Invictus Blog

Using the Gym as a Resource
Written by Zach Erick

Have you ever wanted to buy something for less than what it’s worth? Or maybe needed a favor done for free? Perhaps even advice on any given topic, or someones opinion? If you said “yes” to any of the questions I’ve just mentioned, then I encourage you to become a little more social with your fellow Invicti.

We have over 350 members at Invictus. If you think about it, this is a community with an age range of 5-80 years old. A community with people from all over the world, from New Zealand–Hi Kari! To South Korea–What’s up Jin!? A community of students, scientists, lawyers, doctors, congressmen, professors…the list goes on and on! You should be using this to your advantage.

Now, I’m not saying to interrupt a coach while they are explaining the workout just to see if you can score some Padres tickets. Talk to your team of four while you’re cycling through your back squats and turkish get-ups! Your potential best friend could be mashing your hamstrings and you wouldn’t even know it! Get involved with other members and their lives for an hour of your day. Instead of asking the generic “How are you?” and keeping the topic of discussion on CrossFit, branch out! We even have a closed group, members only Invictus Members Facebook group – so if you are on Facebook and haven’t joined it yet, do so today!

Let me give you an example – sometime back in February, I was living in Coronado while renting out the room of a Deployed Service member. Due to his location and job, we were not able to contact each other. As far as I knew, he was not coming back until this past July. Well, about two weeks into the month of February, there he was at the front door. “Surprise!” he said sheepishly, knowing that I had to pack my bags and get out ASAP. Did I go onto Craigslist or Apartment Finder to frantically find a new place to call home? No. I went to the gym.

I was homeless for a total of 30 minutes that afternoon….before I could find a nice cardboard box and a reliable shopping cart, I had heard back from one of the many people I reached out to in the gym. For the record – many people offered to let me crash at their house until I found someplace permanent. I will never forget the kindness and generosity shown to me. That instance has solidified my belief that Invictus truly is more than just a gym.

Bryan had recently moved into a 4 bedroom townhouse and was looking for roommates. I was living in Clairemont by the end of the night. In fact, I’m writing this blog post from that same house, sitting next to my girlfriend (whom I met in the gym), on a computer which I bought by selling my old computer to a member at the gym. The possibilities are endless!