Wednesday 9.6.2023

“The Cave of Time”
For Time:
160/130 Calorie Row
80 Ring Dips
400 Meter Farmers Carry (53s/36s)
200 Double Unders
10 Snatches (185/130)

Box Brief:
Congrats to Alex for being the September Member of the Month at Apollo! Scroll down to learn more about Alex.

ALEEEEX!  Thanks for agreeing to be our August member of the month.  You’ve been around for a while so we’re glad to get to know you a little better.  Let’s start by exploring YOU as a kid. 

What was the best part about how you grew up?
In a word, traveling! In many more words, I grew up in Peachtree City Ga, a suburb just outside of Atlanta where a lot of families associated with Delta Airlines lived (think pilots, flight attendants, gate agents, baggage handlers, …etc.). Because of this, most of my friends and I were able to fly “standby” for free wherever our parents would let us go (if we could afford it on our part-time hourly wages)! Some of my fondest memories of high school/college are of my friends and me scraping together just enough money to take a weekend trip to [insert obscure city here], staying in hostels, eating street food, and getting stuck in airports due to flights being overbooked. Aside from the traveling my friends and I would do, my family and I were able to travel across the country a few times each year to spend time with our extended family out on the West coast, allowing my sisters and me to stay close with all of our cousins from so far away.

Were you a problem child or an angel growing up?
Me? A problem child?!? …Absolutely! I would say if you asked any of the grownups who were around when I was growing up, they would all say, unequivocally, that I was indeed a problem child. That being said, I wasn’t a “bad kid.” Not malicious or evil or anything like that. But I got into my fair share of trouble. As every kid should!

You’re a PILOT!  F-16 Baby!!! That means you are a super cool dude and ALL the girls want you! (Think “Maverick”)  Besides all that, what do you love about your job?  What’s your call sign?
The cliché answer? As Eleanor Roosevelt famously put it, “Speed! Hot, nasty, bad-ass speed!” Warheads on foreheads baby! Turning the enemy into a loose assortment of hair, teeth, and eyeballs! The truth? Teaching! I get the most job satisfaction out of helping the next generation of American fighter pilots achieve the goals they set out to accomplish when they were kids watching the Thunderbirds fly at airshows. Nothing is more gratifying to me than seeing the lightbulb come on over my student’s nugget 4.22 hours into the debrief. That look of understanding and accomplishment spreading across their face is hands down the best part of the job. The REAL truth? The flying. It really is just so much fun!

                Back in 2014 when I was a lieutenant flying with the Triple Nickle out of Aviano AB Italy, I got named RIOT. Since then, all of my colleagues, most of my friends, and even some of my family members know me, and call me by that name. If you’re interested in the story of how earned that name, all you have to do is buy me a beer, and I’ll be happy to tell you all about it!

When you’re done terrorizing the skies what do you see yourself doing as you head into your “silver fox” stage of life?
Flying fighters is a young man/woman’s game! And I am no longer a young man. As much as I have loved flying Vipers, I’m ready for a change. Problem is, I’m really only good at one thing…so I guess I gotta go find someone who’s willing to hire me to keep flying. In a perfect world, that would be Delta Airlines. That being said, I’m not quite done flying fast, so if I REALLY had my way, I’d get picked up by a Guard or Reserve unit and fly with them part time until I reach 20 years of service. All while settling down, marrying a nice girl (ideally, a one Sawyer Rose Murray currently residing in Hampton VA), and starting a family. Two and a half kids, white picket fence, you know, standard American dream stuff.

What’s your favorite holiday and create a workout you would like to celebrate it with?
Arbor Day (Last Friday in April, next occurrence, April 24, 2024)! Obviously!

TIMBER!!!
For Time
15, 14, 13, … 3, 2, 1
Thrusters (115/85)
Toes To Bar
Push-Ups

Final Question: You are stranded for 10 years somewhere. Think, Gilligans island. Where would you like to be stranded and pick 2 people alive or dead to be stranded with.  You can’t pick anyone you currently know. Where and who?
Cabin 372, Pinecrest Trail, Pinecrest CA. It’s a small fishing “cabin” up in the Sierras and it is hands down, my favorite place on planet earth! …Not that I could really get “stranded” there, since it’s inhabited …but, you get it. As for company? I never met my grandfather on my dad’s side (the guy my aunt and uncles inherited the cabin from), so I’d start with him. And Ryan Reynolds. Seems like a fun guy, and 10 years is a long time! My grandpa and I are gonna need some entertainment! Plus …have you seen the guy?