The quest is on to determine which is the fittest Metro-west suburb.
So, which town is fitter? That's the question Mel Ockerby and Eric Rapisarda, co-founders of Daybreak CrossFit, asked themselves as they began remodeling over 7,000 square feet of former office space at 526 Boston Post Road. They've recently opened the doors to their state-of-the-art CrossFit facility which conveniently straddles the Wayland and Sudbury border just off of Rte 20 on Minuteman Drive.
"We noticed that while there were plenty of fitness options in the two towns, none are fully dedicated to CrossFit," says Ockerby. And Mel knows CrossFit. With a long and successful gymnastics background, Mel was a natural at CrossFit and competed at the world championship level. Not only was her athletic prowess recognized by Puma and Reebok who both sponsored her, but her coaching ability was recognized when she was asked to join the CrossFit Headquarters Level 1 Seminar Staff who travel the globe training and certifying aspiring CrossFit owners and coaches. "I've seen first hand the impact CrossFit has had on communities around the world, and I wanted to bring some of that to the areas where I live, work and play," she says.
"The Wayland/Sudbury town line literally bisects our space so we thought it would be fun to see who's fitter, Wayland or Sudbury", says Rapisarda. Before finding CrossFit, Eric was a long-time triathlete who has completed two Ironman-distance races in addition to a number of marathons. But the monotony of the long training hours took its toll and he started looking for a change. "I was tired of the same old swim, bike and run routine, and CrossFit with it's highly-varied, functional [real life] movements, kept me interested. And found I was fitter after just 1 year of CrossFit than I was after 10 years of triathlons."
Having a background in new market strategies for high-tech companies, Rapisarda, affectionately known as "Rap", saw a clear way to differentiate Daybreak from other CrossFit facilities. He felt that the "box" (CrossFit lingo for their gym) didn't have to be grungy, industrial warehouses. "Why not build a box that caters to our members? So, we decided to break the CrossFit mold and provide a higher-end CrossFit experience by completely remodeling office space to include brand new locker rooms, a member lounge, showers, a filtered water bottle filling station, high-end flooring, big and bright windows, and the latest in CrossFit-specific equipment."
So will we ever know which town is fitter? Mel and Eric say that both communities have embraced their arrival and their membership is flourishing. "We have been surprised how many families have signed up even before our doors officially opened this week," said Mel, "and we are watching a motivating and thoughtful CrossFit community form right in front of our eyes."
Mel and Eric claim they're already seeing members from one town slowly inching their way above the other in terms of fitness gains. Who is it you ask? They played coy and told us you'll have to come in and see for yourself.
For more information, join Daybreak for their Grand Opening party on November 23rd or visit http://daybreakcrossfit.com.
