January 7, 2025 • 33 mins
CrossFit has been a transformative journey for many, including our newest co-owners at CrossFit Bison, Adam Hawkinson and Michael Dasilva. Sam Rhee @botoxandburpeespodcast talks to them to find out who are they, and what are their future plans for the gym?
Strong community connections are integral to the ownership journey at CrossFit Bison, where they reflect on their paths and collective vision for the gym. Their commitment to fostering an inclusive and engaged environment drives future growth and wellness for all members.
• Adam's military background shaping his fitness perspective
• Mike's long-term friendship with founder Dave Syvertsen @davesy85
• Investing in CrossFit Bison rooted in community trust
• Plans for adapting to evolving gym demographics
• Emphasis on wellness, longevity, and sustainable fitness practices
• Approachability and open communication as key values
#BotoxAndBurpees @crossfitbison @crossfittraining @crossfit @crossfitgames #crossfit #sports #exercise #health #movement #crossfitcoach #agoq #clean #fitness #ItAllStartsHere #CrossFitOpen #CrossFit #CrossFitCommunity @CrossFitAffiliates #supportyourlocalbox #crossfitaffiliate #personalizedfitness
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sam Rhee (00:04):
All right, welcome to another episode of Botox and
Burpees.
I have my two co-owners with me.
We are all recent owners ofCrossFit Bison, along with
majority owner David Syvertson,and today I thought it would be
a really great opportunity totalk to both Adam Hawkinson and
Michael DaSilva about theirbackground, their experiences in
(00:29):
CrossFit and why they decidedto become owners of a CrossFit
gym and what their plans are inthe future.
I think a lot of people haveseen you around but don't
necessarily know you personally.
I've gotten to know you guyswell over years and I think just
knowing who you are will givepeople understanding about where
(00:53):
the gym is directed towards,how we're helping Dave and how
excited we are about all thedifferent plans and improvements
and growth that I thinkCrossFit Bison can undergo.
So before I start, I justwanted to ask both of you what
your backgrounds were, how yougrew up, a quick summary of
(01:15):
where you guys got up to in youradult life.
Adam Hawkinson (01:18):
So, adam, Adam Hawkinson, turned 40 years old,
had two young boys, married tomy wife Stephanie, Grew up in
Delaware, joined the military,spent the three tours in Iraq
eight years in and after I gotout, met my wife down in
Delaware, moved to New Jersey.
(01:38):
And that's when, I would say,my fitness journey kind of began
.
I was looking for something tokind of stay in shape after I
got out of the military butstarted going to the global gyms
just doing the typical, youknow, back and bys, chest and
shoulders, and I, just after Ihad ACL surgery kind of like,
was missing my stride on stayingin shape.
(01:59):
And then that's when I kind offound out about CrossFit through
watching TV, the CrossFit Games.
Sam Rhee (02:04):
You were airborne, weren't you?
Yes?
Adam Hawkinson (02:07):
Did.
Airborne had roughly about 13jumps jumping out of airplanes,
scared every single time, justmaking sure the pseudo-Vincy you
know I had no control over that.
Sam Rhee (02:16):
Wow, that's crazy.
And Mike, tell me a little bitabout yourself.
Michael Dasilva (02:20):
Yeah, definitely haven't jumped out of
any planes, don't plan on it.
Um grew up in millen park withdave syverson.
Uh known him probably since hemoved from long island in third
grade.
So you know that's how I knowdave.
Um, now I live in glenrock withmy wife of coming up on 10
(02:42):
years.
We have two uh daughters sixyears old in a couple weeks.
Um met her.
Wow, I've known her my entirelife.
We uh she's my best friend'slittle sister, so I've known her
for a very long time.
Um living glenrock.
How I got into crossfit wasbecause I heard dave was opening
(03:04):
up in jim and millen park and Iwas like you know what I
haven't talked seen dave in areally long to CrossFit was
because I heard Dave was openingup in Jim and Mellon Park and I
was like you know what Ihaven't talked seen Dave in a
really long time.
Let me just swing by and seewhat this is all about.
And then started working outand you know, was probably
member number five I think I'llhang my hat on that one and you
know, just started working outand fell in love with everything
(03:25):
about CrossFit, from thetraining, the programming, the
people, and really just wantedto embrace the whole thing and
embrace Dave and I bought inimmediately.
Sam Rhee (03:39):
What's your day job?
Do you have a job so?
Adam Hawkinson (03:42):
that's what I'm saying now.
Michael Dasilva (03:43):
That's what I'm saying now.
That's what I'm saying now.
Extractor.
I work in the financialservices industry, but my wife
also has a building designbusiness, so I help her out with
that.
We build homes in the area andwe invest in other small
businesses in and around BergenCounty and other locations that
(04:07):
we're in.
But we you know when I say weinvest in businesses that you
know and we'll get into this.
We invest in people that welove and we know.
Sam Rhee (04:15):
So you've been there from the beginning.
That's 2014.
Do you remember your firstCrossFit workout or when you
first started?
Adam Hawkinson (04:23):
Not the first CrossFit workout or when you
first started, not the firstCrossFit workout.
I joined in March, like 2017, Ithink it was right after the
open, yeah, um, but I do recallit was Karen was like the first
thing that stuck out in my mindand I probably used the women's
14 pound wall ball.
The depth was fine, but Icouldn't hit the target and I
(04:45):
just remember I had a femalethat was judging me and I was
getting no rep.
Then I was in my head.
I was like I'm ready to quit.
I was like this is ridiculous,I don't like this.
And then I judged her and Iwatched her hit the target every
single time and I'm like, wow,I mean, if she can do this, I
need.
I had no excuse to not be ableto do this.
I need to step up my game.
(05:05):
So it made me a little hungryto come back for a little bit
more.
Sam Rhee (05:09):
I have done Karen a bunch of times 150 wall balls
for time, and every single timeI'm always in the middle of it
Like what the F?
Do you remember your firstworkout or a memorable workout
when you first started?
Michael Dasilva (05:25):
No, obviously, no, no, but almost you know,
like you guys say, karen, likethat's 150 wall, like, until you
said what Karen was like I loveCrossFit, right, but I'm not
one of these CrossFit likepurists that like I know Karen,
I know this, I know that Like Ilove CrossFit conceptually and
you know and everything aroundit but I'm not.
Adam Hawkinson (05:42):
We might work on your double owners before we
start, or I ain't got names, youtried junking twice and going
under once.
Sam Rhee (05:49):
So what made you decide to invest in CrossFit
Bison?
What were the circumstanceswhere you said, okay, this is an
opportunity that I want toparticipate in this.
Michael Dasilva (06:01):
Yeah, so I'll jump in for any on that one.
So I think to answer thatquestion, we kind of have to
understand what got us to theopportunity to invest in
CrossFit Bison, right, I thinkwe can talk freely about that.
Adam Hawkinson (06:14):
Yeah, of course.
Michael Dasilva (06:15):
So when was it it was probably January,
February that you came.
Sam Rhee (06:20):
Of last year or this year 2024.
Michael Dasilva (06:22):
Yeah, yeah, this just a little while ago you
came to hawk first, which Idon't know why, the guy doesn't
know any.
Um, you came to hawk first withan idea about opening up a gym
in another area around here andthen you came to me and we
talked about it and hawk and Ididn't I think we knew that you
were coming to us to talk to usabout something, but we didn't
(06:43):
really know what it was right.
And when you left theconversation with Hawk, he had
an idea.
And when you didn't tell me andwhen you left that conversation
with me, I had an idea.
