Rhodri - Tragedy, Triumph and Tyre Flipping with the Tribe

"We're not out here flipping tyres because we want to be better tyre flippers..."

Today we did a commemorative workout for a CrossFitter named Rhodri Thomas.  
I didn't know Rhodri, but he was by all accounts a larger than life man who loved and was loved by CrossFit Aberdeen, and who passed away far too young in April of 2014. 

His coach, Rob Lawson, delivered my and Stevie's L1 seminars, and has always been an inspiration to me, not least for his fierce commitment to community and inimitable way with words - he is the author of Tribal Clash's unofficial motto "Don't be a dick, be a dude."  
Rob took what was an unexpected and painful tragedy, and turned it into a chance for CrossFit to use its mighty power of community for something good.  
He wrote a workout that Rhodri would have loved, published it, and made it into a global fundraiser for cancer charities. 

So, why do a workout for someone we didn't know?

It's hard for me to imagine what Rob and the community at CFAberdeen went through when they lost their friend Rhodri.  
CrossFitters like to think we are invincible, that we are harder to kill than the average human.  
We take for granted that when we fistbump our friends at the end of a workout, and say "See you tomorrow!" that tomorrow will actually come. 

As I stood at the board today in front of the Mighty Imps and explained the workout that we were doing, I was aware of two things:  
1. I love all of these faces, and would miss any single one of them.
2. As soon as they heard that this named WOD was for a fellow CrossFitter, there was a palpable change of atmosphere.  A straightening of backs.  A desire to hit it even harder. 

It was a fun WOD.  Power cleans, tyre flips, running in the sunshine.  One of our teams went at the full Rx weight and synchro burpee compliment, and were cheered to the very end by the rest of the class - some even jumped in and did the burpees with them. 
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We did Rhodri's WOD because it was a celebration of his life and his community - the CrossFit Aberdeen community, the LNCrossFit community, the UK and Global CrossFit communities to which we are all members.  
It was a chance to play a very small part in making tragedy into triumph.  
To turn something impossibly sad into a reason to flip tyres and fistbump each other.  
To make the most of what we have - fitness, health, friends and a sunny day - while we have it.  

And we did.  

Get your wings up.