Outside media seems to focus a lot on Mat Frasers’ old alcohol abuse, imposters try to sell us gloves, and we talk Sanctional live streams.
Good morning and welcome to the WODDITY podcast for news about CrossFit. We are a daily podcast, Monday through Friday, doing CrossFit news in five minutes or less.
My name is Ben Garves and today is Wednesday, the 12th of February, 2020.
Allow me to start by apologizing to anyone who had some audio issues with the podcast the last few episodes. They’ve all been resolved. If you delete them from your app and re-download, you should get the new (and fixed) versions. It’s a part of the growing pains here as I move to replace our recording software.
Mat Fraser in the News
Mat Fraser has been in the news pretty heavily the last couple of days, with a lot of articles focusing on his sobriety. Titles include “How the world’s fittest man went from alcoholic to inspiration” and “How Mat Fraser went from boozing to the ‘fittest man on earth’”. I’ll tell you one thing: you’d be much healthier if you stopped drinking, too. Just saying.
Fraser was recently voted the 10th greatest story in Vermont sports history, behind feats like Elle Purrier’s recent breaking of the American women’s mile record, finishing the distance in just barely over 4:16. I mean…I would contest the majority of these. He’s behind two golfers, two skiers, and a snowboarder. But I’m happy to see him on the list.
Ant Haynes on CrossFit
The South China Morning Post has put together a great video delving into CrossFit with Ant Haynes. If you were looking for the one thing I recommend you spend three minutes on today, it’s this video. There’s a link to it in my show notes and at WODDITY.com.
CrossFit Glove Guide
If you’ve listened to the podcast for a while, you know I love to point out when websites and periodicals with absolutely no subject matter expertise weight in on topics, like when a financial journal told us about CrossFitters and signs of iodine deficiency. Well, in the latest installment of “whatchu talmbout”, the Chicago Tribune has written an article on the best CrossFit gloves. I’ll give the Tribune a hint: there really isn’t much we use gloves for. Wraps and grips, yes, but gloves? C’mon, people. If you visit the site, beware of what you click on – all of their product links are affiliate links and they’ll make a cut off your *giggle* they’ll *giggle* sorry. It’s hard to say it with a straight face. They’ll make a profit off your CrossFit glove purchase.
Is CrossFit Dangerous?
Speaking of people who don’t know what they’re talking about, the NSCA is in the news again. Parade, the pop culture, fitness, and food website, has written about whether CrossFit is actually dangerous, citing the NSCA’s history of misinformation to help rectify the public image of our beloved brand. It’s a great article if you want to point someone toward what CrossFit is or why the perception that it’s dangerous is inaccurate. For that reason, you can also find a link to that in my show notes and at WODDITY.com.
German Throwdown Live Stream
Morning Chalk Up released a piece earlier this week, citing that the German Throwdown would be joining the Australian CrossFit Championship and Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge in not offering a livestream to the public. Pair this with the events covered in the agreement between FloSports and Loud and Live, and we’re nearing the double digits of Sanctional events with no (or only pay-for-access) live streams.
CrossFit Italian Showdown Live Stream
Not to heap on the pile, but I’ve also confirmed the CrossFit Italian Showdown will not be broadcasting their event, either.
It is true that live streams are expensive, but these can easily be subsidized through advertisements and sponsorships. I feel for the Sanctionals who want to make sure they do it right, but I’m also well-versed in providing these things and can tell you the price tag events are paying is far from the actual cost. If you represent a Sanctional and want a cheaper alternative, reach out. I’ll do what I can to help you put something together. WODDITY is community first, clickbait never, and deeply human. Translation: I want you to be able to provide these things and will help you do it at cost instead of profiteering. Just saying. Soft sell.
The good news is, Morning Chalk Up has done some wheeling and dealing to be on-site for a number of these Sanctionals, so I’ll give them a shoutout that you should be able to get some updates from them throughout the event weekends.
And that’s it for news about CrossFit for Wednesday, February 12th. Thanks for listening. Please be sure to rate, review, subscribe, and share. For WODDITY, I’m Ben Garves. Chat tomorrow.