And both of those ideas led usto that's a great idea, sam
opening up a new CrossFit gym inthat area with these guys.
(07:05):
But what about finding a way toinvest in bison, which which we
love?
Right, and you know we took itaway for a couple months.
We approached Dave about it andyou know Dave was interested in
the idea, but Dave didn'treally want to go anywhere and,
as everyone knows, it was Dave,dave and Chris who who owned
Bison and you know the naturalprogression there was.
(07:28):
If Dave's, you know, if this isDave's lifelong goal, right,
let's see how Chris feels aboutit, and timing is everything in
life.
We approached Chris and youknow the timing wasn't right at
that moment, when we approachedhim in March or wherever it was
and then we kind of sat on itfor a little bit and, you know,
(07:49):
planted the seed and then justkept on having the conversation
with him and organically it cameup that you know, it was the
right time for Chris for thingsthat he was going on in his life
, what was best for him.
And then we came together as acollective and collective and we
said, okay, let's do it, let'slet's value this thing at x
amount and x number and let'sfigure out what percentages each
(08:13):
of us want to own and let'sfigure out our roles.
So, once we got to the pointthat the opportunity was present
, what made me want to invest inbison?
Two things dave and thecommunity.
I believe in Dave, love Dave,dave is Bison, bison is Dave.
And then the community.
(08:34):
Right, like, I started in 2014,took four years off, once I had
my kids and came back to it andit was a different Bison, but
it was the same Bison becausethe community even though the
people were different, thecommunity was still.
You know what you love and whatyou remember.
Adam Hawkinson (08:54):
So that's, that's the reason why I invested
in bison and to what mike wassaying exactly right, where it's
dave, the community, eventhough, as we're getting older
and we've been in the cross atbison uh area for a while now
even though we're getting newmembers, it's almost like you
get to see the same members justlike re, you know reinvent
(09:16):
themselves where it's the samegroup, same vibe, same energy
that's coming into it.
So, even though you have thisdog house that's coming in now
at 6, 15, uh, yeah, it's.
It's just nice to have that.
Every single person that youmeet, no matter what time of the
day it is, you can connect withthem on a personal level and
(09:37):
everyone's just such a niceperson where you have no problem
getting to know them, meetingthem outside of the know, be in
each other's weddings, like Imet Brian and Liz and, uh, you
know, you get to know this guy alittle bit more, which takes a
toll on me, but uh, you know,and then I can go get a facelift
(10:00):
, uh at my saw at a bar, no, butuh, the community and Dave are
the two factors.
I think that really just driveit home makes it an easy
decision.
Sam Rhee (10:09):
Yeah, I almost forgot that it did spring out of.
Uh, there was a possiblelocation, like they even had
been talking about opening up asecond place, and so we scouted
this place pretty far away, likenot in competition, and it just
didn't work out.
The finances didn't work outall that, and I remember at the
(10:30):
time thinking, well, who wouldwe want to be part of that if we
did that?
And you guys came to mind, andthen I remember it never came,
like you guys were alwaysthinking well, and also, if we
could be part of Bison, and thatnever really seemed realistic
to me.
But, like you said, it reallywas about timing at some point.
(10:52):
You know, dave and Chris DeFarohad founded the place, they had
grown it and it had been doingso fantastically well.
But people do move on and dodifferent things, and when Chris
felt like that's what he wantedto do which was a very
surprising opportunity actuallywhich was a very surprising
opportunity actually, we hadalready been talking about what
(11:15):
were we going to do if anotherplace was available, and in
North Jersey or in Jersey ingeneral, like real estate, it's
just impossible to find anythingbut the chance to, like you
said, invest in the people here,the community, the ties, like
it was a really specialopportunity and and um, the fact
(11:37):
that you guys knew that I thinklike it was in you, that was
what made it the right thing.
It wasn't just some dude comingfrom somewhere who had, who
knew nothing about it, justthrowing some money, and it was
people who understood the fabricand the culture of the
community and Dave, who, as yousaid, is the driving force.
Michael Dasilva (11:57):
Yeah, and I think, Sam, just to expand upon
that and I know you have anoutline that you want to stick
to I'm going to throw you acouple of curveballs.
Okay, what made you feel likeHawk and I and Dave were your
right partners?
Why did?
Why did you like, why did youwant to get into a partnership
with us?
Sam Rhee (12:16):
Well, I mean, I think Dave is a proven success, right,
he took this gym and and builtit.
It's now, you know, around 300or so, which is pretty one of
the bigger gyms in the country,uh, in terms of CrossFit.
And then you guys were well,first of all, let's be honest,
you guys have the financialmeans and resources.
Uh, there are a lot of peoplewho are great people, but if you
(12:39):
can't invest significantcapital into something, then you
can't make things happen.
And so that was one of thethings.
But the other thing was trust.
Right, Like, when you work withsomebody, you got to trust them
.
And I know we think divergentlyon lots of stuff.
We come from differentperspectives.
(13:00):
I've never jumped out of anairplane, I've never worked in
finance, but that diverse set ofexperiences brings different
perspectives, and that's where Ithink our owners meetings are
so interesting, because weactually have a lot of different
perspectives.
We all actually convergeeventually and we come up with I
(13:20):
think is a best solution orapproach to whatever it is that
we're talking about or dealingwith.
But I feel like that trust wasthe reason why it worked and why
you want to work with somebody,and that was the number one
(13:41):
priority.
So at this point, how do youthink the gym is doing?
What plans do you have for thefuture?
What do you think the state of?
We actually just said that.
What do you think the state ofthe gym is?
We just had a meeting where wetalked about it and where do you
think it's going to go?
Adam Hawkinson (14:01):
I think you know I love how you know.
When we were thinking aboutsome other things down the road,
we decided to focus more onBison in-house.
Get that moving forward.
I think we'll never be in a badsituation as long as we keep
our heads on our shoulders andnot look too far down the road,
(14:21):
keep everything focused right infront of us, keeping the
members first and foremost,making sure that they're happy,
their needs are being met.
As long as we can keep doingthat, I think that Bison will
always continue to grow as longas the energy is still there.
Michael Dasilva (14:36):
Yeah, I'll second what Aaron says.
You just have to listen topeople, right?
Like when we go into the gym.
I think our biggest attributeas owners is that we talk to
everyone, right?
Talk to someone, ask them hey,like X, y and Z, what do you
think the gym needs?
What do you think that we cando better?
And asking that question topeople in any business from your
(14:58):
plastic surgery business towhen you own the UPS store to my
, my business is it shows onepeople that you care what, what
they think to, that you'reinvested in the business.
If it's something as silly asyou know, one person wants new
ropes to climb because the ropesare in not great condition, you
(15:18):
buy new ropes, like that personfelt, like they were heard or
there's just like other littlethings.
So, like, the most importantthing I think for us as owners
is listen to people and listento what the community wants and
always have a pulse on what'sgoing on.
Right, you don't have to beinvolved in the gossip and the
drama and all that.
Actually, preferably you stayout of it, but just listen to
(15:41):
what people are saying, respectpeople's opinions about things,
even though you might becontradictory to what we're
trying to do but also fulfillsome of the things that people
want.
And you know, I think, forBison now and moving forward.
You know demographic we alwaystalk about age demographic in
(16:03):
this business and the agedemographic is increasing.
Right, the want for theworkouts and style workouts is
still there in a strong demand.
But how do we triage for anaging demographic that wants
something that maybe they're notfully capable of doing?
And I think that's kind of whatwe're thinking about.
Sam Rhee (16:26):
You mean people don't want or can't do ring muscle-ups
like 15 unbroken or squatstatch 135 or seat cut.
