Brooke Ence, CrossFit Athlete: The Ultimate Guide

Brooke Ence, born Brooke Holladay Ence, is an athlete, actress, and entrepreneur.

Ence stands at the helm of many businesses. Her ventures include Encewear athleisure line, Naked training app, and Athia skin line.

On the field, she has overcome adversity in training through injuries. A spinal injury which could have ended her career in 2017.

Her bubbly personality translates well to media. She stars in the ItMakesEnce YouTube series. More recently, she hosts her Between the Reps podcast with friend Jeanna Cianciarulo.

Brooke’s acting career has also started to take off, earning many roles in DC films and shows.

Ence plants herself as one of the hardest-working athlete entrepreneurs of our era.


Height

5’7″


Birthday

August 10, 1989


Home

Santa Cruz, CA

Weight

150


Age

29


Coaches

Ence has been coached by a number of greats, including Tommy Hackenbruck, Matt Bruce, Michael Cazayoux, Nick Sorrel, and Chris Hinshaw.

Brooke Ence is one of the most widely-followed athletes in the history of CrossFit. Both because of her media savvy and her personality.
Brooke Ence is one of the most widely-followed athletes in the history of CrossFit. Both because of her media savvy and her personality.

Brooke Ence Instagram

Ence has shown her media savvy through the brand she’s built on online. Case in point, the over 1.2 million Brooke Ence Instagram followers. Brooke’s attitude toward being blunt and honest on her social media has garnered awards, too. In 2018, Ence was a finalist for a Shorty Award in the Sports category. The Shorty Awards recognize outstanding mastery of social media.

Ence Wear

Also referred to as “Encewear“, Brooke started her clothing line in earnest. The athleisure company focuses on unique products, in both design and quality. Some popular Ence Wear products include leggings, hoodies, tanks, shirts, and sports bras.

Bearing the marquee of Ence’s nipple logo, cloting focuses on honoring natural beauty.

Before CrossFit

Brooke Ence starting dancing at a very early age, but didn’t limit herself to one sport. She also participated in gymnastics, softball, and swim. Brooke is the youngest of four siblings.

In college, Ence studied Dance at the University of Utah. She later switched her major to Communications. Taking up CrossFit while preparing her body for aerial dance movements, Ence fell in love with the sport.

Brooke Ence CrossFit Career

In the world of elite fitness, Brooke Ence is paving the way with an incredible career. Starting with the CrossFit Open, she has participated for seven years. Ence has ranked top-100 in the global event four times – 73rd in 2014, 19th in 2015, 45th in 2016, and 77th in 2018.

Ence qualified for CrossFit Regionals three times as an individual athlete, and once on a team. Her performances in 2014 and 2016 earned her sixth place at the California and Northern California CrossFit Regional events.

Ence qualified for CrossFit Regionals three times as an individual athlete. Her first Regional appearance was on a team, representing Ute CrossFit in 2013. Ence’s performances in 2014 and 2016 earned her sixth place both times. This was at the California and West CrossFit Regional events.

Despite these great performances, many look 2015 as Ence’s breakout year. Placing 19th in the CrossFit Open, she then won her 2015 Northern California Regional. Legends Lindsey Valenzuela, Chyna Cho, Becca Voigt, and Alessandra Pichelli all placed lower.

Punching her first ticket to the CrossFit Games, Brooke had quite the rookie year. She placed 14th-overall and won two of the CrossFit Games 2015 events. Those events were the Snatch Speed Ladder and the Clean and Jerk. Ence also had two other top-ten finishes that year, both in the sprint courses.

Brooke Ence and Annie Thorisdottir do synchronized butterfly pull-ups
Brooke Ence and Annie Thorisdottir do synchronized butterfly pull-ups

Brooke Ence Neck Injury

After an injury, Ence was unable to compete in 2017. A herniated disc in her spine required surgery. The Brooke Ence surgery went through her neck and had her C7 and C7 vertebrae fused in her spine.

Brooke Ence Shoulder Injury

Tragedy struck again in 2018. After a tough CrossFit Regionals performance, tests confirmed Ence had shoulder tears. Known as bilateral SLAP tears, they can take up to two years to recover from after surgery.

Return to Competition in 2020

It was announced via a video in 2020 that Brooke has been able to fully rehabilitate from her injuries and is ready to compete again. We expect her to make her latest debut on the competition floor at the 2020 West Coast Classic.

Does Brooke Ence Use Steroids?

While she is actively spurned for her ripped physique outside of the CrossFit space, Brooke Ence has undergone many test for performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) and steroids, but has never failed a drug test.

Brooke Ence Wonder Woman

Starting with a lengthy cameo in 2017’s Wonder Woman, Ence has become a recurring DC star.

“[Director] Zack Snyder had come across a picture of me online and asked Warner Bros. to reach out,” Ence told People in 2017. “It took me a little while to accept [the role] because I wasn’t sure it was going to be worth disrupting my career. I was training for the World Finals of the CrossFit Games, but I ended up accepting it. It was a natural thing for me to do Wonder Woman as well after doing Justice League.”

Now, Brooke’s Wonder Woman character (known as Penthesilea) returned in 2017’s Justice League. She also starred in two episodes of the CW’s Black Lightning in 2018 and continues to have more undisclosed roles she’s working on.

Brooke Ence, Marston Sawyers Divorce

Brooke Ence started dating Marston Sawyers in 2007. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he is a prominent director and documentarian.

Marston Sawyers and Brooke Ence are now in the process of getting a divorce. So, yes. Brooke Ence is married. No, she’s unfortunately not staying that way and we wish both Ence and Saywers an peaceful separation and will respect their privacy as they separate.

After CrossFit dissolved its media team in 2018, Sawyers has branched out with fellow documentarian Heber Cannon. Together, they are the Buttery Bros on YouTube. Follow them as they travel between CrossFit shenanigans.

Sawyers and Ence moved to Santa Cruz together when he took a job with CrossFit’s media team. Since then, he has built a hefty portfolio of films. Marston’s credits include directing the Fittest on Earth movies:

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By Ben Garves

Ben Garves is a digital product expert, author, entertainer, and activist. His portfolio of thought leadership in digital marketing and web experiences has included major clients like Microsoft, Google, Twitter, eBay, and Facebook. He’s also a freelance health and fitness journalist with over 400 stories written since 2018, a podcaster with 200 episodes to his name, and runs a YouTube channel with over 100 fitness and activism-oriented videos and live streams. Ben has founded the Fitness is for Everyone™ initiative to raise awareness about social injustice in both racial inequality and socioeconomic disparity in access to quality fitness and nutrition options around the globe.

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