Member Spotlight — Phil Griebel

Phil was an OG (Original) CFJI'er. Phil is one of the few members who can remember the day when we had one rower, we used slamballs for wallballs, and listened to our jams on a battery powered work-site radio. I'm not sure I ever hear Phil complain about a workout, or even come in with a bad attitude. He's a metabolic machine, an active hockey player, rocks one hell of a haircut, leads the the gym in ACL surgeries, and is a super nice/humble guy to boot. Phil is consistently giving it his all at the 5 p.m. class rain or shine. Thanks for being an awesome member and for being this Month's Member Spotlight!

What got you in the doors at CFJI and what keeps you coming back?

Saw the grand opening sign while sitting in Memorial Day beach traffic with roommate at the time. We’d been trying crossfit workouts on our own and decided to see what the real deal was since we now had a gym on JI. Just like pretty much everyone else says, keep coming back for all the comradery and friendships gained over the years all while getting a little better physically every class.

How has your outlook on nutrition and weightlifting changed since you started?

That taking in higher quality foods with a good sustainable diet is more important to overall health than the exercise alone. On the lifting side a year or two ago I kind of reset everything and started thinking about form, technique and mobility a lot more even if it was much lower weight. I feel much better on a day-to-day basis with less random tweaks, pains and injuries. What do you like most about CFJI?

The meet and greet circles before class where you introduce yourself and answer an awkward question.

Favorite encouraging words you’ve heard at CFJI...

“If CrossFit was easy, they’d call it your sister”-Reid Adams

Favorite lift.

Squats

Least favorite lift. Heavy Lunges

Number 1 thing you want to accomplish in the gym this year...

DIANE RX.

You're an Olympic athlete...what's your sport?

Hockey...duh.

If you could choose your age forever, which age would you choose and why?

Probably about 28, much less of a knuckle head than earlier on, finally got into a job I pretty much enjoy, legs probably felt less rickety. ​

If you could only eat one thing for the rest of your life what would you choose?

I want to say a good Italian sandwich, but I think that would get tiresome pretty quick…so I am going with Texas Fajitas. So many different routes you can go with that giant skillet of steak, chicken, shrimp and fixins'. Tortilla/no tortilla, peppers/no peppers, guac, sour cream so many options.

Biggest pet peeve.

When people go through the self checkout with like 65 items, including produce that they have no idea how to look up.

Most random thing in your car… An original furby doll that looks like it came straight out of a very deep pit in hell

What is one thing that’s really popular now, but in five years people will look back and be embarrassed?

Tide pods. Top thing on your bucket list…

Drive around the country / visit every state. Preferably in something like a late 90’s NSX, RX-7 or Supra Twin Turbo. What would you do with your 15 minutes of fame?

Just like 2pac: “All I want is the money, f*** the fame I'm a simple man”

One thing about me people would be surprised to know?

My name is legendary in the world of garden gnomes:

“Philip Griebel made terracotta animals as decorations, and produced gnomes based on local myths about the gnomes' willingness to help in the garden at night. The garden gnome quickly spread across Germany and into France and England, and wherever gardening was a serious hobby.”