Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake Huddleston.
Hi Jake, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Fitness became a passion of mine after I graduated high school and found myself missing things I never thought I would. I grew up a very active kid playing sports my whole life. In middle school I discovered wrestling, not the phony kind that involves hitting people with chairs and jumping off ladders, but the kind seen at the olympics. I found that I was fairly decent at this sport without much effort or at least the amount of effort it took for me to excel at other sports.
Now don’t get me wrong, wrestling was the hardest thing I had ever done and probably will ever do. It is and incredibly grueling sport, practice is long, hot, and sweaty. Many practices are spent food and sleep-deprived because of the ways we would lose weight to try and get to lower weight classes. Wrestling shaped me mentally and physically more than anything I had ever done. To be fair it was so tough that once I graduated I swore I would never workout again. 6 months and 40lbs later that all changed.
I remember looking in the mirror and just not being happy with myself. I used to have muscle and be lean. I used to look good with my shirt off and now all of the muscle I had disappeared or had at least been covered up by a very unhealthy layer of fat. To top all of this off I had a family history of type 2 diabetes. My grandfather, uncle, and father had all been diagnosed with it and at some point during their lives had to struggle with taking medications, checking their glucose levels, and the threat of many severe side effects that can come with the disease.
I can remember stepping into the doctor’s office for a routine check up and the doctor telling me with my family history it was just a matter of time before I became diabetic. This was the best thing anyone could have ever said. You see, I am the type of person that doesn’t like being told something is going to happen to me or that I can’t do something, so for me this was a challenge. On that day my life changed, I went back into wrestling mode. I began running and working out almost every day. I became extremely obsessed with my diet. I tracked everything I ate on an app.
Within 4 months, I was back down to wrestling weight. At the time I thought what I was doing was healthy because I had just lost 35lbs but looking back I see that it wasn’t. Not only was I making myself physically unhealthy by eating only 1500 calories a day but it was equally unhealthy mentally. I would feel serious guilt any time I went over my calories or missed a workout.
I went on like this for a few years under-eating and working out with the mindset of just keep the weight off. This all changed once I found CrossFit.
CrossFit changed the way I thought about things because now I wanted to be good at something again. I didn’t just want to keep the weight off, I began fueling my body to perform and I began working out to be more fit not to look a certain way. In return this transformed me into the fittest version of myself I had ever seen. I was enjoying food again and stopped looking at it as “bad”. I gained endurance, both cardiovascular and muscular, I became much stronger, my flexibility improved, and I even loved the way I looked now. Within a year I had went from around 145lbs to 170lbs all while lowering my body fat substantially.
At the time, I was in college to be a physical education teacher because I wanted to help others do what I had done. I didn’t believe I would ever be able to own my own gym so I figured this was the next best thing. I thought that maybe I could help kids learn to do things the right way. After graduating I was in education for 3 years and planned to stay there. I absolutely loved the school I was at and could have seen myself teaching there for the rest of my life but life has a funny way of throwing you curveballs. At the end of my 3rd year teaching some friends of mine approached me with an opportunity I couldn’t refuse. They wanted to open a CrossFit gym but would only do it if I was on board. Within 2 months CrossFit Shakerag was open. I quit my teaching job and began coaching full time. We battled through the ups and downs of any new business for 3 years.
Then 2020 happened. The Covid pandemic hit. We were forced to close our gym as all the other gyms in the world. At that time our owners decided they wanted out. This left me with two choices. 1. To walk away from my family and dearly loved community that develops in many Crossfit gyms. To Walk away from my dream job because I was terrified of failing. Or option 2: I will give it a shot. And yes you guessed it. I decided, with the support of my friends and family, to roll the dice and plunge into the unknown.
Since owning the gym, I have never once regretted taking that chance. Sometimes it’s hard work, long hours, and stressful but I can’t imagine a more rewarding job. Everyday I get to impact people’s lives. I get to train people to do all types of things they never thought they could. Not only do I get to help them physically but we are also shaping people mentally. Our motto is “we can do hard things” because every day is a challenge here and we embrace that. We want our members to carry that with them in every aspect of life. To show up when things are difficult, step into challenges and never, never quit.
After years of being in CrossFit and doing many different programs, I found that I could not find one that really fit what I felt our members needed. I began writing our own programing using my past experiences with other programs, my almost 10 years of knowledge of CrossFit, and the Strength and Conditioning methodology I was taught during my time in college. Since taking over programming at our gym I’ve seen our members really start to progress. Our program is designed to be effective for every level of CrossFit from my 78 year old grandmother to our 30 year old semifinal athletes.
