A young man finds passion, purpose and a way out of the dark with CrossFit. Rosemary Campbell reports.
Paris Edward Little walked into CrossFit St Kilda (CFSK) in Melbourne, Australia, nearly two years ago. It was a weekend, and we were doing the CrossFit Total.
Soon, Little became a regular at the 7 a.m. class. He would jog down the driveway into the gym, rosy cheeked, hair tussled, straight out of bed. He would smile and politely greet everyone. His boyish good looks and impeccable manners were a direct hit to our hearts, and we loved him instantly. As the weeks passed, we gathered snippets of information about him: he was 20 years old, he had recently returned to Australia, he worked part time at a call center. He usually diverted conversation away from himself and ended up chatting about the WOD and training, then he’d jog off back down the driveway.
As we learned even more about him, we learned he represents what a community can do for an individual. CrossFit offered him a fresh start, a daily challenge where he could see and monitor his own progress and equally enjoy the success of others.