Joe’s lifts make the front page!

Hello athletes! This week we are honoring someone who has dedicated himself to CrossFit, become an integral member of The Foundry, and often sets the bar on the leader board. This week we highlight Joe Roark! You might know him as “boy wonder” but read on to find out more about this amazing athlete.

The Foundry: You came to The Foundry already being able to perform a lot of the movements at a high level, tell us about your background?

Joe Roark: My athletic career started at a very early age when I was introduced to the sport of gymnastics when I was only 3. Gymnastics continued to be the core of my competitive life for the next 11 years. Within those years I had the opportunity to compete all around the United States against so many high level gymnasts. It even led me to having the chance to train at the University of Iowa under the direction of Dmitri Trouch who was the Russian national champion and the head coach of the university’s gymnastics team. Following a serious back injury that took me out of gymnastics at the age of 14, I began to experiment with every sport imaginable. I eventually was given the opportunity to play soccer at the collegiate level for Grandview University in Des Moines, Iowa.

The Foundry: Describe the switch that drives you to go beyond the health, fitness, and social benefits of the gym and pushes you to be a competitive CrossFitter?

JR: My internal drive for competition really comes from my parents who were and are still extremely competitive athletes. My mother played division 1 collegiate softball while my father has been a competitive cyclist for most of his life. having such athletic and driven parents is perhaps where I learned to push myself beyond my own limits to become better at everything I do. This has really led me to making the choice to be a competitive crossfitter. It is just an innate desire I have to always better myself and put my mind and body to new challenges and tests which may seem impossible.

The Foundry: What are some of your goals for this year competition season, and the future?

JR: My main goal for this competition season is to qualify for the Regional competition and place within the top 10 at Regionals. Of course, the ultimate goal is to win the games, but even more than that is simply to better myself and help better the people around me.

The Foundry: How has The Foundry (coaches, programming & community) aided you in pursuit of your goals?

JR: The coaching I have received at the Foundry has certainly aided in my progress as a crossfit athlete. With Brad’s programming and the helpful eye of all the coaches I have continued to increase my lifts, my efficiency with different movements, and most importantly push my mental boundries farther than I could have expected. The most significant piece of the puzzle is certainly the community withing the Foundry. Having people I trust and enjoy training with has led me to a new level of personal and athletic achievement that I feel could not have been accomplished anywhere else. So I must say thank you to everyone I have had the chance to train, sweat, learn, and do ridiculous amounts of burpees with!

Thanks Joe for sharing this with us. We wish you all the best this CrossFit season and can’t wait to see what you can do! Good luck with the Open everyone and continue to WOD hard!