I found that not only was I pretty good at this but I really enjoyed it. I figured if I was going to work hard developing these workouts for our community I should find a way to get them out to the world.
In just a year I have started my own Strength and Conditioning company. Mad Hatter Athletics trains professional, semi professional and aspiring athletes as well as school sports teams to reach their highest potential. My gym, Crossfit Shakerag, has delivered some of the best Crossfit athletes in the area and even the world.
– 7 Athletes reaching the Crossfit Quarter Finals
– 2 Athletes from our gym moved on to the 2021 Semi-Final stage of the Crossfit Games (like qualifiers for the Olympics). That’s two of only 300 women who made it worldwide
– We compete and win in local competitions like Mayhem on the mountain, Pensacola Beach Brawl, Battle of the Ages, Chattanooga Classic etc.
But most of all we see so many of our members changing their lives, pushing their limits and doing things they never thought possible!
I hope that through reading this you all get a little inspiration. I hope you realize that you can change your life too. Whether you are looking to get into the gym for the first time, learning how to change your eating habits, or even looking to roll the dice on starting the business you have dreamed about.
You can do it, you just have to have a little grit, invest in yourself, and most of all stay true to who you are and the vision of what your life looks like.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
I have to say first that I would not have been able to do anything without the support of my friends, family, and every single member of my gym.
It has been a hard year and a lot was lost in the fire but we are looking forward to bigger and better things.
Everyday has its own challenges. From equipment going haywire to members having a difficult time. This space is not just a Crossfit gym. It is a place where we do hard things and the obstacles that come with that can be hard to conquer for me as well as my members.
Covid was a hard time for the business but we bought it anyway. Relationships are difficult to manage but we do the best we can anyway. The financial burden is heavy but we carry it anyway. Crossfit is hard and running a Crossfit gym is hard but we do it anyway. We do the hard things because we know that we are pursuing what is meaningful and not what is expedient.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Crossfit Shakerag?
I am the head coach and owner of Crossfit Shakerag. A Crossfit gym in a small town called Peachtree City. We specialize in the sport of Crossfit but also offer personal training and nutrition coaching.
We are not just a gym, we are a community: I want to add our culture document below: That is exactly what I would like you guys to know about the type of business we run.
Here at Crossfit Shakerag we believe we can do hard things. This is the statement we live by and the culture we create within the gym. As we grapple with this thing called “living,” we encounter unknowns. And more than a workout, Crossfit prepares you for the unknown.
We have a supernatural ability to adapt, overcome and learn. We do hard things because they must be done and hope in doing them, something better awaits us. At Shakerag we seek progress in the gym and in every area of our lives.
Crossfit Shakrag uses the word “we” because we are a unit. We are a tribe. We are a community. When you join our gym, you join the “we.” You join a group of people that will see you at your best and your worst. That will be there everyday. Constant companions. A community that will simultaneously help you through hard workouts and hard times in life. You will find friends that challenge you, that push you, that comfort you, that help carry your burdens. A group of people that can do hard things. We are our own everyday heroes. We are the people we’ve been waiting for: pilots, teachers, nurses, therapists, officers, businessmen and women, moms, dads, daughters, sons and everything in between.
When you feel like not showing up for class or for life, remember that we can do hard things. When you are faced with a workout or situation that seems insurmountable, remember that we can do hard things. When you are fearful and it seems impossible, remember that we can do hard things. When the workout or life challenges you, remember that we can do hard things.
Today, you did what very few people in the world attempt in their lives. When you have done a hard Crossfit workout, facing the unknown will be easier because…we do hard things. Every day.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
They can drop by for a free class at our gym and just come meet us. They can follow us on social media & like and share our posts. They can spread the word.
– to friends and family
– to aspiring athletes
– to school programs (because all sports teams need proper strength and conditioning training)
Pricing:
- $30 for 30 days Special
- 12 month agreement: $165/month
- 10 class punch card: $175
- Drop-in $20.00 (per visit)
- First class is free
Contact Info:
- Email: crossfitshakerag@gmail.com
- Website: https://crossfitshakerag.com/
- Instagram: @crossfit_shakerag
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/crossfitshakerag
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPz-1SXDcDknWav7NAIbVvA
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/crossfit-shakerag-peachtree-city
Image Credits:
Davison Wheeler (@alexhayesphoto)
