFit which gave her the ability to do DUs as well as gaining her the nickname Rex.
Bringing flexibility and body awareness to CrossFit is something she holds near and dear to her heart. Make your reps pretty, make your reps count, and make your training challenging by going further with intention. Control over body is magic. When you train range of motion and proper form you can prevent injury and increase capacity.
The reason she wants to train is because seeing people achieve is brilliant. It is amazing what a person can do with support. What she wants to bring is the understanding on how to train and train to get better, rather than to fight and beat yourself to a pulp everyday, with no purpose. She wants people to know what they are training for and hold that in their brain. She wants them to have fun, to get better, and to want to do their best.
Erin “Clancy” Kreiger
Challenge… it’s what Erin loves most about the sport of CrossFit. Erin’s always been the type to constantly search for her next challenge but since the day that she first walked into Xplore CrossFit there has been no need to keep searching as she finds that challenge every day in the gym. She loves that the sport is constantly evolving to include new tests of athleticism which means no matter how great the athlete, there are always things to improve.
Growing up, Erin loved playing all kinds of sports (except soccer!) but spent most of her time at the track. Her whole family participated on the local track team so while her mom and dad were off tossing the shot put and discus around (she credits both of her parents for her strength genes), she could be found running laps around the track. This love of running eventually took Erin to the sport of triathlon in which she competed for a few years prior to finding CrossFit. After training for triathlons, she thought she was in decent shape when she first walked in the Xplore gym, but her first workout completely kicked her butt and she was hooked.
As an athlete, Erin is continually humbled by the sport. There are so many things to work on, so many skills to improve. Every day truly is a challenge!
As a trainer, there is nothing Erin loves more than seeing the joy that an athlete experiences after doing something that they never thought possible, whether it is one more kilo on a deadlift, a handstand pushup, or a pull up without a band for the first time. At Xplore CrossFit, we celebrate new accomplishments every day and Erin loves being a part of that success.
Jordan “JHo” Holland
Certifications and Continuing Education: C.S.C.S, CrossFit Level 2, CrossFit Nutrition, Barbell, and Mobility Certified, Olympic Lifting Clinic with Greg Everett, Olympic Lifting Clinic with Mike Burgener, BSC, SSC
Jordan is a fanatical and tenacious work in progress. He loves God, his wife Erin, fitness, and food. Sometimes in the wrong order. Jack Q introduced Jordan to CrossFit in 2006 with a gem of a workout called Fran. It was a fifteen-minute pain storm that dramatically altered his life. CrossFit put words to something that Jordan had been chasing in the gym but was unable to define.
“[CrossFit] always existed, Tyler just gave it a name.” Jordan was armed with a clear definition of fitness, and the tools to help people pursue it. This was a pursuit taking them to the very limits of their capacity. Jordan is driven to change lives and build the best training program in Seattle. Jordan loves to take people to the dark place in their workouts. It is here that you learn what is inside you. Jordan believes that people experience growth in the gym that goes well beyond stronger limbs, greater ranges of motion, bigger deadlifts, and muscle ups. Often it is an increase in mental toughness that marks growth in the gym. That growth counts big time! Jordan also thrives on the community aspect of CrossFit. In Jordan’s world the gym is not just a place, but a people connected by a shared vision. Whether you are fighting for your first pull up or learning how to put a massive weight over your head it’s important to have a supportive environment with folks who are struggling and pushing along side you. As an athlete Jordan is driven to be as rounded as possible. He finds something he sucks at and works until he doesn’t suck anymore. Except when it comes to pistols. He has comes to terms with sucking at those. As a trainer Jordan wants to see people get better everyday. You don’t ever have to perform an iron cross or deadlift a tractor, but you do have get a little more work done in a little less time day after day. Jordan loves that everyone suffers in CrossFit. No matter how good you become at the sport of fitness you will have “one of those days.” His worst workout experience ever was a heavy version of Fran shortly after donating blood. It wasn’t my best idea and it was certainly the closest I have ever felt to dying.
