Jan 23rd 2018

Location: South Charlotte Crossfit

Nikon D750  24-70mm Tamron G2 2.8 ... 70-200mm Tamron G2 2.8  and 2 Einstein 640's Paul C Buff

      Here we are with inspiration athlete #5. This athlete would represent South Charlotte Crossfit. SCCF has shown a ton of support last year and has continued into 2018. This includes website headshots, Crossfit Open coverage social media material. Lauren was the athlete selected and the only previous experience I have shooting her was for the Open last year. Hopefully I will be shooting them again for 2018... No pressure Abby... ha.  Lauren has reached out to me before about how much she loved her photos from the Open, so I was hoping she would be just as excited when I reached out to her via email. Her response was great. Super stoked and ready to go. Love that Lauren is 2 years into Crossfit and her life has completely changed due to this amazing community.   Check how this Mom's journey with Crossfit ....

1. How long have you been doing Crossfit?

I started Crossfit in May 2016, I am coming up on my two year anniversary and I still can't believe it! 
 

2. What brought you to Crossfit?

I had just had my second baby and was dealing with a lot of weight issues and felt awful. I also just started nursing school and my mental health was suffering and I needed an outlet. My sister had been doing Crossfit for 6 years and finally convinced me to try it out (I was so scared since I have never been athletic or really "in shape") and I immediately loved it. It's been non stop since!

3. What do you enjoy the most about being at SCCF?

The energy and community! I am a early morning warrior and there isn't many places that can immediately kick you into gear and make you excited to be working out and getting fit with pals (even when it's below freezing and still dark)! All the coaches are great and very knowledgeable, I came into SCCF knowing nothing about form, movements, etc and I owe so much credit to them for always being there and for the tremendous growth I've seen. 

4. What would you tell others who are thinking about trying Crossfit?

Don't think, just DO! If there is anyone who can stress this more, it's me! I was the typical person who thought "I will die" and  "I am not fit enough" but I was so wrong. You will have a whole community behind you, supporting you, watching you grow and it's pretty amazing! Can't believe where I was when I started compared to now!

5. What motivates you?

My two daughters (they are two and four). Raising them to be strong and confident. They watch and absorb everything I do and I want them to always push forward and to do that confidently. #MOMSTRONG 

Another huge motivating factor is for everyone who can't. As a nurse, I know how truly lucky I am to be physically capable of everything I do. Life is precious! 

Lastly, seeing my own personal growth keeps me motivated. Giving my best effort each day and seeing what I am fully capable of is the best feeling!

Awesome responses from Lauren and love how motivated she is to continuing to get better and stronger. I arrived to SCCF about 45 min early. Planned to be earlier but traffic didn't agree. When I arrived I was greeted by Christi who runs Administrative Operations at the box... Great athlete also. She asked if there was anything I needed.... told her nope I was good... then I started to set up. I went went my normal setup, however for the cover shot I set up a strobe to put light on the South Charlotte Crossfit writing on the wall. As you can see above. After the initial intro shot it was time for Lauren to start lifting. I asked what her favorite movements were. She replied with "ANYTHING" She loves overhead movements and definitely loves to squat. We stated with some SNATCHES!!!!

Once I saw how perfect her form was... I knew we were going to have a good time!!!!

  The transition was super smooth going into cleans. All we had to do was switch some weights out and Lauren was ready to go... Can we take a moment to look at this front rack position... #HIGHELBOWSMUCH!!!!

I recalled that when I shot Lauren at the Open last year she was doing deadlifts....So I said... Why not... Deadlifts it is!!!

Seeing how great Lauren's mobility was we went into some dumbell work. This included some snatches, OHS and walking lunges. BICEP LITERALLY TOUCHING HER EAR!!! 

After second thought I wanted to get Lauren back to the squat rack. Get a couple staged shots and then get her WAAAAAAY below parallel. 

Even though she had done a ton of shoulder to overheads early that morning, she agreed to a few push jerks. Thanks for being a soldier Lauren!!

Another movement that I recalled capturing her doing was a handstand. I loved it. We had a little heart to heart before taking this shot... IT TURNED OUT SO DOPE!!!!!! You killed it Lauren..

Then we nailed that profile pic hotness!!!!

During this project I wanted to utilize some bay doors but just wasn't sure how I wanted to go about it. I decided to bring both strobes over to the bay doors and do some KB work!!!

The lighting was so impressive that I requested for Lauren to Snatch and Clean again.... She quickly agreed... NO HESITATION... It was so worth it!!!!!

Another super positive athlete to work with. Lauren was so easy to talk to. Might I had she had the most dope playlist EVER. Cant go wrong with EMINEM... Lauren had songs on her playlist that I completely forgot about. So THANK YOU Lauren. I want to thank South Charlotte Crossfit for their continued support and the love they always show on social media and at events. There are some amazing athletes out there and I really need to drop in one morning. Want to thank Abby who has used my services numerous times within the past two years... Now all that's left is to physically meet her.. ha. Maybe one day!!!I Also want to thank all my supporters for taking the time to read the blogs and follow this entire inspiration project. Have a couple of events coming up to shoot however the next athlete coming up represents Crossfit Wreckage so STAY TUNED....

GOD BLESS YOU ALL!!!! 3..2..1..Shoot!!!