CrossFit Athletic Group

We are entering into a time on this site where there will be some very significant 10-year Anniversary posts coming up. The tough part about that will be knowing that there's a huge amount of bias and subjectivity involved; many of the people were not working out with us for 10 consecutive years but I'd still view them as active parts of the community, whether that's with coming back for Summers and holidays, website contribution, or just general presence. Summer 2012 brought two of them. The first is Jacob Augustine.

Summer 2019

Jacob's background is important to understand to give context to how he got tricked into joining a gym that would not let him deadlift >20% of his max for the first 5 years.

Jacob grew up around the block from me and the Junkins, and was in the same grade as Jay (4 years younger than me). We weren't particularly fond of each other early on, as I would make fun of him for being fat and he would make fun of me for hanging around middle school kids. To be honest, I don't remember exactly how we got on good terms - especially after the pop can/water gallon incident - but I'm guessing it had to do with a combination of Mario Baseball and Michigan Football. Either way, by the time Jacob was in high school we were in full cooperative discussions regarding Tate Forcier's dual threat ability and Purple Toad's banishment from the league. But there was another thing that would creep in and out of our conversations: working out.

Jacob began lifting at Lamphere around the same time the Champions Club started over at Foley, and there was always a little hope of bringing him over our way to try out the CrossFit thing, especially after Jay and Jesse jumped on in Summer 2011 in the Fieldhouse. At the time, Jacob had recently distinguished as a Lord in Scotland (not joking) and I'm guessing his status deterred him from being associated with mere peasants like us. Then, when we got kicked out of Foley and moved out on our own, I was looking for anyone possible to join; the first person I turned to, believe it or not, was Jacob, fresh off high school graduation. By the grace of his babyfat he accepted, and my God did he bring a presence into the gym!

Summer 2012

That presence nearly got him a banner that Summer, narrowly finishing behind Bubs, but he stayed involved at the gym on-and-off through the next 7 years (missing on AOTS again in 2017) and underwent a complete body overhaul in the process - both in appearance and fitness level. Now Jacob is coaching strength and conditioning and Powerlifting over at Athens, and might even find Lulu, Lily, and Dylan in his physics classes. He still stops by for Christmas and Thanksgiving workouts and provides a lot of great commentary on our site.

Jacob, you're truly my brother and I appreciate the time and energy you've put into making our community what it is, and also challenging my thoughts and beliefs as a coach. The Champions Cluub is a much better place right now in Summer 2022 because of your decision to jump on board in 2012.

Once in the Champions Club, always in the Champions Club my man!

...........

Now for the complete opposite end of the spectrum.

Katie Bromm came in through a recommendation of Sam and Sarah Sell, who were with us for Summer 2011 in the Fieldhouse and a little through the school year. Upon joining, Bromm, a timid little freshman, was somehow placed in the 1:30 pm session, which only consisted of two people at the time: Jacob and Morrow, aka the "Handsome Gentlemen's Club." Poor Bromm, she just simply didn't fit. It was like a bicycle being kept in a garage with two Harleys, or my calves being in a picture with Mr. Bennis and Mr. Curtis. But after a few days she migrated to the 10 am session and fell right into place with Ricky, Jason, Hannah Kimmel, and the rest of the G.A. crew.

We really began to see Bromm shine later on that year, where she won the Athlete of the Fall and stood out in 5 varsity sports at Foley: volleyball and cross country in the fall, basketball in the winter, and softball and track in the spring. That momentum continued into Summer 2013, where she finished with 100% attendance, set pr's and Beast Modes, and earned herself a banner.

Even during her prime, Bromm had this weird ability to blend in to the background; we'd be focused on the Banets or Higgins or Jason or Ricky or whoever, and yet there goes that little red haired girl finishing at the top of all the workouts. This fact makes it really challenging to write about her, especially compared to Jacob, and I don't want to resort to just posting a ton of old videos because they can't really capture what Bromm meant to the gym. The more I check back on those old posts, the more I'm dumbfounded at how the hell someone that dope could fly under the radar here. But I guess that explains perfectly why Bromm is Bromm; she never asked for or expected anything different.

Since her Summer for the ages, we've seen Katie B and her "eep" have two more standout Summers in 2014 and 2015, and also join on in more of a "veteran" role in 2016, 2018, and 2019; during those later years she would count on our shared obsession with Kanye's music and Michigan Football as a means to distract me from giving her as much weight as I probably needed to. A veteran move, no doubt.

Bromm, even though I haven't always noticed your CrossFit ability as much as I need to, I have always felt your unconditional support from day 1... well, maybe day 8 or so, but you get the idea. I remember you paying when you didn't have to, or working through that foot thing, or listening to me rant about big picture things that probably didn't matter that much, or stopping in the gym while I was cleaning when the whole world was locked down, and a bunch of other little stuff that made you a no-brainer for a 10-year anniversary post. The Champions Club would absolutely not be the same without you, and hopefully we'll get to catch you back soon!