Michael Dasilva (16:32):
But not everyone.
Not everyone can do that.
But then you have the beasts inthe gym that still can, and
when I say beasts, this doesn'tmean the young kids.
Some of the older people aredoing things that just blow your
mind.
So I think for us, as an owner,listening and being progressive
with how we approach fitness isis going to be the secret sauce
(16:55):
to bison for the next 10 yearsand beyond.
Sam Rhee (17:00):
I think, um, for me it's always about fitness, art
and the health of everybody.
I always think about what canwe do, as you said, to maximize
everyone who comes to Bison'shealth and fitness?
I think CrossFit sometimes getsthe wrong label that it's about
(17:21):
pushing limits and going sohard that it's almost excessive.
Almost excessive, and I wouldsay probably the first couple of
years, uh, when I got here,like all of CrossFit's
philosophy was go unbroken, gohard, like all of that.
(17:43):
And I think both CrossFit as awhole and us in particular at
our gym have realized, becausewe're getting older, because of
our demographic and also becausewe're just we've learned that
there is more to fitness thanmax intensity every time you
know, I think, having dealt withsprains, injuries, which you
(18:06):
are in every fitness, fitnessactivity, we are now really
trying to maximize longevitywellness.
But some of that, I realize,also has to be intensity, like
you have to bring it sometimes,and so finding that right mix of
wellness, longevity, healthfocus plus bringing that
(18:30):
intensity, that is really whatyou need in order to maintain
your capability is.
It's tricky, but I think we'restarting to figure it out more
and more.
Adam Hawkinson (18:41):
Yeah, I think everything's moderation, knowing
you know where to push, likeyou said, but it's like just
making sure that you're happy inwhat you're doing, then just
knowing at some point that youdo want to push yourself.
You know you want to see whatyou're capable of, and then
having that desire is what makesyou, you know, grow inside and
outside of the gym.
Sam Rhee (19:04):
What do you think the biggest challenge or issue?
Remains at our gym.
That still needs to beaddressed.
Remains at our gym.
That still needs to beaddressed.
Adam Hawkinson (19:14):
I think for me, thinking about that, it's
basically as far as the size ofthe gym, as we're getting more
members, it's trying to maximizethe space, make sure that
people don't feel crammed, butgetting enough people into the
classes that if we can get morepeople in, you know, no one's
(19:34):
feeling neglected when theycan't get in, can't sign up on
time.
Uh, I think that's going to bethe biggest thing in my mind.
Um, everything else, I think,falls in place, going off of
dave having trust in him.
You know we invested in him,like you said.
Uh, we all agree with that andyou know, I think as long as we
stick together like we'll haveno problem moving forward.
Michael Dasilva (19:56):
Yeah, again, adam, spot on.
I think when you think aboutchallenges, you also have to
think about, you know, thechallenges you have now are your
future, right?
The reason why you havechallenges now is because we're
growing right, and growing isour future.
The reason why we're so focusedon dave and and our coaches,
(20:21):
which, outside the community,the coaches are the most
important are our most valuableassets.
So, you know, I think thechallenges are accommodating the
community as it grows.
What do we have to do withspace?
Right?
And what do you have to do withpeople that still have the
drive and urge to do CrossFitbut maybe just can't physically
(20:42):
sustain it, right?
So we're thinking about thatnew concept, jim, you know.
And then coaches right, we'reinvesting in coaches.
We want them to come up withdifferent ideas, like what Adam
and Kayla just came up withAbsolutely fantastic.
I think the whiteboard thatthey have is a little shabby,
but we got to get them somethingnew.
(21:03):
You're talking about thenutrition chapter.
Yes, and K Wellness that'scoming online and a couple other
ideas that we're floatingaround for coaches to really
embrace what they are interestedin and what they excel at and
then introduce that to thecommunity in a thoughtful manner
.
So then it makes everyonebetter.
So I think you know.
I think those are thechallenges that we face.
Sam Rhee (21:31):
What is your favorite CrossFit movement or workout?
Adam Hawkinson (21:36):
The two that come to mind for me, probably
because I'm somewhat good at it,is I love power cleans and I
love bar muscle-ups.
It's those two.
They just it clicked with mewhether it's my anatomy of my
body growing up wrestling.
We never lifted much weight, itwas everything was body
(21:57):
movement.
So we did a lot of pull-ups.
So then, going into the barmuscle-up, it just when I
transitioned.
I just liked the easy, the easeof judging a movement like that
where you down at the bottom,you're at the top, there's no in
between, there's no gray lines.
It's good rep or no rep.
But those are my two favoriteprobably.
Sam Rhee (22:14):
How many unbroken bar muscle ups have you done?
What's your max?
Adam Hawkinson (22:17):
the most that I because they're smooth.
Sam Rhee (22:20):
I'll tell you, they're real, they're like butter and I
know that I've done one.
Adam Hawkinson (22:23):
What no dude, this guy does them all day 15.
I know I did 12 with kevinurchak at the uh waldwick
competition.
We did um.
I wasn't planning on it, but asI watched the guy next to me
just kept going, I was like, allright, I'll just hold on.
Um, I remember that, but it's15.
I know I could do more, but Idon't want to push myself and
(22:46):
get hurt unless it's like, okay,I need to hold on to 16 to
finish and then I'll do 16.
Then next time I'll try 17.
But 15 is probably the numberthat I have Got it.
Michael Dasilva (22:56):
How about you?
It's interesting that you thinkyou're good at both hip
movements.
Sam Rhee (23:00):
You're pretty good at bar muscle-ups too, actually.
Oh yeah, with your chicken wing.
No, do you shake your chickenwing?
No, does he chicken wing?
Do you chicken wing?
Michael Dasilva (23:07):
Oh, really, I was terrible.
Julia Kelly makes fun of meevery time I do it.
And then I think my favoritemovement is toes to bar.
Like I don't, like.
I feel like I can just get intoa flow on toes to bar and I can
, you know, rep out a bunch.
Yeah, there's not one movementthat I really don't like, except
(23:30):
for, probably, bear crawls.
I think those are the worstthings in the world.
Adam Hawkinson (23:34):
They are really bad.
They don't look good.
Michael Dasilva (23:37):
doing them Nobody does Everyone looks bad?
We thought bear crawls shouldbe a movement that should be in
functional fitness.
Probably shouldn't leave.
Sam Rhee (23:48):
What is the hardest workout that you remember doing?
Michael Dasilva (23:53):
Tell you what the one we did on Wednesday, the
five rounds.
Oh yeah, that was horrible Wait.
Sam Rhee (24:00):
so that was five rounds of what was it again?
Michael Dasilva (24:05):
I got to go back and look real quick.
We got to go back and look.
But I remember getting donewith that workout and I was like
you know what that was?
It was hang cleans.
No, it was six touch and goesoh right it was, and then you
went over and you went to andthen you did nine sit-ups right
and then you did, then the toesto bar yeah, so it was five sets
(24:28):
, two rounds, six touch and go,clean and jerks you choose your
weight.
Sam Rhee (24:31):
Nine sit ups, six toes to bar, nine push ups, rest two
minutes, and so you had twice,right, so it was two rounds of
that.
You rest after the second roundtwo minutes.
Yes, that was.
That was pretty horrificactually.
Adam Hawkinson (24:45):
I didn't mind that one, I think, just because
I told what Dave said, maybe alittle too extreme, but where he
said go lighter than you think.
So I probably would havestarted off 95 and then went 115
right away, but I started off75.
I did that for first two roundsand then I increased to 95.
Um, but I just remember.
