“Through suffering comes wisdom. Through surrender comes faith. Through resilience, comes hope. Keep going.”   – Rita Said I am so excited about this conversation as I am welcoming longtime fitness family to the T&T mic, Gabriel (Gabs) Sandoval! Gabriel entered into the CrossFit world about the same time as I did, so we have seen the entire sport and culture grown and evolve from the ground up. Much like CrossFit, Gabriel shares his story as a rebel with a cause and how he trusted the process as it ultimately led him to his purpose. There are few things in life that are true, but one is for sure- almost nothing is as it seems. Gabriel played sports and was athletic in his past, but he had many twists and turns far from the gym before he was leading people on their fitness, health, and wellness journey. His story is one of process, loss, resilience, and major pivots- knowing that he wouldn’t be where he is now without each piece of the breakdown and breakthrough. If you are looking for an inspiring story wondering how it will all shake out for you, tune into this convo. It’s reminder for everyone to keep the faith, keep showing up, and to lean back into what you initially loved. It will work out.   Highlights: Breakdowns and breakthroughs. Becoming a fitness pro after an anti-fitness life. Loss, faith, resilience, and the clarity that comes. Being the youngest. Be at the right place at the right time. Taking on challenges and leading by example. Not having it all figured out.   Related Articles: Business Q&A: CrossFit MOB, Thornton CrossFit community, information community: Needs … https://journal.crossfit.com/article/what-is-crossfit-2 CrossFit-related hip and groin injuries: a case series   Time Stamps: 1:55- Young Gabriel 5:58- Enter the party scene in high school 7:40- You are who you hang out with 10:31- Intellectual gifted, but don’t love school 13:45- I want to become a pro snowboarder 14:55- Actually not, logic sets in 16:01- I want to go back to school 16:32- A deep story, where my life forked in the road 17:02- Dealing Drugs 17:52- We always want more 18:27- Cocaine air 19:18- Stepping on the local toes 20:21- Tragedy happens 22:15- Saved by prom, my girlfriend saved my life 22:30- Healing in nature 29:20- Bartending, make that cash 31:23- CrossFit over medical school 35:32- I started training again 36:16- Lean and semi mean 38:29- Intro to CrossFit 38:44- I’m a rebel 39:08- Semi wise words… 45:46- I wasn’t as fit as I thought 50:12- CrossFit, I was in 54:01- I didn’t plan to be a gym owner 58:16- Community is the success 1:00:00- What is CrossFit going to look like 10yrs for now 1:00:10- MOB, the facility 1:03:23- Authentically bleeding the cause 1:05:56- Don’t be a boss, be a leader 1:09:50- Come in for a free workout Gabriel (Gabs) Sandoval Owner/Head Coach @ CrossFit MOB   From a young age I always enjoyed being active. I started wrestling when I was six years old and continue to do so for about 10 years. Once I got to middle school and high school I started to play football and basketball and I also got into skateboarding and snowboarding. After high school, I moved to the mountains so I could snowboard more. I did that for about a year and then decided I wanted to go back to college so I moved back to Denver. During my time in college is when I really got into physical exercise and around that same time as what I found CrossFit. That was about 13 years ago. I immediately fell in love with Crossfit and started coaching Crossfit as much as I could.  I graduated college in 2014 with my degrees in biology and chemistry. After that I worked in the medical field for a short period of time and then I got the opportunity to become a gym manager at a CrossFit gym so I did that. About a year and a half later I got an opportunity become a partial owner. In about five years ago, I got an opportunity to become the majority owner of Crossfit MOB, which I did. We now have one of the bigger CrossFit gyms in the state of Col