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Two-time CrossFit Games athlete Danie du Preez owns and operates CrossFit B4C in Africa, the first affiliate on the continent.
“I like to be first in a lot of things in my life,” he says, “and to have the first CrossFit box in Africa is one of the things I wanted to achieve.”
A former tae kwon do instructor, du Preez lost many clients when he changed the facility to a CrossFit affiliate.
“Those that stuck with me, they saw the benefit of CrossFit,” du Preez says. “And then all that left eventually came back and they saw the difference in the people that stayed.”
In addition to regular CrossFit classes, the affiliate offers a CrossFit Kids program, which is run by Natalie Irvin, a former teacher.
“I just saw through the years, our kids were getting more and more out of shape, more obese (and saw) more health problems related to being inactive. And I just realized, I knew straight away that CrossFit was the answer.”
Irvin also happens to be the first CrossFit Kids certificate holder in Africa. She says the best thing for her is the confidence kids gain through doing CrossFit.
Du Preez is pleased that families come to CrossFit B4C to train together.
“Those kinds of families that train together like that, they stay together,” he says. “They have so much more to talk about when they go home. They interact more. It helps them as a family, as well.”
Video by Mike Koslap.
6min 33sec
Additional reading: “Dallin Frampton: CrossFit in Kenya” by Emily Beers, published Sept. 17, 2012.