(25:05):
For me uh, I had to write itdown because I didn't want to
forget it was 19.5, whereas therep scheme is 33, 27, 21, 15, 9
of 95-pound thrusterschest-to-bar pull-ups we did at
the old gym.
I remember that and when I heardyou did it with Dallas and they
were saying that Dallas did allsingles for the chest bar, I
(25:29):
was like that doesn't make sense.
Like you could do, yeah, dobutterflies.
But being in one movement for33 reps or 27 or even 21, those
are always, for me, myweaknesses.
I like to be able to do, youknow, five to seven reps or
something, move to somethingelse, let that body, uh, you
(25:51):
know recover and then move tothe next thing, be able to hit
that next uh movement and thenjust be able to keep moving like
that.
But when I was sitting therefor 33 reps I was like I want to
quit, I miss what's up rightnow.
But knowing everyone's doing it, it's like okay, I can't be
that one person, the only personthat just decides to stop.
I'll'll pick an injury, say Igot a cramp or something.
Sam Rhee (26:11):
I remember that one and I remember Dave Boak was
doing singles and I saw him doit and I was like man, I got it
at the end and I rememberbecause Jose was videoing us
he's a videographer, aphotographer and he caught me,
(26:32):
like my last rep of the chest tobar at the very end and I
literally was so pathetic Icollapsed and looked like a rag
doll and he was like trying to,you know, give me a fist bump
and I just I couldn't even likemove.
I literally could not move,like that was.
That was probably one of theworst moments of my life.
Adam Hawkinson (26:47):
That's where, like, I just started getting the
butterflies.
So I was like, oh, like, getthrough the thrusters and then
just hammer out the butterflies.
And when I went to go, like mylats were just numb.
I was like I don't even know ifI can get my chin above the bar
now it was rough and sure, sam,uh, I think 19.5 was probably
pretty terrible.
Sam Rhee (27:06):
Uh, I I remember probably my worst experience was
I went I did a comp uh withKathleen Staunton and there were
double unders in it.
I had been practicing them andI crapped the bed on them and I
just remember I was failing liketremendously.
I couldn't get through thedouble unders and it was one of
those like nightmare scenarioswhere like you're like
(27:27):
everyone's watching you and youcan't get it done.
Just relax, I can't.
And I was like, oh my god, thisis my worst nightmare.
I'm literally failing andeverybody's watching me fail up
on stage.
And uh, it felt terrible becauseone I not so much that I fail,
because I fail all the time andin CrossFit workouts, but that
Kathleen was my partner and Ilet her down and we just missed
(27:51):
um making podium, like wecouldn't get on to the um,
whatever.
The top three had one more wadto compete and we didn't make it
and we were like good, we werecomfortable in, uh, in that top
three and my crap, ass, jump,jump, rope performance dropped
us out and you know, that wasreally like probably one of the
(28:13):
worst moments I ever had.
I felt terrible.
Kathleen still talks about it.
I know she does, of course shedoesn't, and she's now competing
at Legends and killing it, sobut you know, that's why I think
CrossFit's filled with momentswhere you have triumphs, you
have failures, you put yourselfin very difficult situations,
(28:36):
but they're at the gym, sothey're relatively safe.
It's not like you're going to—.
Michael Dasilva (28:40):
But you make yourself vulnerable within a
group of people on a daily basis, and that says a lot about
people that come and do CrossFit.
Sam Rhee (28:47):
I think so, I think just pushing yourself in that
capacity it does something.
Michael Dasilva (28:52):
And the touch on Kathleen like that woman is
such an inspiration witheverything that she's gone
through in life with her ownstory.
And she's down in Arizona at alegends competition.
Like you come to a 930 class,you work out next to her, like,
whether she knows it or not,like me as a competitor next
(29:12):
door, like she's pushing meharder to to to be better at
what, whatever movement orwhatever WOD is that day and
that's that just goes back tocommunity.
Sam Rhee (29:23):
Well, yeah, both her and Joel Treller were featured
in 23.2 and their stories wereso inspirational and the gym is
filled with inspirationalstories like that so I find that
very um encouraging, for me atleast.
Like you said, when you go andyou're working out next to them,
um, all right, so let's closeup.
Tell me some one thing thatpeople wouldn't actually know or
(29:45):
expect about you actually knowor expect about you.
Adam Hawkinson (29:50):
I'm an open book .
Uh, I probably taught more thanI did.
Uh, but I mean I would say,like when we were talking
earlier, like a lot of peopledidn't know or don't know that I
was in the military.
Uh, that was probably my onlything, cause I never talk about
it unless someone asked me, likewhat I did before.
Uh, but definitely, jumping outof the airplanes, being in the
military and then doing thethree tours in Iraq were
(30:12):
probably probably the biggestthing.
Sam Rhee (30:14):
But how about you?
Michael Dasilva (30:17):
That's a good question.
I don't.
I feel like people know mepretty well.
I you know there's nothingabout me, that I'm very much an
open book, like like Adam said,and I don't.
I don't have a good answer forthat one.
Sam Rhee (30:32):
I think people would be surprised.
The choice of hand soap thatyou use in your bathroom yeah, I
like a nice hand soap.
Michael Dasilva (30:39):
You get that bougie hand soap.
That's really really Same onesthat your wife has in your
bathroom, that we compare whenit goes on sale.
Sam Rhee (30:46):
I was like wait there are other people who actually
buy this crazy expensive stuff.
So, to recap, thank you forsharing.
I think it's not easy,especially when you guys I know
you guys are both relativelyprivate, you guys aren't like.
You guys Don't sit there andpost constantly on social media.
(31:07):
You're not even on social media, and I know.
Create an account for him, isthat right?
Like the mike de silva ghostaccount, um, but uh, if there's
one thing that you want to letmembers sort of close with, like
that you want them to sort offinish out this interview with
what would be that one thing befor you, yeah I'll take that one
(31:28):
first.
Michael Dasilva (31:29):
Um, I think that members and yeah, and
pretty much anyone in life likewe're approachable guys, adam
and I, like we want you to comeup to us, we want you to give us
suggestions, we want you togive us feedback and it doesn't
always have to be positive, itcould be negative like we're
guys that are doers, right, likewe're sitting up on ladders in
(31:50):
Bison hanging stuff, fixingstuff, and like we don't go on
ladders.
We know nothing about ladders.
You shouldn't be on ladders,you shouldn't be on ladders.
So like I think that peopleshould know that one, we're
approachable.
Two, we want to hear from you.
And three, like your opinionmatters to us.
Like it's it's really importantfor us to make bison, what it
(32:13):
is now and what it's going to bein the future.
And, um, yeah, just start aconversation that's it.
Adam Hawkinson (32:19):
Yeah, uh, when I was in the military, people
always said to higher ups thatno matter what you're doing,
where you're at, someone'salways watching you, whether
it's your kids, a stranger andeverything you do is always
judged off of that one moment.
Whether you like it or not,perception is reality and I
think I mean you do every job asif it's the only job that you
(32:41):
have to do.
I mean I'm cleaning thebathrooms at the gym and I don't
mind it.
I like getting not so much toget my hands dirty, but I don't
mind doing any job.
I just wanted everyone to knowthat, no matter what they think,
perception of the people thatare owning the gym or help run
the gym, the coaches, that we'rehere for them and you know, as
(33:01):
long as we can make the gymbetter, it helps them, it helps
us and it just makes theday-to-day activities that much
better.
Michael Dasilva (33:09):
Sam, thanks for taking a risk on having me and
him on.
You didn't know which way thiswas going to go.
Adam Hawkinson (33:14):
Oh, he sent my face with sagging.
