Dear Fladisav,

You’ve been part of our box for nearly three years now and have made truly impressive progress during that time. Whenever you set a goal for yourself, you pursue it with great ambition, focus, and a strong sense of self-discipline in your training. It’s especially great to see that you consistently take a few minutes before class to work on your skills and refine your technique.

Beyond that, you bring a very positive spirit to every class, which has a noticeable impact on the atmosphere and the people around you. You also attend the specialty classes and regularly take part in our community events, making you a valued and inspiring member of our community.

Can you introduce yourself in a few sentences?
Hi, I’m Vlad. I’m a software engineer originally from Russia and I’ve been doing CrossFit for almost three years now.

What’s a small thing that instantly makes you happy?
Maybe it sounds a bit cliché, but realizing that the workday is over and it’s time to go to the gym really makes me happy.

What ritual is a regular part of your daily routine?
I try to take a cold shower every day. It helps me stay a bit calmer and deal better with stress during the day, if it comes.

What has CrossFit taught you—not just physically?
Let me be a bit philosophical here: a big part of CrossFit training is not about competing with others but with yourself. Just like in life—there is you, your goals or problems, and your job is simply to overcome them and achieve what you want. You look at someone in the gym, get inspired by their results, and then you go and do something just as cool (or almost). And one day you might become that inspiration for someone else.

Your biggest “Wow, I’m able do this now?!” moment during a workout?
This actually happens to me at almost every competition. When your team supports you and believes in you (Hi Roberto!), you find extra motivation, perform really well, and suddenly think: “Wow, I can actually do this!”

What excuse have you stopped using since you started doing CrossFit?
“I don’t want to go to training because …”. The funny thing is that I never check the WOD in advance, so it’s always a little surprise for me. And once I’m already at the gym, there’s no way back :) Honestly, CrossFit and I just matched somehow. I’m usually more sad when I miss a workout than when I go.

What makes our box special to you?
The people, the coaches, and the flexibility in the schedule.

What does “community” mean to you, specifically?
For me, community means supporting each other, celebrating each other’s progress, and creating a place where everyone feels welcome and motivated.

What was your funniest moment here at the box?
At the very beginning, when my German was really bad, I was doing a partner workout with a guy who was explaining something to me very enthusiastically. I tried to respond and nod at the right moments, but at some point he looked at me and said: “You didn’t understand anything I just said, did you?” And he was absolutely right—I didn’t understand a thing, but I kept nodding and saying, “Ja-ja, genau!”