CrossFit Athletic Group

Did you ever wonder how these two became the power couple that they are today? Mrs. Carey sauntered into the Moms Club the fall of 2010 and has never looked back. She soon intimidated hubby Mr. Carey to join as well. They have become the universal parents of the Champions Club kids (and I say that even though both of my parents are members). Mrs. C is always there to provide a giggle, some sexy shades, or some delicious food. Mr. C can be found lifting heavy and always willing to give a dad-ly pat on the back. 

Last Sunday I sat down with Steve and Patrice Carey before the 12:30 parent session during their mobility time. This is their story.

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[Begin transcipt]

So can you give me the story of how you two met?

Mr. Carey: [looks at wife] Uhhh..We met at the- we were both working summer jobs at the Ground Round, uh the summer of '87. She was a new waitress and I was a new cook..and uh, her friend [pointing at Mrs. Carey] asked me if I was single. And that's kinda how we started [wiggles fingers] knowing about each other.

Mrs. Carey: [nodding]

Mr. Carey: So that's it. [smiling]

Mrs. Carey you let your friend do the dirty work huh!?

Mrs. Carey: [laughs] Yes I did! She...investigated the situation for me...and I zoomed in on the kill.

What did you like about Mr. Carey?

Mrs. Carey: Ohhh...[leans back] Well, he was tall...and strong, and athletic...and funny and smart and easy-going...

Full package huh?

Mrs. Carey: [smiling] Yeah!

Mr. Carey, what prompted you to kinda accept the...the little probe that Mrs. Carey put out?

Mr. Carey: Uh....I don't know [smiling]. I like uhhh..[points at Mrs. Carey]..uhh, brunettes, always. [laughs] So that was cool...no she was really pretty and funny and she was fun. She was like the life of the party- I know that's surprising- but she was the life of the party.

Still is.

Mr. Carey: So it was fun. I mean she's just fun to be around, so... [nods]

Mrs. Carey: Yeah I did win mock elections. [nodding] Funniest. Last summer.

I believe that.

Mrs. Carey: [laughs]

Okay how did you know that your significant other was the one for you? Let's-let's do that, who wants to go first?

Mrs. Carey: Uh... [looks at Mr. Carey] I'll go first. Uhhh it just lasted a long time. [nodding] We kinda broke up...got back together.. and we'd been through a lot and he was up in Marquette and I was in Kalamazoo so.. [nodding] Kinda lasted all that. You could just tell. [smiles at Mr. Carey]

Mr. Carey: Well she said it, but the break up. But we broke up after our first summer going out and uhhh... [nodding] I was like, wow. That-that left a hole! [Mrs. Carey pats his arm] So uh, so that was kinda a bummer. So the next summer I had the opportunity to meet her again at the same girl's party- I think she was trying to do it again- [wiggles fingers] the set-up thing.

Mrs. Carey: [flashes a thumbs-up] I've got good friends!!

Mr. Carey: So then, you know, it was just kinda a goal to try it again and-and make sure it was right or wrong.

Uhhh Mr. Carey can you tell me how you proposed? 

Mr. Carey: Ahh..it was-it was a spur of the moment kinda thing. I was sitting on my sister's couch- cause I lived with my sister at the time...and uh, I just said hey...

Mrs. Carey: [waves at someone in the background]

Mr. Carey: ...will you marry me?

Mrs. Carey: [laughs]

Mr. Carey: And she said..if you really mean it you'll get down on one knee. And I said, alright. [nods] And I got down on knee.

Mrs. Carey: [interjecting] -and he did it!!

Mr. Carey: And I didn't have a ring or anything-you know, or anything romantic.

Mrs. Carey: [interjecting] I said if you really mean it you'll get down on one knee and he did...I was like...uh oh shit! [laughs]

Yeah did you think he was gonna get down on the knee or no?

Mrs. Carey: No! 

So you were a little surprise by that?

Mrs. Carey: [nodding] I was. I was surprised...taken back. 

And he eventually got you a ring?

Mrs. Carey: [nodding] And then he got me a ring.

Good. Okay, can you tell me what your wedding was like? 

[silence]

The Careys on the day they became..the Careys.

When did you get married?

Mr. Carey: It was a blur...we got married in November- 

Mrs. Carey: [interjecting] -of 1990.

Mr. Carey: So it was uh..kinda an odd season for a lot of people but uh..the weather was-

Mrs. Carey: [interjecting] -beautiful day!