That's why he gave me afacelift that pulled his skin
back.
Michael Dasilva (33:18):
That's why he sent us a strict outline because
he wanted us to be on point.
Sam Rhee (33:22):
Well, I'm going to go through this and cut out all the
stuff that so this might be ahighly no, I'm just kidding, but
one minute right, but Iappreciate you guys taking the
time.
Um, I'm really looking forwardto the future with you guys, and
I feel like between you, you,me and dave, I feel the future
crossed with bison is extremelybright and I can't wait for 2020
(33:43):
exactly well, thank you, sothank you.
All right, welcome to another episode of Botox and
Burpees.
I have my two co-owners with me.
We are all recent owners ofCrossFit Bison, along with
majority owner David Syvertson,and today I thought it would be
a really great opportunity totalk to both Adam Hawkinson and
Michael DaSilva about theirbackground, their experiences in
(00:29):
CrossFit and why they decidedto become owners of a CrossFit
gym and what their plans are inthe future.
I think a lot of people haveseen you around but don't
necessarily know you personally.
I've gotten to know you guyswell over years and I think just
knowing who you are will givepeople understanding about where
(00:53):
the gym is directed towards,how we're helping Dave and how
excited we are about all thedifferent plans and improvements
and growth that I thinkCrossFit Bison can undergo.
So before I start, I justwanted to ask both of you what
your backgrounds were, how yougrew up, a quick summary of
(01:15):
where you guys got up to in youradult life.
Adam Hawkinson (01:18):
So, adam, Adam Hawkinson, turned 40 years old,
had two young boys, married tomy wife Stephanie, Grew up in
Delaware, joined the military,spent the three tours in Iraq
eight years in and after I gotout, met my wife down in
Delaware, moved to New Jersey.
(01:38):
And that's when, I would say,my fitness journey kind of began
.
I was looking for something tokind of stay in shape after I
got out of the military butstarted going to the global gyms
just doing the typical, youknow, back and bys, chest and
shoulders, and I, just after Ihad ACL surgery kind of like,
was missing my stride on stayingin shape.
(01:59):
And then that's when I kind offound out about CrossFit through
watching TV, the CrossFit Games.
Sam Rhee (02:04):
You were airborne, weren't you?
Yes?
Adam Hawkinson (02:07):
Did.
Airborne had roughly about 13jumps jumping out of airplanes,
scared every single time, justmaking sure the pseudo-Vincy you
know I had no control over that.
Sam Rhee (02:16):
Wow, that's crazy.
And Mike, tell me a little bitabout yourself.
Michael Dasilva (02:20):
Yeah, definitely haven't jumped out of
any planes, don't plan on it.
Um grew up in millen park withdave syverson.
Uh known him probably since hemoved from long island in third
grade.
So you know that's how I knowdave.
Um, now I live in glenrock withmy wife of coming up on 10
(02:42):
years.
We have two uh daughters sixyears old in a couple weeks.
Um met her.
Wow, I've known her my entirelife.
We uh she's my best friend'slittle sister, so I've known her
for a very long time.
Um living glenrock.
How I got into crossfit wasbecause I heard dave was opening
(03:04):
up in jim and millen park and Iwas like you know what I
haven't talked seen dave in areally long to CrossFit was
because I heard Dave was openingup in Jim and Mellon Park and I
was like you know what Ihaven't talked seen Dave in a
really long time.
Let me just swing by and seewhat this is all about.
And then started working outand you know, was probably
member number five I think I'llhang my hat on that one and you
know, just started working outand fell in love with everything
(03:25):
about CrossFit, from thetraining, the programming, the
people, and really just wantedto embrace the whole thing and
embrace Dave and I bought inimmediately.
Sam Rhee (03:39):
What's your day job?
Do you have a job so?
Adam Hawkinson (03:42):
that's what I'm saying now.
Michael Dasilva (03:43):
That's what I'm saying now.
That's what I'm saying now.
Extractor.
I work in the financialservices industry, but my wife
also has a building designbusiness, so I help her out with
that.
We build homes in the area andwe invest in other small
businesses in and around BergenCounty and other locations that
(04:07):
we're in.
But we you know when I say weinvest in businesses that you
know and we'll get into this.
We invest in people that welove and we know.
Sam Rhee (04:15):
So you've been there from the beginning.
That's 2014.
Do you remember your firstCrossFit workout or when you
first started?
Adam Hawkinson (04:23):
Not the first CrossFit workout or when you
first started, not the firstCrossFit workout.
I joined in March, like 2017, Ithink it was right after the
open, yeah, um, but I do recallit was Karen was like the first
thing that stuck out in my mindand I probably used the women's
14 pound wall ball.
The depth was fine, but Icouldn't hit the target and I
(04:45):
just remember I had a femalethat was judging me and I was
getting no rep.
Then I was in my head.
I was like I'm ready to quit.
I was like this is ridiculous,I don't like this.
And then I judged her and Iwatched her hit the target every
single time and I'm like, wow,I mean, if she can do this, I
need.
I had no excuse to not be ableto do this.
I need to step up my game.
(05:05):
So it made me a little hungryto come back for a little bit
more.
Sam Rhee (05:09):
I have done Karen a bunch of times 150 wall balls
for time, and every single timeI'm always in the middle of it
Like what the F?
Do you remember your firstworkout or a memorable workout
when you first started?
Michael Dasilva (05:25):
No, obviously, no, no, but almost you know,
like you guys say, karen, likethat's 150 wall, like, until you
said what Karen was like I loveCrossFit, right, but I'm not
one of these CrossFit likepurists that like I know Karen,
I know this, I know that Like Ilove CrossFit conceptually and
you know and everything aroundit but I'm not.
Adam Hawkinson (05:42):
We might work on your double owners before we
start, or I ain't got names, youtried junking twice and going
under once.
Sam Rhee (05:49):
So what made you decide to invest in CrossFit
Bison?
What were the circumstanceswhere you said, okay, this is an
opportunity that I want toparticipate in this.
Michael Dasilva (06:01):
Yeah, so I'll jump in for any on that one.
So I think to answer thatquestion, we kind of have to
understand what got us to theopportunity to invest in
CrossFit Bison, right, I thinkwe can talk freely about that.
Adam Hawkinson (06:14):
Yeah, of course.
Michael Dasilva (06:15):
So when was it it was probably January,
February that you came.
Sam Rhee (06:20):
Of last year or this year 2024.
Michael Dasilva (06:22):
Yeah, yeah, this just a little while ago you
came to hawk first, which Idon't know why, the guy doesn't
know any.
Um, you came to hawk first withan idea about opening up a gym
in another area around here andthen you came to me and we
talked about it and hawk and Ididn't I think we knew that you
were coming to us to talk to usabout something, but we didn't
(06:43):
really know what it was right.
And when you left theconversation with Hawk, he had
an idea.
And when you didn't tell me andwhen you left that conversation
with me, I had an idea.
And both of those ideas led usto that's a great idea, sam
opening up a new CrossFit gym inthat area with these guys.
(07:05):
But what about finding a way toinvest in bison, which which we
love?
Right, and you know we took itaway for a couple months.
We approached Dave about it andyou know Dave was interested in
the idea, but Dave didn'treally want to go anywhere and,
as everyone knows, it was Dave,dave and Chris who who owned
Bison and you know the naturalprogression there was.
(07:28):
If Dave's, you know, if this isDave's lifelong goal, right,
let's see how Chris feels aboutit, and timing is everything in
life.
