Jesse Bowen

Level 1 CrossFit

CrossFit Movement and Mobility

Westside Barbell Powerlifting Certified

Harvey Newton Olympic Lifting Clinic

Whole Nine Life Nutrition

I have always had a passion for fitness. Working out was a way of staying thin and relieving stress that had accumulated throughout the day. Although I remained thin, I never saw myself change. During my pregnancy, my husband introduced me to CrossFit. I was struggling as to what type of exercise I could perform during my pregnancy and CrossFit seemed like a good idea. Instead of being in the gym for an hour and a half, I was in and out in less than thirty minutes. In addition, I could scale the workouts down to my level. I enjoyed CrossFit so much during my pregnancy; I began my post-partum routine three weeks after having my son. Sticking to the CrossFit regime to get my pre-pregnancy body was the best thing I could have ever done. I looked better and was physically in better shape five months after having my son than ever before in my life. I believe in the philosophy of CrossFit and cannot imagine going back to anything else! Just a shout out to all moms’ out there, “It is possible to get a killer body while having children and living a hectic schedule! If you want it…Come and get it!”

Jordon Bowen

Level 2 CrossFit

CrossFit Football

CrossFit Movement and Mobility

Westside Barbell Powerlifting Certified

Harvey Newton Olympic Lifting Clinic

Whole Nine Life Nutrition

2002 US Ju-Jitsu Federation 153lbs National Champion

I spent six years as a Special Tactics Pararescueman.  During my time the question of how to stay "fit" was literally a question of life or death.  Being fit has its true test not only on the battlefield but also in every day life.  It can mean the difference between going home to your family and being brought home to your family.  I found the use of CrossFit was unpaired in the world of fitness.  I definitely had my doubts though.  In the beginning I would say, "there is no way that jacking steel for 20 minutes a day and not doing "cardio" is going to even keep you in shape."  When every guy and girl alike that did CrossFit would take leaps and bounds ahead of me I started paying attention.  Finally I got serious about changing my life forever and began doing CrossFit exclusively.  The results were out of control.  Not only did my "strength", and traditional "cardio" skyrocket, but also I just felt better about everything.  Since then I have never looked back.

Jacobe Kendrick

Level 1 CrossFit

NCAA D1 Fullback 2003-2006

In April 2010 I officially began my Crossfit journey.  It all began with a dream to play professional football in the NFL.  I had been on the crossfit.com website and done a few fran’s and murph’s at my local gym, so I thought I could join a crossfit gym and blow everyone out the water.  I mean I was a collegiate athlete.  When I came in for my first day, I was in for a shock.  My pride definitely took a hit when I could not knockout as many squats, jumping pull-ups, push-ups, and sit-ups as the girl next to me.  That was the moment I knew this was for real.  I knew that if I dedicated and discipled myself that this was going to be something that could really help me get strong.  I had no clue what I was in for.  Crossfit and more importantly Crossfit FWB and its community helped me reach and exceed my goals.  I am bigger, faster, and stronger than I have ever been in my life, unfortunately I did not make it to the NFL, but I have gained so much more in the process.  Now I am committed to helping others discover the unimaginable.  When you come in to Crossfit FWB, it is more than just a “Crossfit box.”  It’s a community, a community that is going to push you to your limits and you will not only grow physically, you will grow beyond measure in mind, body, and spirit.  So come in and give it a shot and I look forward to helping you reach your goals and more. 

Alicia Fondacaro

Level 1 CrossFit

I loved a great span of sports growing up - softball, soccer, snow skiing, racquetball, cycling, and more.  I stuck with softball and played year-round through high school.  We did some minor weightlifting, a lot of sprinting and skill work; I was a reasonably talented athlete but not great.  I believed that I was in very good shape, however.  After my sophomore year of high school, I got accepted to attend the Air Force Academy for a 1 week summer intro program, during which we climbed a small mountain named Eagle's Peak.  I will never forget how miserable, how disappointed and how embarrassed I felt to find myself at the rear of the entire 100-person group, having to stop constantly to rest and drinking other peoples' water because I didn't bring my own.  So I went back home and started trying to get in shape in the only way I knew how, distance running and sporadic pushups and situps.  Throughout the next four years when I got accepted to and subsequently attended USAFA, I was a mediocre athlete lacking direction and
focus on fitness and health.  In the summer of 2010, my then fiance introduced me to CrossFit in Los Angeles - all I remember about my first workout was that it involved thrusters and wall balls and that it was absolutely awful.  I signed up that day.  I most love teaching the foundations class and helping people become more fit and confident in all areas of their lives through CrossFit.  My favorite part about CFFWB is that there is an amazing community like no other always there - cheering you on, making sure each repetition is good enough to count, and reminding you when your technique gets lazy.  

