CrossFit TriTown

Owner/Head Coach George Keklik is a personal trainer and specializes in Olympic Weightlifting, Gymnastics and Nutritional Guidance. He has been a CrossFitter for six years—and besides being very passionate about fitness and living a healthy lifestyle, is also very passionate about building strong relationships with the members of the gym. "If there is no trust, it makes reaching goals very difficult," he says. "I love seeing members progress. Day in and day out we see them coming in consistently just to challenge themselves every day. They walk in anxious and focused, and they leave with a smile on their face with a feeling of accomplishment. When members feel accomplished, you know you did your job right."

George played soccer from the days of his youth into the collegiate level, and it was his other passion until CrossFit came along. "Health and fitness was always a part of my life, and I can thank my parents for that," he says. "My fitness career started as a Personal Trainer at a commercial Globo gym. I knew it wasn’t where I really wanted to be, so I got my CrossFit Level 1 and started coaching classes at the CrossFit Gym I was attending for a few months. That CrossFit gym I once walked into to sign up for my first class, is now mine. I would have never thought five years ago that the business would actually be mine. I’m thankful every day and happy I do not have a 9-5 desk job."

When not in the gym, George loves to play golf (when it’s in season), and during the colder months is usually up north on the weekends snowboarding.

Rachael Balinski has been a CrossFitter for three years and enjoys educating members on a more holistic approach to nutrition. "I am extremely passionate about living a healthy and happy lifestyle," she says. "I have a love of all things fitness, nutrition and farm-to-table food. I have a passion for our environment, being outdoors, and traveling." Inside the gym, she loves seeing our members get closer to their goals every day. "Whether that’s running the full 400m or getting their first muscle up, I love seeing the improvement and being a part of that journey."

In high school, Rachael was a three-sport athlete: Volleyball, basketball, and softball. "As I went to college, I stopped playing all my sports and had to find different ways to keep myself active," she says. "As I found CrossFit in college and then moved back home after graduating, I started working out at my local CrossFit gym. With no job at the time, and a giant love and passion for CrossFit, I decided to get my Level 1, began shadowing the other trainers and take up a job teaching CrossFit."

When she’s not coaching or doing CrossFit herself, Rachael loves to spend time with her dogs and being outdoors. "I’m always either hiking, swimming or doing some yoga," she says. "I also love to cook, so I spend a lot of my time in the kitchen preparing great meals."

Her favorite inspirational quote: "Take hold of your passion and roam to the end of the earth to find your happiness. Never be blinded by doubt. You can soar even in the most unusual forces of storm." - Unknown

Garvin Yu has been a personal trainer for 11 years and a CrossFit coach for eight. He specializes in Injury prevention, performance enhancement for first responder fitness needs, specific sports/activities, lay persons’ starting exercise, and communicating effectively to broad populations regarding their wide range of fitness, health, and lifestyle goals.

"I am passionate, borderline obsessed, in every aspect of health and fitness and am motivated to help people reach their personal goals," he says. "I am dedicated to help the overall goal of filling the population with as many healthy, physically fit, and work capable people as possible. I am truly inspired when clients/members reach goal points in their overall health and fitness journey. To see their pride and happiness is motivating and is what drives me to continue positively impacting as many people as I can in their health and fitness journey."

Starting off years ago as a traditional personal trainer, Garvin always had a different thought process and mindset of fitness. "I was more in tune with ‘functional fitness’ to help clients achieve real-world fitness to enhance everyday tasks and their specific needs and activities," he says. "I then found out about CrossFit, and it aligned with pretty much everything I had in mind regarding fitness. As CrossFit grew, it was like a breath of fresh air in the fitness industry and functional fitness for the general population grew along with it."

Garvin is a professional fireman, and in his off-time spends quality time with his loving family. "Other than that I ride motorcycles, do a bit of woodworking, furniture making, cooking, hunting, hiking/backpacking/climbing, and competitive shooting."

His favorite quote: "The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men to do nothing."

- Edmond Burke

Doug McCarthy has been a CrossFitter for four years, and finds that the most exciting part of coaching is watching people reach their goals. "The chance that I might have helped, even in the slightest way, to get them there, is very rewarding," he says.

Doug has enjoyed playing many sports throughout his entire life. "Soccer has always been my main focus," he says. "I was lucky enough to be part of teams through my high school years that won state championships, regional titles and compete in national tournaments. In college, being elected team captain and MVP by my fellow teammates is one of my most prized awards. I have also been coaching youth soccer since my teen years." In addition to soccer, he has coached baseball, football, basketball and any other sport his boys wanted to play. "I have always enjoyed being involved with coaching and working others to reach our goals."