We approached Chris and youknow the timing wasn't right at
that moment, when we approachedhim in March or wherever it was
and then we kind of sat on itfor a little bit and, you know,
(07:49):
planted the seed and then justkept on having the conversation
with him and organically it cameup that you know, it was the
right time for Chris for thingsthat he was going on in his life
, what was best for him.
And then we came together as acollective and collective and we
said, okay, let's do it, let'slet's value this thing at x
amount and x number and let'sfigure out what percentages each
(08:13):
of us want to own and let'sfigure out our roles.
So, once we got to the pointthat the opportunity was present
, what made me want to invest inbison?
Two things dave and thecommunity.
I believe in Dave, love Dave,dave is Bison, bison is Dave.
And then the community.
(08:34):
Right, like, I started in 2014,took four years off, once I had
my kids and came back to it andit was a different Bison, but
it was the same Bison becausethe community even though the
people were different, thecommunity was still.
You know what you love and whatyou remember.
Adam Hawkinson (08:54):
So that's, that's the reason why I invested
in bison and to what mike wassaying exactly right, where it's
dave, the community, eventhough, as we're getting older
and we've been in the cross atbison uh area for a while now
even though we're getting newmembers, it's almost like you
get to see the same members justlike re, you know reinvent
(09:16):
themselves where it's the samegroup, same vibe, same energy
that's coming into it.
So, even though you have thisdog house that's coming in now
at 6, 15, uh, yeah, it's.
It's just nice to have that.
Every single person that youmeet, no matter what time of the
day it is, you can connect withthem on a personal level and
(09:37):
everyone's just such a niceperson where you have no problem
getting to know them, meetingthem outside of the know, be in
each other's weddings, like Imet Brian and Liz and, uh, you
know, you get to know this guy alittle bit more, which takes a
toll on me, but uh, you know,and then I can go get a facelift
(10:00):
, uh at my saw at a bar, no, butuh, the community and Dave are
the two factors.
I think that really just driveit home makes it an easy
decision.
Sam Rhee (10:09):
Yeah, I almost forgot that it did spring out of.
Uh, there was a possiblelocation, like they even had
been talking about opening up asecond place, and so we scouted
this place pretty far away, likenot in competition, and it just
didn't work out.
The finances didn't work outall that, and I remember at the
(10:30):
time thinking, well, who wouldwe want to be part of that if we
did that?
And you guys came to mind, andthen I remember it never came,
like you guys were alwaysthinking well, and also, if we
could be part of Bison, and thatnever really seemed realistic
to me.
But, like you said, it reallywas about timing at some point.
(10:52):
You know, dave and Chris DeFarohad founded the place, they had
grown it and it had been doingso fantastically well.
But people do move on and dodifferent things, and when Chris
felt like that's what he wantedto do which was a very
surprising opportunity actuallywhich was a very surprising
opportunity actually, we hadalready been talking about what
(11:15):
were we going to do if anotherplace was available, and in
North Jersey or in Jersey ingeneral, like real estate, it's
just impossible to find anythingbut the chance to, like you
said, invest in the people here,the community, the ties, like
it was a really specialopportunity and and um, the fact
(11:37):
that you guys knew that I thinklike it was in you, that was
what made it the right thing.
It wasn't just some dude comingfrom somewhere who had, who
knew nothing about it, justthrowing some money, and it was
people who understood the fabricand the culture of the
community and Dave, who, as yousaid, is the driving force.
Michael Dasilva (11:57):
Yeah, and I think, Sam, just to expand upon
that and I know you have anoutline that you want to stick
to I'm going to throw you acouple of curveballs.
Okay, what made you feel likeHawk and I and Dave were your
right partners?
Why did?
Why did you like, why did youwant to get into a partnership
with us?
Sam Rhee (12:16):
Well, I mean, I think Dave is a proven success, right,
he took this gym and and builtit.
It's now, you know, around 300or so, which is pretty one of
the bigger gyms in the country,uh, in terms of CrossFit.
And then you guys were well,first of all, let's be honest,
you guys have the financialmeans and resources.
Uh, there are a lot of peoplewho are great people, but if you
(12:39):
can't invest significantcapital into something, then you
can't make things happen.
And so that was one of thethings.
But the other thing was trust.
Right, Like, when you work withsomebody, you got to trust them
.
And I know we think divergentlyon lots of stuff.
We come from differentperspectives.
(13:00):
I've never jumped out of anairplane, I've never worked in
finance, but that diverse set ofexperiences brings different
perspectives, and that's where Ithink our owners meetings are
so interesting, because weactually have a lot of different
perspectives.
We all actually convergeeventually and we come up with I
(13:20):
think is a best solution orapproach to whatever it is that
we're talking about or dealingwith.
But I feel like that trust wasthe reason why it worked and why
you want to work with somebody,and that was the number one
(13:41):
priority.
So at this point, how do youthink the gym is doing?
What plans do you have for thefuture?
What do you think the state of?
We actually just said that.
What do you think the state ofthe gym is?
We just had a meeting where wetalked about it and where do you
think it's going to go?
Adam Hawkinson (14:01):
I think you know I love how you know.
When we were thinking aboutsome other things down the road,
we decided to focus more onBison in-house.
Get that moving forward.
I think we'll never be in a badsituation as long as we keep
our heads on our shoulders andnot look too far down the road,
(14:21):
keep everything focused right infront of us, keeping the
members first and foremost,making sure that they're happy,
their needs are being met.
As long as we can keep doingthat, I think that Bison will
always continue to grow as longas the energy is still there.
Michael Dasilva (14:36):
Yeah, I'll second what Aaron says.
You just have to listen topeople, right?
Like when we go into the gym.
I think our biggest attributeas owners is that we talk to
everyone, right?
Talk to someone, ask them hey,like X, y and Z, what do you
think the gym needs?
What do you think that we cando better?
And asking that question topeople in any business from your
(14:58):
plastic surgery business towhen you own the UPS store to my
, my business is it shows onepeople that you care what, what
they think to, that you'reinvested in the business.
If it's something as silly asyou know, one person wants new
ropes to climb because the ropesare in not great condition, you
(15:18):
buy new ropes, like that personfelt, like they were heard or
there's just like other littlethings.
So, like, the most importantthing I think for us as owners
is listen to people and listento what the community wants and
always have a pulse on what'sgoing on.
Right, you don't have to beinvolved in the gossip and the
drama and all that.
Actually, preferably you stayout of it, but just listen to
(15:41):
what people are saying, respectpeople's opinions about things,
even though you might becontradictory to what we're
trying to do but also fulfillsome of the things that people
want.
And you know, I think, forBison now and moving forward.
You know demographic we alwaystalk about age demographic in
(16:03):
this business and the agedemographic is increasing.
Right, the want for theworkouts and style workouts is
still there in a strong demand.
But how do we triage for anaging demographic that wants
something that maybe they're notfully capable of doing?
And I think that's kind of whatwe're thinking about.
Sam Rhee (16:26):
You mean people don't want or can't do ring muscle-ups
like 15 unbroken or squatstatch 135 or seat cut.
Michael Dasilva (16:32):
But not everyone.
Not everyone can do that.
But then you have the beasts inthe gym that still can, and
when I say beasts, this doesn'tmean the young kids.
Some of the older people aredoing things that just blow your
mind.
So I think for us, as an owner,listening and being progressive
with how we approach fitness isis going to be the secret sauce
(16:55):
to bison for the next 10 yearsand beyond.
Sam Rhee (17:00):
I think, um, for me it's always about fitness, art
and the health of everybody.
I always think about what canwe do, as you said, to maximize
everyone who comes to Bison'shealth and fitness?
