Brett Stanhope discovered CrossFit in a career.
About eight years ago, Stanhope was running the Avera Breast Cancer Awareness 5K. Then 5k, Tough Mudders and other running-adjacent workouts made up a big part of his regimen. But the Valley City State University football alum also had a history of strength in the weight room from his playing days.
Someone ran to her side: “Hey, have you ever tried CrossFit?” they asked.
Stanhope was taken to CrossFit Sioux Falls, where his first workout after receiving a birthday membership was three rounds of 15 overhead squats and 10 barbell burpees.
“And he buried me,” Stanhope said.
But eight years later, the now Sioux Falls CrossFit head coach has turned the hobby into a career. In early August, he will participate in the 2022 CrossFit Games from August 3-7 in the 35-39 division after ranking ninth in the world for his age group in the semi-finals in early June. The 2022 Games will be held in Madison, Wisconsin.
It took “quite a few years,” but after training for eight years and training for seven, Stanhope has become an elite athlete in the sport at age 35, to the point where “now (without training) I worry or upset”. Stanhope has three children and life sometimes gets in his way, but this year the “stars aligned.” He has been injury free, available and has taken it to the biggest stage in the sport.
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“I’ve been very focused on how my body feels and my recovery,” Stanhope said. “I mean, I’m getting older.”
Shortly after Stanhope started CrossFit, he looked to add to his regimen outside of regular classes. He bought steel water pipes from Lowe’s and built a “makeshift pull-up bar” in his garage, adding a Bowflex rower and dumbbells to create his home gym. About a year after training at the gym, he saw that they were hiring new trainers.
You have always wanted to work in a gym or own a gym. So, he took “a chance”. At that point, Stanhope really had to know what he was doing, he said. He would pay more attention to the movements by having to train them in several classes a day.
He has done the open CrossFit (the first round of the race to the CrossFit Games) several times, always recording his workouts “just in case.” This year was no different: he was always exercising, having fun. But the Sioux Falls CrossFit group recognized him even before he did.
“Dude, there’s something there,” Stanhope said they would tell him. “Like, that was a special performance.”
He qualified 228th outdoors, which moved him to the regional round. At regionals, he looked at the field around him, some big-name CrossFitters from when he started, and thought he “didn’t stand a chance.” But he qualified 17th in the quarterfinals, which advanced the top 30 to the semifinals, where the top 10 would qualify for the CrossFit Games.
Stanhope never mentioned anything, but after a while, gym-goers paying attention to the leaderboards stayed behind to watch him train and cheer him on. In the semifinals, he jumped a few places to ninth. He was on his way to the CrossFit Games.
“It’s kind of a dream come true,” Stanhope said. “You see it on TV even before you do CrossFit and you’re like, ‘I think I can do that.'” And then you go in and you try and you get humbled day after day after day after day and you keep working at it and trying hard and trying to master your craft.
“Eight years of grinding has finally paid off.”
Follow Sioux Falls Argus lead reporter Michael McCleary on Twitter @mikejmccleary.