David Fondacaro

Level 1 CrossFit

USA Weightlifting Level 1

I hated working out in “Globo-Gyms”. I spent almost two hours every day quietly doing the same boring workouts, wandering from machine to machine. Arms today. Legs tomorrow. Cardio. Repeat. I made painstakingly slow and dismal gains. When I stopped to look around, I found myself in a room full of strangers who were doing the exact same thing. Most of the people were standing around waiting for the bench to open up, or waiting for someone to get off the elliptical. Of course, they are always full and everyone on the elliptical is either reading a book or watching one of the flatscreen TVs. If your “workout” is so boring you need a book or television to keep you engaged, trust me, you are not working out. You are wasting your time. At Crossfit Fort Walton Beach, time is precious and it’s never wasted. From the second you walk in the door we will be making you fitter. We have no flatscreen TV’s because our workouts demand your full attention. In here, you won’t have to silently wander around a room full of strangers while you awkwardly figure out what machine to sit in next. In here, everyone gets involved, you will learn new things, make new friends-and most importantly-you will make significant and measurable improvements to your fitness, faster than you can doing anything else.

Medea McLendon

Level 1 CrossFit

CrossFit Olympic Weightlifting

One phone call literally changed my life.  A friend called and asked me to watch the Helen demo video which features some prominent female CrossFitters.  My initial response was the typical, “aren’t they cheating on the pullups?”  My friend laughed and explained the total body concept of the move.  Now at 39 years of age, 30 pounds lighter and having been a smoker for 20 years until 2 ½  years ago, I am in the best shape of my life!  I began CrossFit in June of 2008.  October of that year I received my Level 1 certification and began training CrossFit.  In sharing CrossFit with others I found my passion.  I can no longer imagine life without the ability to coach and train others in achieving their own personal physical fitness goals through CrossFit regardless of age or current ability.  Faster, stronger, and better at life……CrossFit!     

Brett Tillman

Level 1 CrossFit

My entire life I have searched for ultimate fitness!  I initially found the gym in middle school with Texas football and the desire to be a better football player.  As years pasted and sports became more intense, I began Powerlifting in the offseason, all the while running and endurance seemed to fall by the wayside.  After high school, I decided to pursue my dream of becoming an Air Force Officer.  ROTC was the obvious answer with a scholarship and a promise of a commission.  After I realized that being a cadet meant a fitness test involving a 1.5 mile run with a minimum time limit, I began to hit the track.  Just like Powerlifting, I was dedicated to maxing out the fitness test.  Before I knew it I traded bulk for endurance and I put a half and full marathon under my belt.  After my marathon, I realized I had really reached both ends of the spectrum with a 450lb bench and a 3:30 marathon with no balance for the real world.  From then on it was my goal to find the best training plan to be prepared for life.  Then I found CrossFit, the only answer to my problem!

Mike Roy

Level 1 CrossFit

Mile after mile.  That was my idea of fitness for years.  I spent most of college trying seriously to be a distance runner.  The majority of my days I would look forward to runs from 4-18 miles long, until…in the fall of 2008 I injured my groin.  I still managed to run on it, and did for six months – till I finished the half-marathon racing season.   Then “it” hit me.  I realized that although I was a pretty good runner – I had shrunk from 180 pounds to less than 160, with no functional strength at all.  I was constantly tired, and feeling weak.  That summer I deployed to Operation Iraqi Freedom and caught wind of CrossFit through a couple of guys that I thought were nuts.  Instead of taxing my already injured body, I gave CrossFit a try.  I did my best version of Greg Glassman’s “A Beginners Workout.”  Right afterwords I realized I was extremely poor at moving anything besides myself on a track.  I then began my mission to get better at life.  When I got back to the good ole’ U.S. of A., I immediately talked my wife into doing 10 minutes of “Cindy.”  Now she thought I was the one that was nuts.  Not long after, CrossFit Fort Walton Beach opened up.  The first day I came it was a heavy running WOD, however the next day I got a taste of the constantly varied, functional movement, performed at high intensity part of CrossFit FWB. I was sold.  Since then I have been hooked – I received my Level 1 Certification last winter and have been doing my best to share the good word.  Its changed my life and improved it in so many ways.  If you want it, come and get it.

Phil Menagh

Level 1 CrossFit

Registered Dietitian

Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist

CrossFit Football

CrossFit Olympic Weightlifting

I’m a fitness geek.  I’ve come to terms with that.  Early in high school, I began making changes in the way I ate and trained and went from an average athlete to a top performer in multiple sports.  I was amazed at the changes that can be induced in strength, conditioning, body composition, and wellbeing with smart training and sound nutrition.  I talked to coaches and experts, and read all the training and nutrition books I could find.   Eventually, I earned a degree in Nutrition and Exercise Science and became a Registered Dietitian for the US Air Force.  I’m a scientist at heart; so I always try things out before I make recommendations.  I have a decade worth of training and food logs, weigh ins, bodyfat tests, blood chemistry, and other metrics collected as I experimented with countless nutrition and training protocols.  And after all that, I’ve stuck with CrossFit Fort Walton Beach for one reason.  It works!  As an athlete, scientist, healthcare provider, and member of the armed forces I can attest to the CrossFit program and scaling options, combined with sound nutrition is one of the smartest and fastest ways to dramatically improve your health, your appearance, and your performance.   I look forward to helping you reach your goals. 

"The Fish" Bowen

Apprentice

Fish is new to CrossFit being that he was only born in September of 2008.  He has not yet started doing power cleans or finished a 5k.   However, he has a thirty second dead hang on the pull up bar, crushes burpees, and can knock out some mean tabata squats.