Jathan Robinson

We chose Jathan for so many reasons! He is super consistent, works hard, encourages others, and he’s recently taken steps to get better by working on his nutrition and other things outside of class. He’s really embraced climbing as an extra workout/off-day activity as well! We’ve loved having him as a part of our gym community.

Tell us a little about yourself:

I’m the clinical care manager for Avera Careflight. Being a flight nurse was my dream job all the way back in school, and it hasn’t let me down since. The opportunity to serve as a leader/educator for such a talented and motivated group of people is an honor I could never have imagined. I have an almost 2 year old son who is everything I could ever ask for and more. He’s nearly always happy, unless he’s tired or hungry (gets that from me), and he is just excited about everything in life.

How & when did you get introduced to Crossfit and what made you want to continue coming?

Chad Jones told me once that I should come try it out. I told him I would give it a shot but there was no way I was signing up long term. I’ve been a member ever since :). What really pulled me in was the sense of community and friendship which I haven’t found in any other gym. The programming and coaching also helped me reach fitness goals which I always thought were out of reach for someone like me. When I started I had to scale down scaled movements for almost every workout. Single unders were a huge challenge, double unders were impossible, and my max clean was 160 pounds in the first open. I thought that was just how I was made, but the coaches here showed me that through consistent, hard work, anyone can improve.

What are some of the biggest improvements/progress you’ve made since starting and what are some of your goals?

My biggest improvement has definitely been learning to focus on slow and steady improvement instead of overworking and fixating on immediate results. It’s much healthier, and much more enjoyable.

Specific moments that stick out: Chad Jones helping me figure out how to clean and hitting my first clean over 200 pounds as a result. Rachel Lynass coaching me to my first bar muscle-up and being probably as excited for me as I was. Rory working with me consistently to help me get a ring muscle-up, and then translating that to a movement I could try to do during a workout. Finally getting to the point where double-unders weren’t the worst part of any workout. And uncountable other instances where coaches pushed me to work harder or smarter and seeing the improvements as a result.

What’s one big obstacle you’ve had to overcome in your life? How did that mold you?

Transitioning from a clinical role to a leadership role with Careflight really pushed me outside of my skill-set. It involved a lot of challenges I wasn’t prepared for. Ultimately, being open to the fact that I had a lot of growth to do, and being receptive to feedback on how to improve is what allowed me to reach a point where I enjoy the challenges of my job instead of dreading them.

Recently, where/how have you grown outside of the gym?

After working hard, sometimes too hard, in the gym for three years, I was absolutely astonished by how much rapid improvement I made when I finally committed to improving my nutrition. I tried to generally “eat healthy” before, but once I started making it a priority I realized how poor my nutrition had been. After improving that component, I reached goals which had been out of reach for years.

If you were a wrestler what would be your entrance theme song?

Get Back-Ludacris :)

Have you ever been told you look like someone famous, who was it?

All the time. John Travolta. Not exactly the face I’d love to be compared to but, there it is.

If you could bring back any fashion trend what would it be?

Leather Jackets. Might as well own the John Travolta persona.

And finally, What do you love most about Phos?

Without a doubt, the community. Phos feels like friends committed to improving themselves and working hard. People get as excited for others’ successes as much as their own. If I had my dream home gym with every amenity and full control of the music :), I would still come to Phos every day because I love the people here.