You can generally find James de-stressing from the days’ work at one of Maia CrossFit’s evening classes.

James is a General Manager for a sales company where he focuses on business development and sales coaching. He has worked in the industry, in different capacities, for over 17 years. “What is predictable is preventable”, James says. He has worked up a tolerance to coping with stress. “There are days that can ‘break me’ but, I have built a habit that if I had a stressful day at work, I need to exercise as a way to unwind”.

Group exercise was not James’ cup of tea at first. “I used to workout at a gym, then I started some sessions with a personal trainer who introduced (coaxed) me into trying CrossFit... then I was hooked!”. And although James originally started exercising for vanity, as time went on, his perspective shifted from ‘ego fitness’ to ‘wellbeing fitness’. James says, “if I don’t work out regularly, I start to really feel the downsides of it”.

James started at Maia CrossFit in June 2016. “For me, the largest thing about doing CrossFit is that I am not always at the mercy of my own motivation”. He enjoys the diversity of the members and that there is always a coach watching over him. “If I am slacking off a bit, there is always a voice that comes out of the darkness”. Before, if he went to a typical gym, James says, “I would sometimes roll in, do the bare minimum, and no one was going to tell me any different… I would still tick off that mental box”.

Sometimes it’s the other members who offer a motivational cue or words of encouragement, “it’s not unusual to hear Tony or Paul yell out come on James! ”. The extra effort that someone can put into their workout simply by exercising in a group setting, really fascinates James and the group energy helps to fuel his fitness motivation.

Another motivation and interest of James’ is personal development and spiritual curiosity.

James acknowledged that in his mid-thirties, he had suffered bouts of depression most of his life. He had one particularly rough episode and decided that he needed to change his perspective on life. James says, “since then, I have experimented with a number of self development techniques.”

From reading books, attending workshops and going as far as taking a trip to Peru in 2018, where James attended his first Ayahuasca retreat; he understands the importance of looking after his mental and physical health.

Meet James!