I think CrossFit sometimes getsthe wrong label that it's about
(17:21):
pushing limits and going sohard that it's almost excessive.
Almost excessive, and I wouldsay probably the first couple of
years, uh, when I got here,like all of CrossFit's
philosophy was go unbroken, gohard, like all of that.
(17:43):
And I think both CrossFit as awhole and us in particular at
our gym have realized, becausewe're getting older, because of
our demographic and also becausewe're just we've learned that
there is more to fitness thanmax intensity every time you
know, I think, having dealt withsprains, injuries, which you
(18:06):
are in every fitness, fitnessactivity, we are now really
trying to maximize longevitywellness.
But some of that, I realize,also has to be intensity, like
you have to bring it sometimes,and so finding that right mix of
wellness, longevity, healthfocus plus bringing that
(18:30):
intensity, that is really whatyou need in order to maintain
your capability is.
It's tricky, but I think we'restarting to figure it out more
and more.
Adam Hawkinson (18:41):
Yeah, I think everything's moderation, knowing
you know where to push, likeyou said, but it's like just
making sure that you're happy inwhat you're doing, then just
knowing at some point that youdo want to push yourself.
You know you want to see whatyou're capable of, and then
having that desire is what makesyou, you know, grow inside and
outside of the gym.
Sam Rhee (19:04):
What do you think the biggest challenge or issue?
Remains at our gym.
That still needs to beaddressed.
Remains at our gym.
That still needs to beaddressed.
Adam Hawkinson (19:14):
I think for me, thinking about that, it's
basically as far as the size ofthe gym, as we're getting more
members, it's trying to maximizethe space, make sure that
people don't feel crammed, butgetting enough people into the
classes that if we can get morepeople in, you know, no one's
(19:34):
feeling neglected when theycan't get in, can't sign up on
time.
Uh, I think that's going to bethe biggest thing in my mind.
Um, everything else, I think,falls in place, going off of
dave having trust in him.
You know we invested in him,like you said.
Uh, we all agree with that andyou know, I think as long as we
stick together like we'll haveno problem moving forward.
Michael Dasilva (19:56):
Yeah, again, adam, spot on.
I think when you think aboutchallenges, you also have to
think about, you know, thechallenges you have now are your
future, right?
The reason why you havechallenges now is because we're
growing right, and growing isour future.
The reason why we're so focusedon dave and and our coaches,
(20:21):
which, outside the community,the coaches are the most
important are our most valuableassets.
So, you know, I think thechallenges are accommodating the
community as it grows.
What do we have to do withspace?
Right?
And what do you have to do withpeople that still have the
drive and urge to do CrossFitbut maybe just can't physically
(20:42):
sustain it, right?
So we're thinking about thatnew concept, jim, you know.
And then coaches right, we'reinvesting in coaches.
We want them to come up withdifferent ideas, like what Adam
and Kayla just came up withAbsolutely fantastic.
I think the whiteboard thatthey have is a little shabby,
but we got to get them somethingnew.
(21:03):
You're talking about thenutrition chapter.
Yes, and K Wellness that'scoming online and a couple other
ideas that we're floatingaround for coaches to really
embrace what they are interestedin and what they excel at and
then introduce that to thecommunity in a thoughtful manner
.
So then it makes everyonebetter.
So I think you know.
I think those are thechallenges that we face.
Sam Rhee (21:31):
What is your favorite CrossFit movement or workout?
Adam Hawkinson (21:36):
The two that come to mind for me, probably
because I'm somewhat good at it,is I love power cleans and I
love bar muscle-ups.
It's those two.
They just it clicked with mewhether it's my anatomy of my
body growing up wrestling.
We never lifted much weight, itwas everything was body
(21:57):
movement.
So we did a lot of pull-ups.
So then, going into the barmuscle-up, it just when I
transitioned.
I just liked the easy, the easeof judging a movement like that
where you down at the bottom,you're at the top, there's no in
between, there's no gray lines.
It's good rep or no rep.
But those are my two favoriteprobably.
Sam Rhee (22:14):
How many unbroken bar muscle ups have you done?
What's your max?
Adam Hawkinson (22:17):
the most that I because they're smooth.
Sam Rhee (22:20):
I'll tell you, they're real, they're like butter and I
know that I've done one.
Adam Hawkinson (22:23):
What no dude, this guy does them all day 15.
I know I did 12 with kevinurchak at the uh waldwick
competition.
We did um.
I wasn't planning on it, but asI watched the guy next to me
just kept going, I was like, allright, I'll just hold on.
Um, I remember that, but it's15.
I know I could do more, but Idon't want to push myself and
(22:46):
get hurt unless it's like, okay,I need to hold on to 16 to
finish and then I'll do 16.
Then next time I'll try 17.
But 15 is probably the numberthat I have Got it.
Michael Dasilva (22:56):
How about you?
It's interesting that you thinkyou're good at both hip
movements.
Sam Rhee (23:00):
You're pretty good at bar muscle-ups too, actually.
Oh yeah, with your chicken wing.
No, do you shake your chickenwing?
No, does he chicken wing?
Do you chicken wing?
Michael Dasilva (23:07):
Oh, really, I was terrible.
Julia Kelly makes fun of meevery time I do it.
And then I think my favoritemovement is toes to bar.
Like I don't, like.
I feel like I can just get intoa flow on toes to bar and I can
, you know, rep out a bunch.
Yeah, there's not one movementthat I really don't like, except
(23:30):
for, probably, bear crawls.
I think those are the worstthings in the world.
Adam Hawkinson (23:34):
They are really bad.
They don't look good.
Michael Dasilva (23:37):
doing them Nobody does Everyone looks bad?
We thought bear crawls shouldbe a movement that should be in
functional fitness.
Probably shouldn't leave.
Sam Rhee (23:48):
What is the hardest workout that you remember doing?
Michael Dasilva (23:53):
Tell you what the one we did on Wednesday, the
five rounds.
Oh yeah, that was horrible Wait.
Sam Rhee (24:00):
so that was five rounds of what was it again?
Michael Dasilva (24:05):
I got to go back and look real quick.
We got to go back and look.
But I remember getting donewith that workout and I was like
you know what that was?
It was hang cleans.
No, it was six touch and goesoh right it was, and then you
went over and you went to andthen you did nine sit-ups right
and then you did, then the toesto bar yeah, so it was five sets
(24:28):
, two rounds, six touch and go,clean and jerks you choose your
weight.
Sam Rhee (24:31):
Nine sit ups, six toes to bar, nine push ups, rest two
minutes, and so you had twice,right, so it was two rounds of
that.
You rest after the second roundtwo minutes.
Yes, that was.
That was pretty horrificactually.
Adam Hawkinson (24:45):
I didn't mind that one, I think, just because
I told what Dave said, maybe alittle too extreme, but where he
said go lighter than you think.
So I probably would havestarted off 95 and then went 115
right away, but I started off75.
I did that for first two roundsand then I increased to 95.
Um, but I just remember.
(25:05):
For me uh, I had to write itdown because I didn't want to
forget it was 19.5, whereas therep scheme is 33, 27, 21, 15, 9
of 95-pound thrusterschest-to-bar pull-ups we did at
the old gym.
I remember that and when I heardyou did it with Dallas and they
were saying that Dallas did allsingles for the chest bar, I
(25:29):
was like that doesn't make sense.
Like you could do, yeah, dobutterflies.
But being in one movement for33 reps or 27 or even 21, those
are always, for me, myweaknesses.
