The Best of CrossFit.com—Cooper Edition

Barry Cooper (pictured throwing the Scottish Hammer in 2003) has been a part of the CrossFit internet community for as long as there has been a CrossFit internet community. He is the owner of CrossFit Louisville, KY.

This is the fourth of a series (The Best of CrossFit.com) in which dedicated and/or long term CrossFitters highlight their favorite or most influential archives from the vault. Barry also gets philosophical about the nature of CrossFit, and the changes it has had on his life and mind.

He writes, “Winston Churchill, in his excellent short essay “Painting as a Pastime,” emphasizes the importance of hobbies. And by this, he means activities that differ markedly from your normal work, and to which you are capable of dedicating without resentment—and generally with pleasure—considerable emotional and mental energy.

“We live in an age of consumption. All too often, fitness is “consumed” with as little attention and thought as food gulped on the way from one tedious necessity to another....Within this trackless and somewhat dispiriting realm, CrossFit, to me, is a discipline with texture, vitality and all the qualities needed for a bona fide hobby. You have complexity, diversity, intensity, and a large tribe of kindred spirits for whom a life without difficulty would be enervating and sad.”

Please feel welcome to post your favorites in comments, or if you have a compelling list, submit them as an independent article.