Five years ago, CrossFit Demand founder and head trainer Adam Robbins decided that he had to make a change.
A fitness enthusiast since the age of 17 and a personal trainer for more than a decade, he nonetheless had allowed himself to fall on hard times and was, by his own admission, near the end of his road, close to broke and addicted to drugs and alcohol. He knew something had to give.
“I was 30 years old and no longer living a life of fitness and health,” he said. “On June 5, 2010, God revealed himself to me and broke the addictions in my life and, from that day forward, I changed. But I always had a thing for people. I knew that, whatever I wound up doing, I wanted to keep helping people.”
Robbins gave up his bartending job — a position he enjoyed because it allowed him to interact with people and talk to them about their problems — and found his earthly salvation in the burgeoning exercise philosophy and competitive fitness sport of CrossFit. He dove in with both feet, turned his life around and began teaching others how to do the same.
“The fulfillment that I get from showing others how to take care of their bodies and improve the quality of their lives is just so rewarding to me,” he said. “Every day, I want to better myself in being able to better somebody else—to help them get out of that rut.”
He resumed personal training, became certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine, and began collecting both general CrossFit certifications and ones in specific related exercises such as kettle bells, gymnastics and power lifting. Recently, he completed his CrossFit Level 2 certification and became a qualified Olympic lifting trainer through USAWeightlifting.
“The CrossFit way is broad, general and inclusive; we don’t exclude anything,” Robbins said. “Whatever you can think of as functional and helpful to the program is added to the program by learning about each technique from professionals in those individual fields. The beauty of it is that it works.
“Everything we do in CrossFit is scientific and what I mean by that is that it’s measurable, observable and repeatable. That way, we see the results in everything we do and if it’s a good result we can take that and repeat it and if it’s a bad result we can throw it out.”
The next natural step for Robbins was forging out and opening up his own CrossFit gym — or “Box,” as they’re called.
There was a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Apr. 11 to celebrate the grand opening of CrossFit Demand, an expansive 3,200-square-foot matted facility filled with top-of-the-line equipment and inspirational décor throughout. “I really want this box to be for the community,” he said. “It’s a business and it’s my livelihood, of course, but it’s for the people. Whether you’re 18 and want to go to the CrossFit Games or 59 and coming off of knee surgery, I want to make your life better. That’s what it’s all about.”
CrossFit Demand is located at 17640 SW 97 Ave. in Palmetto Bay. For more information, call 786-222-8797 or visit CrossFitDemand.com.