I like to be able to do, youknow, five to seven reps or
something, move to somethingelse, let that body, uh, you
(25:51):
know recover and then move tothe next thing, be able to hit
that next uh movement and thenjust be able to keep moving like
that.
But when I was sitting therefor 33 reps I was like I want to
quit, I miss what's up rightnow.
But knowing everyone's doing it, it's like okay, I can't be
that one person, the only personthat just decides to stop.
I'll'll pick an injury, say Igot a cramp or something.
Sam Rhee (26:11):
I remember that one and I remember Dave Boak was
doing singles and I saw him doit and I was like man, I got it
at the end and I rememberbecause Jose was videoing us
he's a videographer, aphotographer and he caught me,
(26:32):
like my last rep of the chest tobar at the very end and I
literally was so pathetic Icollapsed and looked like a rag
doll and he was like trying to,you know, give me a fist bump
and I just I couldn't even likemove.
I literally could not move,like that was.
That was probably one of theworst moments of my life.
Adam Hawkinson (26:47):
That's where, like, I just started getting the
butterflies.
So I was like, oh, like, getthrough the thrusters and then
just hammer out the butterflies.
And when I went to go, like mylats were just numb.
I was like I don't even know ifI can get my chin above the bar
now it was rough and sure, sam,uh, I think 19.5 was probably
pretty terrible.
Sam Rhee (27:06):
Uh, I I remember probably my worst experience was
I went I did a comp uh withKathleen Staunton and there were
double unders in it.
I had been practicing them andI crapped the bed on them and I
just remember I was failing liketremendously.
I couldn't get through thedouble unders and it was one of
those like nightmare scenarioswhere like you're like
(27:27):
everyone's watching you and youcan't get it done.
Just relax, I can't.
And I was like, oh my god, thisis my worst nightmare.
I'm literally failing andeverybody's watching me fail up
on stage.
And uh, it felt terrible becauseone I not so much that I fail,
because I fail all the time andin CrossFit workouts, but that
Kathleen was my partner and Ilet her down and we just missed
(27:51):
um making podium, like wecouldn't get on to the um,
whatever.
The top three had one more wadto compete and we didn't make it
and we were like good, we werecomfortable in, uh, in that top
three and my crap, ass, jump,jump, rope performance dropped
us out and you know, that wasreally like probably one of the
(28:13):
worst moments I ever had.
I felt terrible.
Kathleen still talks about it.
I know she does, of course shedoesn't, and she's now competing
at Legends and killing it, sobut you know, that's why I think
CrossFit's filled with momentswhere you have triumphs, you
have failures, you put yourselfin very difficult situations,
(28:36):
but they're at the gym, sothey're relatively safe.
It's not like you're going to—.
Michael Dasilva (28:40):
But you make yourself vulnerable within a
group of people on a daily basis, and that says a lot about
people that come and do CrossFit.
Sam Rhee (28:47):
I think so, I think just pushing yourself in that
capacity it does something.
Michael Dasilva (28:52):
And the touch on Kathleen like that woman is
such an inspiration witheverything that she's gone
through in life with her ownstory.
And she's down in Arizona at alegends competition.
Like you come to a 930 class,you work out next to her, like,
whether she knows it or not,like me as a competitor next
(29:12):
door, like she's pushing meharder to to to be better at
what, whatever movement orwhatever WOD is that day and
that's that just goes back tocommunity.
Sam Rhee (29:23):
Well, yeah, both her and Joel Treller were featured
in 23.2 and their stories wereso inspirational and the gym is
filled with inspirationalstories like that so I find that
very um encouraging, for me atleast.
Like you said, when you go andyou're working out next to them,
um, all right, so let's closeup.
Tell me some one thing thatpeople wouldn't actually know or
(29:45):
expect about you actually knowor expect about you.
Adam Hawkinson (29:50):
I'm an open book .
Uh, I probably taught more thanI did.
Uh, but I mean I would say,like when we were talking
earlier, like a lot of peopledidn't know or don't know that I
was in the military.
Uh, that was probably my onlything, cause I never talk about
it unless someone asked me, likewhat I did before.
Uh, but definitely, jumping outof the airplanes, being in the
military and then doing thethree tours in Iraq were
(30:12):
probably probably the biggestthing.
Sam Rhee (30:14):
But how about you?
Michael Dasilva (30:17):
That's a good question.
I don't.
I feel like people know mepretty well.
I you know there's nothingabout me, that I'm very much an
open book, like like Adam said,and I don't.
I don't have a good answer forthat one.
Sam Rhee (30:32):
I think people would be surprised.
The choice of hand soap thatyou use in your bathroom yeah, I
like a nice hand soap.
Michael Dasilva (30:39):
You get that bougie hand soap.
That's really really Same onesthat your wife has in your
bathroom, that we compare whenit goes on sale.
Sam Rhee (30:46):
I was like wait there are other people who actually
buy this crazy expensive stuff.
So, to recap, thank you forsharing.
I think it's not easy,especially when you guys I know
you guys are both relativelyprivate, you guys aren't like.
You guys Don't sit there andpost constantly on social media.
(31:07):
You're not even on social media, and I know.
Create an account for him, isthat right?
Like the mike de silva ghostaccount, um, but uh, if there's
one thing that you want to letmembers sort of close with, like
that you want them to sort offinish out this interview with
what would be that one thing befor you, yeah I'll take that one
(31:28):
first.
Michael Dasilva (31:29):
Um, I think that members and yeah, and
pretty much anyone in life likewe're approachable guys, adam
and I, like we want you to comeup to us, we want you to give us
suggestions, we want you togive us feedback and it doesn't
always have to be positive, itcould be negative like we're
guys that are doers, right, likewe're sitting up on ladders in
(31:50):
Bison hanging stuff, fixingstuff, and like we don't go on
ladders.
We know nothing about ladders.
You shouldn't be on ladders,you shouldn't be on ladders.
So like I think that peopleshould know that one, we're
approachable.
Two, we want to hear from you.
And three, like your opinionmatters to us.
Like it's it's really importantfor us to make bison, what it
(32:13):
is now and what it's going to bein the future.
And, um, yeah, just start aconversation that's it.
Adam Hawkinson (32:19):
Yeah, uh, when I was in the military, people
always said to higher ups thatno matter what you're doing,
where you're at, someone'salways watching you, whether
it's your kids, a stranger andeverything you do is always
judged off of that one moment.
Whether you like it or not,perception is reality and I
think I mean you do every job asif it's the only job that you
(32:41):
have to do.
I mean I'm cleaning thebathrooms at the gym and I don't
mind it.
I like getting not so much toget my hands dirty, but I don't
mind doing any job.
I just wanted everyone to knowthat, no matter what they think,
perception of the people thatare owning the gym or help run
the gym, the coaches, that we'rehere for them and you know, as
(33:01):
long as we can make the gymbetter, it helps them, it helps
us and it just makes theday-to-day activities that much
better.
Michael Dasilva (33:09):
Sam, thanks for taking a risk on having me and
him on.
You didn't know which way thiswas going to go.
Adam Hawkinson (33:14):
Oh, he sent my face with sagging.
That's why he gave me afacelift that pulled his skin
back.
Michael Dasilva (33:18):
That's why he sent us a strict outline because
he wanted us to be on point.
Sam Rhee (33:22):
Well, I'm going to go through this and cut out all the
stuff that so this might be ahighly no, I'm just kidding, but
one minute right, but Iappreciate you guys taking the
time.
Um, I'm really looking forwardto the future with you guys, and
I feel like between you, you,me and dave, I feel the future
crossed with bison is extremelybright and I can't wait for 2020
(33:43):
exactly well, thank you, sothank you.
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