Wodapalooza

So you came to me in February of 2025.

It was right after Wodapalooza.

Mm-hmm.

Um, so I don't...

And I think that also helps me be more aware of like bracing and just like injury prevention [laughs] in the future as well.

Yeah.

And I mean, at the end of the day when you push your body, like at the level that you guys are doing, injuries are gonna happen, but you also need to listen to the, to your body, right? 'Cause I think that we know like looking back maybe like doing Wodapalooza wasn't the right call, but it's okay 'cause it led you to where you are now, right?

Right.

So I have to put up with Derek to get Seth and Katrin.

If I'm watching the NFL on Sunday, there are announcers I hate, there are announcers that I like, but my team is playing, so I gotta deal with whatever I get Um, so anything else? Oh, what about the masters being tested at Wodapalooza SoCal?

Good.

I think that's great.

I, I, I think that there's a time and a place for that, and I do think that's important for coaches to be able to know which level of competition and if that's the time and the place for it.

If I've-- Say that you made it through an online qualifier, maybe it wasn't quarterfinals, maybe it was like, uh, Wodapalooza, maybe it was something local, Fittest of the Coast, um, you made it through the qualifier.

So your comparison pool, your ability to take a big hit on the leaderboard is no longer an issue now.

Now is the time that we focus on the strengths.

There's still a chance that you're gonna get exposed, but the, the cost of that exposure when you get to an in-person event is usually so much lower than an online qualifier, and that's why it's like based off of kind of athlete and like where it is that they're trying to level up, my first priority is to make sure that we give them the best chance if possible to get through that sort of like gatekeeping process.

I think the problem with most CrossFit competitors is they don't like to train that stuff, or they do maybe get ahead of themselves.

So say like your goal is Wodapalooza, your goal is to try and make semifinals, you might spend too much training resources, you might spend too much adaptation resources or time in your week on what you think semifinals in Wodapalooza and Fittest of the Coast is going to look like.

And in that meantime, you're gonna take a big hit on the qualifier and maybe not even make it there.

I d- I do think it's a good question.

So this, this happened at Wodapalooza.

There was a, a, the outcast team, w- they were doing a ...

All the teams were doing 100 snatches, right? And then cross the finish line.

Oh

...

the athletes and the coaches were supposed to go to at this event, Wodapalooza.

And an athlete was pr- uh, making an appeal, and they're like, "Hey, we told you the fucking rule in the, uh, briefing." And I heard there were two athletes that didn't go to a single briefing, briefing, and I heard the athlete said, "But I wasn't at the briefing."

But, um, maybe even considered North America.

But no, we've had-- we have conversations all the time with folks that are interested in partnering and, and from our side, when we talk about, you know, in this new era of ownership under, under, under WZA Sports with my owner, it's very much on the table.

But there's a reason why it took us 10 plus years to decide to come to even Southern California, the opposite coast of the US.

It's because we wanted to make sure we did it right and that we're, we're doing it for the right reasons.

We're going to the right place that's gonna represent the brand well.

And, uh, and from our side, it's gotta be the perfect fit.

We're not just willing to pop up a, a WZA just anywhere.

If it doesn't-

Let's do it.

Wodapalooza SoCal and the lack of our team.

We didn't-

Oh.

When we competed, that was it.

And I still trained-

And then Wodapalooza in January

... just as hard as these athletes probably are for all of these competitions-

And then Tristan went on a team, I can tell you when.

I think Tristan went on a team to Wodapalooza, so I tagged along, like, with his mom just to watch, and I'm like, my God, freaking look at these people.

Like, I wanna do this.

This is so cool, which Wodapalooza, like, I haven't been recently since they've kinda moved out of just Miami, but it was, it was so cool to be at.

I mean, terribly run, sorry, but-

[laughs]

So I don't think, I tried to qualify on a team.

I, we didn't qualify, but then the next two years, I wrote this down.