He was immediately hooked on CrossFit when a friend brought him to his first class. "After participating as an athlete for two years, I decided to sign up for the Level 1 class," he says. "One of the CF TriTown coaches at the time, who was also coaching the local football teams, encouraged me to sign up. I managed to pass the test and have enjoyed every class I have had the pleasure of coaching."

When not in the gym, Doug works at his day job and spends as much time as he can with his boys. "I also like to surf-ski, golf and stay to stay active," he says.

Beth Natt is our Head CrossFit Kids Coach and loves encouraging kids to be active, healthy and surprise themselves by with what they can accomplish. A CrossFitter for four years, she believes that the best athletes usually do not specialize in a specific sport at an early age. "This is a recipe for burnout and injury," she says. "CrossFit is one way for children to build strength, agility and endurance that can translate to many sports, and prepare children for a lifetime love of fitness!"

As one who came to athletics very late in life (and the proud owner of a high school varsity letter as a "Mathlete"), Beth found CrossFit and the community at CrossFit TriTown to be life-changing. "I realized that by surrounding myself with like-minded people who were focused on fitness, nutrition and fun, amazing things can happen!" Also a pediatrician and mother of four, Beth spends every day helping make sick kids well. "As a CrossFit Kids coach, I get to spend my time making well children healthier. It’s much more important to prevent illness and injury than to treat it," she says.

Her favorite motivational saying: "Athletes eat and train, they don’t diet and exercise."

Nate Indorf found an extension of his passion when he discovered CrossFit. As a middle school physical education teacher, Nate is most passionate about teaching. As a coach, he loves when people walk into the gym knowing it will be the best hour in their day. "They leave all their worries in puddles on the floor and walk out with smiles on their faces," he says.

Nate's own athletic background includes soccer, lacrosse, and downhill skiing. Despite his notable athletic background and a career in teaching physical fitness to students, Nate still felt like he could take it to the next level in some way. Believe it or not, Nate discovered CrossFit on Facebook! He was tired of spending hours in the gym and feeling like he wasn't getting a great workout. He noticed CrossFit TriTown on Facebook and after just one workout, he was hooked. "As a physical education teacher and soccer and track and field coach I already had the people skills so I got my CF-L1. Now it's the place I want to go to everyday!"

When Nate isn't in the gym or in the classroom, he enjoys hunting, fishing, and relaxing on the coach with a good movie.

Brian Hamm has been CrossFitting for nearly a decade and specializes in the deadlift, no reps and yelling. "I am passionate about teaching the benefits of proper movement and range of motion," he says. "I love watching athletes find out how much they are capable of."

A hockey player at Joel Barlow High School, Brian became a CrossFit coach after reading about CrossFit in a Mens’ Health magazine article in 2008—and that made him want to learn more about CrossFit. "That way, I could help when people ask questions and want to learn some of the more complex exercises," he says.

When he’s not in the gym, Brian can usually be found working, spending time with his family, or sleeping.

His favorite inspirational quote: "The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today."

-H. Jackson Brown Jr.

Nikki Decker-Lawler is our Yoga Instructor and she specializes in Vinyasa flow yoga, which connects breath with movement. She loves working with people and helping them become connected to their mind, body, and spirit. She recognizes Yoga is a great complement to an intense workout such as CrossFit. More importantly, she knows Yoga complements busy and stressful lives. "I love seeing the members come to the mat each week where they come to stretch out their strong muscles and calm their busy minds," she says.

During her youth, Nikki participated in numerous sports and physical activities. These ranged from intramural sports such as basketball, softball, soccer, horseback riding, and dance. In college, she was introduced to Yoga, horse polo, and spin classes. Furthermore, she has completed 4 triathlons. As an adult, Nikki still leads a fun and active lifestyle. She enjoys mud runs, such as Tough Mudders and Warrior Dashes, as well as the occasional 5k or trail run. Lastly, Nikki loves water sports such as kayaking and SUPing.

In addition to working as a Yoga Instructor, Nikki teaches vet science to high school students at Lyman Hall High School. She is happily married to a wonderful man and they have a toddler together. She has a Newfoundland dog, three cats, chickens, and fish to care for at home. "I love to travel. I also love spending time at the beach, kayaking in the river behind our home, and reading a good book (when I have time to read)," she says. She loves listening to good music and eating tasty food.

Nikki's favorite quote is, "Kind words can be short and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless."- Mother Theresa