Mr. Carey: -the weather was beautiful. It was kinda chilly. Michigan was playing Illinois. Which for some reason I believe that..I remember that, I mean.

Michigan did win and continued on to a 9-3 record and a Gator Bowl win that year.

Who won?

Mrs. Carey: [interjecting] Steve forgot the ring! [pointing at Mr. Carey]

Mr. Carey: Uh...Michigan won.

Ooo you forgot the ring?

Mr. Carey: I left my sister's house..drove all-in Redford! Drove all the way to Clawson to Guardian Angels, the church- for the wedding. I'm in-I'm in the back room with the priest and my best man, and I yell...oh f! I forgot the f-ing ring!

Mrs. Carey: [laughing]

Mr. Carey: So... so I went to my brother-in-law, who I lived with, and he zoomed back during the ceremony, brought it back, so she got the right ring at the right time at the ceremony. It was pretty darn close!

Mrs. Carey did you know he forgot the ring at the time?

Mrs. Carey: Somebody did did tell me...They're like, Steve forgot the ring! They're gonna use your mother's ring! And I go...oh, okay. [laughs] I didn't really care. And then during the wedding ceremony, someone's standing behind me on the... [pats right shoulder] I'm standing at the altar, saying our vows and someone's tapping me on the shoulder, and I'm like..not now, not now! And they're like, no here's the ring! And I'm like oh, [nodding] okay!

The ring made it!

Can you guys tell me a little bit about your family...so your kids and stuff..and pets. Where you live.

Mrs. Carey: Well..we live in Royal Oak, just a few blocks from here [the box]. We have three boys, Drew who's 21, Steven's 19, and Ricky, of course.

Who's your favorite.

Mrs. Carey: Our favorite. [laughs] We have one cat, he's new, Crush. Ummm.. [looks at Mr. Carey] That's our family. [laughs]

The Carey family before Ricky decided to get taller.

This next section of the transcript records seperate inteviews.

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[Begin transcipt]

How did you join the Champions Club?

Mrs. Carey: Uh my son Steven told me about it. He was working out at Foley, in the weight room, with Chris, doing CrossFit. And he told me about it.

Okay. And then like what was your impression when you first joined...like were you like..what's going on here?

Mrs. Carey: I felt really awkward...I felt a little..out a place. I wasn't sure..uh, I don't know. I mean-I, it was a good thing. I kind of- I had just lost my dad in August, August 15. And then I joined CrossFit 3 weeks later so I was kinda down in the dumps, I wasn't feeling too happy. So I wasn't sure about doing it. Walk in, and the first person I saw was Pip. [smiles and laughs] 

The first of many Mom's Club group shots. This was taken back in 2011, before the Moms Club had any dads.

Did that make you feel better?

Mrs. Carey: I gave her a big hug! I almost had a tear in my eye I was like..yes! This is gonna be good!

The best friend/rival that anyone could have. Mrs. Carey and Mrs. Pip racing for the finish line back in the day during the Running Wild 5k at the zoo.

We love Pip. Okay..when your husband joined CrossFit, did you think he was gonna stick it out?

Mrs. Carey: No. [smiles]

Did it take a lot of convincing to get him in here?

Mrs. Carey: [nodding] It took him a year! 

Woah what sold him? How'd he finally come in?

Mrs. Carey: [laughs] I think I just bugged him just enough...he just joined to shut me up? He said, I've had it! I'll do it! I'll try it! It was so hard when I first joined. I would come home, beet red, dead, and he was like, oh my god. I am never going to do that! [laughs]

Um do you like working out with your spouse, or is that something that motivates you- like you kinda wanna beat him?

Mrs. Carey: Yeah both...I like it sometimes, but...

Got a little competitive edge in there?

Mrs. Carey: Well he's the one- he's my best critic! [imitating Mr. Carey] You don't unweight right...you're not getting underneath that bar!

So he definitely kinda watches your form, keeps an eye out for you?

Mrs. Carey: Yes...little too much!

Is CrossFit something you guys can bond over? Do you talk about it outside the gym?

Mrs. Carey: Yeah. Yeah we talk about it all the time. My kids make fun of us. They're like...what's one thing every CrossFitter does? Talks about CrossFit! [laughs]

That's true..uh, who do you think has better form?

Mrs. Carey: [scratches nose] I guess him...

Ugh Mrs. Carey! Um have you seen CrossFit have an impact on your family as a whole?

