We are proud to announce the athlete of the month is KIM!!
Since starting with us back in 2013 Kim has and continues to inspire me and everyone around her. One of her goals is “to get better with age” and she is definitely achieving that!!!
Prior to Covid Kim’s role as founder of their charity “Shine On Kids” required regularly international travel, mostly to Japan. This meant it took extra dedication to maintain consistency in training. But she did and was one of our first members to join our 1000 CLUB (1000 attendances at Coastal CrossFit).
Since Covid Kim has maintained 100% attendance (minimum of 5 days per week) via Zoom, outdoor training and now back in the box and she has certainly found an extra stride – achieving increased range and stability with overhead squats, multiple repetition strict pull-ups, increased weight on all movements and so much more. Her momentum is great and her positivity is contagious. Keep it up Kim!!!
Kim is a huge part of Coastal CrossFit and one of the most inspirational women in my life.
Kims family (Kim, Mark & Nata) are the most humble family ever which I absolutely love, but also I feel I need to scream at least some of their achievements from the roof tops. Read below to get to know Kim’s story – especially the link at the end to read about Mark & Kim’s foundation “Shine on Kids”.
Kim will receive a gift pack including a treatment from Body Mechanics Myotherapy (thanks to Aden) https://www.facebook.com/bodymechanicsmyotherapy/
a B-Fresh voucher and a chosen True product thanks to Maverick Strength and Conditioning Equipment.
What made you start CrossFit?
I first heard about Crossfit when we lived in Tokyo in 2011. A friend who was always up on the “latest thing” discovered CF and was raving about it. But when I heard about the snatches, kipping pull-ups, etc. and told her about my shoulder that likes to dislocate – she asked her trainer who came back with this:” Depending on how severe her shoulder injuries have been and what her goals are, perhaps group WOD classes are not the best option for her or at least in the beginning, and an individually prescribed program may be better if she has legitimate concerns.”
I took this as rather negative at the time… and just figured it was something, like a dream of being a basketball star, that wasn’t the best way to focus my energy. I was already working with a personal trainer, but was never, ever pushed. In fact, when I mentioned CF to my trainer, he introduced me to burpees – which I started referring to as “barf-ees”. After being forced to do occasional sets of burpees as part of my sessions, I figured I probably dodged a bullet with that CF thing anyway! Hahahahaha! But honestly, I never stopped thinking about CF as this elusive goal – especially as my friend kept excelling and improving in her training.
When our family moved to Australia in 2013 – I decided it was time to try again, especially because there were so many more options than there were in Tokyo. I looked at all of the local CF websites and read about all of the trainers. I liked that Chris and Marie were a husband/wife team and I liked their military background (= discipline I thought). I called, spoke with Chris, and was immediately impressed by his professionalism and positivity – even regarding my wonky shoulder. I organized an introductory session, convinced Mark to come along 😉 and the rest is history.
What is your most memorable CrossFit moment/s?
There was a workout where we were doing something like sets of 4 x 10m overhead walking lunges and a bunch of other miserable stuff. And I managed to do it, slowly, at a heavier weight than I had originally planned. After we finished, I was just overwhelmed and sat down and cried. I didn’t even go out to achieve anything, just put my head down and did the workout. And that’s where I think the real joy of CF is.
There was also one short, sharp workout that was body weight lunges and T2K awhile back. I was the fastest person that day after Nathan.
And finally, there is the iconic photo of Natalie hugging me in tears after one of the open workouts where I got a PB in a hang power clean. Well…that was pretty good too!
What does Coastal CrossFit mean to you and how has it impacted you?
Coastal CrossFit has changed my life. It’s that simple.
I find myself constantly applying the basics of CrossFit to nearly everything in life. Good things come through focus and work. Life doesn’t come with a promise that it will be easy. Whether it’s a relationship or a job or a health concern, if you approach it like a long WOD: break it down, understand and evaluate the components, make a strategy, play to your strengths, use good form and work as hard as you can – and then support others as part of the process – isn’t this the way to succeed at most things in life?
Though I swam when I was young, I never… NEVER… did any kind of team sport. I did everything in my power to get out of PE my entire school career (with great success, I might add!). I still suffer PTSD from being chosen last for dodgeball teams in elementary school. But, now FINALLY at 55, I am part of a team…and all I have to do to be accepted is work really hard with integrity. How good is that?
Every single day I feel grateful for the Salibas and the Coastal CrossFit community.
Thanks team! (Right back at you Kim!! xoxo)
What is something that most people don’t know about you?
Long, long ago and far away… I was a pretty successful voiceover artist in Japan.
One of my more hilarious jobs was doing voices for the original Iron Chef TV show. See from 3:44, for example: https://youtu.be/xCPXe7EqFhA
And also this commercial: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=476262342414207
But more important, is the work that Mark and I started back in 2006. Take a look when you get a chance: https://sokids.org/
