Congratulations to RICKY TIMMS our June Spotlight Athlete of the Month! Ricky started CrossFit less then a year ago and since then has raised the bar for himself and those around him. Ricky is a guy who puts full effort into each WOD continually challenging himself and looking for ways to improve. His competitive nature inside shows every day in his desire to be the best. Most importantly, Ricky is a great guy to have around the box genuinely encouraging others and always willing to give a helping hand.

Wow, I am so honored and humbled to be selected as June's Athlete of the Month, there are so many amazing and inspiring coaches and athletes at our box and I appreciate the opportunity to tell you a little about my CrossFit journey. Just a week ago I was scrolling through our Facebook group and telling my wife about how amazing the community is at our box. We really have something special and I want to thank Coach G and Art, and all the other coaches and athletes for working so hard to create such an awesome place.

My CrossFit journey started at Drop Box a little under a year ago, and I can quite confidently say that it was one of the best decisions I've ever made. My brother, who was in North Carolina at the time, started CrossFit a month before me and would call every night and tell me all about his WOD, I tried to sound interested, but I couldn't really understand what he was so excited about. So I Googled "CrossFit" and stumbled upon Drop Box's website and thought I would check it out. During fundamentals Coach Kim asked why I was starting CrossFit and I said to be able to keep up with my 3 year old son, and I am definitely able to do that and I a lot more since then.

Here is a little more about myself. I grew up in South Africa (hence the weird accent) and was always active, playing a wide variety of sports like cricket, soccer, tennis, and squash. In college I really missed that active, team environment and started lifting with my buddies, as an outlet for that. However, after graduating college, getting married, having kids, and starting a demanding career, exercising and staying active fell by the way side. For about 5 years I barely exercised and I really felt like I was losing a part of myself. Then I started CrossFit and was hooked right away. I remember dying my first week and wondering when it got fun. That's when I started noticing the community at Drop Box. I remember people walking up to me that first week, encouraging me and telling me how great I was doing, even though I knew I was doing terribly. Since then I have come a long way as an athlete and that is all thanks to all the coaching and support at the box. The programming is fantastic and the coaches do a phenomenal job making sure the classes are a success.

Some of the reasons I love Crossfit and DropBox:

CrossFit has given me a hope for staying in shape and aging well. Before joining I knew I was starting to put on weight and was becoming less active, but I didn't have the drive or discipline to go to the gym or push myself to train. Now I look at all the athletes that are 10, 15, 20 years older than me and still crush me in WODs and it excites me to think that I can also be like that in the future, so thanks for all the inspiration.
I have a stressful job that requires me working 60+ hours a week for about 5 months out of the year, and I work from home, so I don't get much people interaction. Going to Drop Box every day is what has kept me sane, because of the great people I get to interact with and the opportunity to push myself harder each day.
CrossFit has helped me become a better human. Every day we push ourselves in the box and accomplish something difficult. We don't have to do it, but we do it because it's fun and we know how great it's going to feel afterwards. I have started looking for similar opportunities in life that are hard and decide to attack them instead of shying away from them because I know what is on the other side if I persevere.
Being a Type A personality, I love how measurable CrossFit is and that there are always so many areas where we can better our performance, whether it be in reps, weight, time, movement, etc. We have an amazing coaching staff that are always involved and offer tremendous advice and guidance. I would recommend that everybody take advantage of that. Ask lots of questions, because there is a wealth of knowledge that they are more than happy to share.
CrossFit has helped me become a better father. I used to think that going to exercise was selfish because I was doing something for myself when I could be doing something with my family, but I've since realized that going to the box and investing in my health is also an investment in my family. Every night my son asks me "if I rode the bike or jumped on the box or swung on the rings", and I know that he is watching me stay active and realizing the importance of it. I also know that my family is getting healthier because of all the knowledge I have gained from the nutritional challenges has influenced what we eat as a family and what groceries we buy. So thanks Coach Steph for heading all of that up!

In summation, I am so grateful for what Drop Box and CrossFit has added to my life. I don't think this little piece could do justice to fully convey how thankful I am for our community and all the love and effort that everyone pours into the box, you guys are awesome! Thank you!

ricky participated in his first open and did awesome! workouts 18.1/18.2A/18.3

with his teammates Tristan, Steve, and Elric: gangs of the mid-atlantic — with his teammates Tristan, Steve, and Elric: gangs of the mid-atlantic

with buddy Deandre/nutrition team "amino disrespect"/dBCF

work hard play hard: Field day/dbcf night out

Ricky worked hard and finished Dec 2017 with a deadlift PR and got his 1st bar muscle up! He didn't stop there...Jan 1 got his first ring muscle up and on Jan 2 snatch PR! What a way to end and start a new year!

Ricky Timms- June Spotlight Athlete of the Month