Mrs. Carey: Yes. Definitely. Yes.

Is this something that you think is gonna be part of your family for a while?

Mrs. Carey: Yeah...I think forever. I love it, my kids- well Ricky loves it. My kids like to work out. I think it brings us closer- it gives us something to do...we're working out with our 16 year old. How many parents can say that? You know, we hang out, like Christmas Eve, and party...every kid here is great. So.. [smiles]

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[Begin transcipt]

So what is the first time that you ever heard of the Champions Club?

Mr. Carey: Uhhh...my wife Patrice uhh.. I don't really know if it was called Champions Club, it was just called CrossFit at that point, and uh.. she just said she was doing this workout and she comes home just... dead every day. And then she told me I should I come and do it and I would love it and it would be great. And I said..I will never do CrossFit. [shakes head] Ever ever ever! So...

What was like your first impression? 

Mr. Carey: Well...it was interesting, that, first of all, it was at Foley. She was doing it with a bunch of kids. So I thought that was kinda strange, you know... And the way she described the workouts to me, I thought it was nuts. And then-I realized- I knew Chris from sports and stuff growing up, when he was growing up. And I thought...what does that kid know about [shaking head] coaching and all that stuff? So I was- I was...skeptical, would be the best word to say. But uh, Patrice loved it. So right away, I was kinda like, wow, that's interesting that she loves it. Cause we never worked out. 

So what kinda convinced you to join? Cause she said she tried to get you to join, for like... a year. And then finally you just- you said, alright fine, I'm gonna do it. What prompted you to do that?

Mr. Carey: Uhhh..kinda New Year's resolution thing. Let's get it-let's give this a shot. You know, I was kinda ready to do something. And she had been telling me the whole time, and she really did love it. And the idea of having somebody tell you what to do is actually very appealing to me. 

Was it indimidating to join..there was all these moms and not a lot of dads?

Mr. Carey: Yeah... but your [Emma] dad, Mark Wonsil, was here. Uh, and that's kinda one of the triggers for me. Like, I wouldn't be the only guy, I wouldn't be the only dad...So, she [Mrs. Carey] said he was a lot like me, you know, he was still learning and you're not too far behind and that kinda thing. So it was comfortable environment in that sense. It was very intimidating because I had never done any of the workouts. Any of the movements, any of it...so that part was scary. 

One of the first (tagged) pictures of Mr. Carey on this website. One of the poor guy's first team workouts was the very first Super Bowl workout.

So do you like it now that there's more dads in the Champions Club?

Mr. Carey: Yeah, yeah..yeah. It's uh- you know you it's great to workout with everybody, but when you're working out with somebody who's going through the same things you're going through, it's even better. Uh.. so you kinda..I don't gauge myself against the other dads, but-but we all have the same stories, you know. So that's kinda cool. 

Do you like working out specifically with your spouse, or is that something that motivates you more, like you wanna beat her?

Mr. Carey: I like working out with Patrice just because it something we do together. You know, it's really brought us closer together, to be honest. I don't wanna say it's made our marriage stronger, but it's given us something, you know, something that keeps it strong. 

Do you um-Mrs. Carey that you uh, sometimes coach her on that she's unweighting wrong. What can you comment on that?

Mrs: Carey: [laughs in the background] Come on! Be truthful!

Mr. Carey: Uh...well I've coached quite a bit in my life! And uh, it's something I love doing, and uh, you know, sometiems she needs help! [laughs]

Mr. C knows what's up around here.

Who do you think has better form out of the two of you?

Mr. Carey: Well, nobody has a better squat that Mrs. Carey. So..uh.. I don't know! I think the strength movements I probaby do and the, you know, the body movements she probably does. 

Okie dokie! And what effect has CrossFit had on your family as a whole? So like..including Ricky, I guess.

Mr. Carey: Well, the focus on health is just unbelievably strong, to what it used to be. Uhh, not that I actually follow it myself very much. But we think about it a lot more! And uh, so that! And the reality is I'm way stronger and healthier than I used to be. I don't get sick, I don't uh, those types of things. So-

Mrs. Carey: [whispering] He's not as lazy as he used to be!

Mr. Carey: I'm not as lazy as I used to be! It's the truth! You come home, you got more energy after working out. 

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There you have it! If you've benefitted from the Careys at one point in your life (which all of you have), or liked this article, please give them some love in the comments section below.