Frank H. and Coach Jess at CRASH-Bs in Boston a couple of weeks ago. Read on to learn more about Frank!
- Team Captains: please submit your team score to the intramural spreadsheet by 12pm tomorrow.
- CFSBKer Haggai M. is leading a workshop and performance at Mark Morris Dance Center this Friday, March 18th at 6:30pm. Check out the details here!
Better Know a Member: Frank Howell
Welcome back to a newish feature on the CFSBK blog, Better Know a Member! (The name is a play on an old Stephen Colbert segment, Better Know a District.) You all love Underneath the Hoodie and Behind the Desk, and now, in a similar vein, we’ll be profiling members from across the CFSBK community. In our previous installment, we introduced you to Maya O. Today it’s time to meet Frank H.!
Where were you born and where did you grow up? Born and raised in the suburbs of Detroit. All my family are still there, so I go back pretty often. I have a lot of pride in being from Detroit and think it’s an amazing city if you know how to tap into it. I sometimes flirt with moving back, but then reality sets back in and I remember that Brooklyn is home now.
How long have you been CrossFitting, and how did you arrive at CFSBK? I think I’ve been coming to CFSBK for about three years or so now. The world of lifting weights was pretty foreign to me before coming here. I’m a runner who never really thought about lifting heavy shit, but as 40 approached I thought it would be an interesting way to help improve my running and try something new. I don’t remember how I heard about CFSBK specifically, but I live on Degraw, just the other side of the canal, so proximity surely had a part in my coming here. The awesome coaches who took time to help a complete novice learn the ropes kept me coming back.
What are you up to when you’re not at 597 Degraw Street? Work wise, I’m in Human Resources in the financial services industry. Yes, I’ve fired a lot of people (but I promise most of them deserved it!), but I also know the right things to say to get you more money if you’ve been laid off, or if you’re interviewing for a new job and negotiating salary. Outside of work I’m a total foodie, cocktail drinker, and traveler. My big trip this year is two weeks in Iran in early May.
What’s the first movie you ever loved? I can’t really remember, but as a child of the 70s, I assume it was ET or Star Wars. However, the movie that I’ve loved the longest has to be Auntie Mame (the Roselyn Russell version, obvi). It’s a bit of a cliché for a gay man my age, but it’s fabulous. It’s all about living life to the fullest.
You have friends or family coming to visit from out of town. What do you take them to do in NYC? I tell them to go to any of the touristy stuff without me. I’ve thankfully lived here long enough where most of my non-NYC family and friends have been here and already seen the Empire State Building or the Statue of Liberty. If they want to see it again, they are on their own. My preference would be to take them for a bike ride to Coney Island, a trip to the Brooklyn Flea, or for drinks in Red Hook.
Favorite and least favorite lift: Least fave is the Snatch. Its just got so many little pieces to it that I struggle to get organized. I would say that my fave lift is the Low Bar Back Squat, but given the hybrid version I do, lets just leave it at Back Squat.
Any advice for new CFSBKers? Talk to people when you’re lifting! Everyone is pretty cool and it adds to the sense of community when you’re at the gym. Oh, and put your shit away when you’re done using it, nobody likes a sloppy gym!
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