Nicole and Eric, the owners at Roots, discovered CrossFit in 2007. After competing in swimming, running, cycling, and triathlon; CrossFit offered an entirely different type of athleticism and fitness as well as a new outlet for that competitive energy.
Their personal experience with CrossFit and the results they were experiencing grew into a desire to introduce others to the magic of CrossFit.
After months of learning all they could about the technique, methodology, and philosophy of CrossFit, Nicole and Eric turned their one-car garage into a small training space and The Garage4150 was born in 2009.
They found four athletes to train and soon started to hold regular evening workouts at 6 p.m. The workouts grew via word-of mouth and it quickly became clear that CrossFit offered everyone that something they had been looking for.
The workouts were similar to what we do at the shop now. The garage was not climate-controlled, however, so the weather made for some additional excitement. Ice on the pull-up bars, back squats in parkas and beanies, and “shovel the snow for time” workouts made for a fun and interesting environment. No wonder there is currently little sympathy on a cold morning when an outdoor run is part of the WOD!
In June of 2009, Nicole quit her job as a city planner and jumped in with both feet. They moved out of the garage and into a small space at 8th and Pearl Streets. It was at this time that they affiliated with the CrossFit community and became CrossFit Roots. August 2009 marked the first Foundations Course.
The original downtown space was 600 square feet. Eric spent a number of weeks tearing down walls, laying floor mats, and building plyo boxes and pull-up bars; Nicole helped out wherever she could but focused on coaching.
After a few short months, they were busting at the seams and picked up 200 more square feet with the removal of another wall. Over the next few years several more walls came down to create the space that was the “old shop” and it served as the home of CrossFit Roots until November of 2011.
The amazing space that Roots calls home now (and hopefully for many years in the future) is just a physical building; but it houses a community of incredible athletes that encourage, challenge, learn from, and support each other.
The staff at Roots has an impressive and extensive coaching, training, and certification background. Feel free to ask any of them about their expertise, experiences, and interests, or view their bios here.
Here are some fun videos of the numerous build-out processes over the years.
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