The Day I Almost Quit

There was a time I thought I was done coaching for good. This is my CrossFit coaching story — a moment when I almost walked away from the thing I was meant to do, but I chose to never quit .

I was at my previous gym, coaching classes of two or three people at a time. I had hit a wall — not just professionally, but personally. I didn’t feel like I was growing anymore. I loved fitness, but the fire that once drove me to coach, to lead, to pour into people… it was fading.

So, I made a decision: I needed a change of scenery. Not to chase another coaching job — but to chase growth for myself.

I had heard great things about a gym near Hunt Valley called Outsiders CrossFit. The energy, the community, the training — everything sounded like exactly what I needed to level up.

So I went. Not to network. Not to get hired. Just to train. To be around athletes who would push me, challenge me, and get me outside my comfort zone again.

And that’s exactly what happened.

Within weeks, I felt alive again. My fitness took off in ways I hadn’t experienced in years. I was surrounded by people who wanted to get better — not just stronger, but better.

I even signed up for a local competition. I didn’t expect much, but I ended up performing better than I thought possible. The atmosphere, the people, the energy at Outsiders — it all brought something out of me I didn’t even realize I had been missing.

At that point, I had completely put coaching behind me. I never mentioned to anyone that I had been a coach before. I didn’t want that to define me anymore. I just wanted to show up, train, and grow.

But I remember watching the coaches here. I admired them — their professionalism, the way they led the room, the culture Stan and Jess had built.

The classes were big — much larger than I was used to — and I remember thinking, “There’s no way I could do that.”
It was a quiet kind of fear. One I didn’t even want to admit to myself.

Then one day, out of nowhere, Stan approached me.

He said, “Hey man, have you ever thought about coaching again?”

I was caught completely off guard. I hadn’t told a single person I used to coach.

He told me he noticed how I did the little things right — how I always touched the 400m turnaround tree every single time we ran, how I never cut corners, how I brought a quiet consistency to everything I did.

That moment changed everything.

I think about that a lot.

What if I had quit?
Had never walked into Outsiders?
Let that voice win — the one that said, “Maybe this part of your life is over”?

If I had listened to that voice, I wouldn’t be here.
I wouldn’t be doing what I know, deep down, I was put on this earth to do.

Coaching isn’t just what I do — it’s who I am.
It’s the way I connect with people, the way I help them see their potential, the way I get to watch someone do something they once thought was impossible.

And it all almost ended… because I thought my story was finished.

Sometimes, the best parts of our lives are waiting right on the other side of almost quitting.

You don’t always need to start over — sometimes you just need to show up somewhere new, breathe different air, and let yourself be challenged again.

Because growth doesn’t always look like success.
Sometimes it looks like struggle, uncertainty, and walking into a place not knowing anyone — just trusting that you’re meant to be there.

That was me. And it changed everything.

So if you’re reading this and thinking about giving up — on fitness, on showing up, on something you used to love — don’t.

Your next chapter might just be waiting for you to walk through the door.

If I’ve learned anything from that season of my life, it’s that our greatest growth often comes from moments of doubt. The truth is, everyone has a point where they wonder if it’s worth continuing — in fitness, in business. But when you push through that breaking point, you find a version of yourself that’s tougher, wiser, and more capable than you ever imagined.

If you’ve been away from Outsiders for a while — or you’ve been thinking about getting started — this is your sign.

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