Facundo (00:00):
Can you do me a favor?
Sevan Matossian (00:02):
Yes.
Facundo (00:02):
Can I say bam? We are live myself.
Sevan Matossian (00:05):
It’s done. We’re live. Good. That’s it. That’s it.
Facundo (00:09):
I can go now.
Sevan Matossian (00:09):
That’s it. Wanna, you’re the first person who’s done that besides me in 700 shows. Thank you.
Facundo (00:14):
You see, I’m trying to get a, you know, easier mind, a little bit
Sevan Matossian (00:17):
Assimilate. Thank you. Yes. I was just, is there really 700 shows? I think so. Caleb, are we at 700?
Facundo (00:26):
We’re well over 700 now.
Sevan Matossian (00:28):
Ah, yes. I’m very humble. I’d like to keep the numbers low. I’d like to be, keep the lu numbers low. Very humble. No,
Facundo (00:36):
You know, it’s, it’s about quality. No, not just quantity. True.
Sevan Matossian (00:40):
So
Facundo (00:40):
They say it’s all they say
Sevan Matossian (00:42):
<laugh>. I was, I was looking at your Instagram. You know, if, if, um, do you know who Justin Trudeau is? The, the Prime Minister of Canada? Of
Facundo (00:50):
Course I do know.
Sevan Matossian (00:51):
Yeah. Um, you’re like, if, if he was a man, he would look like you. I reali I recognize you’re the male version of Justin Trudeau. I realized, okay. Signature Instagram.
Facundo (00:59):
Okay. I mean, as you well know, I already retired from politics, so otherwise I could have been the new, uh, prime Min. Yeah. God.
Sevan Matossian (01:07):
Yeah. They need you. They need you. Bad
Facundo (01:11):
God. Yeah. Well, that’s me.
Sevan Matossian (01:13):
Hey, uh, Fado, do you remember when you were on the show? Hi, Brian.
Facundo (01:18):
Morning
Sevan Matossian (01:19):
Brian. Meet, uh, Fado. Fado meet. Uh, uh, Brian,
Facundo (01:22):
Mr. Friend. Nice to meet you.
Sevan Matossian (01:24):
It’s an honor.
Facundo (01:26):
I wouldn’t say the same.
Sevan Matossian (01:28):
<laugh>. Do you remember when you were on the show last time and we were talking about, um, I, I, I was talking about who you were married to, and I just made the assumption you were married to a woman, and then I realized you were married to a man. Do you, do you think I played that off well, like, I wasn’t shocked. Like I was just casual or was I just like,
Facundo (01:45):
Well, I have to correct you. That one was the last show. That was the before to last
Sevan Matossian (01:49):
Show. Okay. Two. Okay. Two, two shows prior. Yes.
Facundo (01:52):
Uh, yeah. I, uh, I, I don’t think that, I don’t think that there are many things that this stage surprised you, Sivan.
Sevan Matossian (01:57):
Okay, good. Because I was thinking about that this morning. I was, oh, I wonder if I played that off. Good. Like, I was just like, cool. Just like chill.
Facundo (02:04):
No, but I mean, it’s a good note to start on, you know, very already. Yeah. Surprising to many, many.
Sevan Matossian (02:09):
Yeah. I just wanted to, I just wanted to see like, how ch like, am I able to, because in my brain I was like, oh, you really fucked that up, Savon. But I have to hide it. I have to suppress that.
Facundo (02:18):
That’s happened to you often. That you think that you fucked things up all
Sevan Matossian (02:22):
The time. <laugh> all the, all the already right now, twice on the show. I think that,
Facundo (02:29):
Do you think that people see
Sevan Matossian (02:30):
That? No, I think I hide that shit. Good.
Facundo (02:33):
Yeah, I think so too.
Sevan Matossian (02:35):
Thank you, <laugh>. Thank you. Look at this. Holy cow. Happy birthday to me. Four ninety nine to my favorite charity podcast. Wow. We never get money this early. Thank you. Fado and Tony, are
Facundo (02:46):
We sharing that, or it’s just for
Sevan Matossian (02:47):
You? No, no.
Facundo (02:49):
<laugh>. Okay. Just, just, no, I mean,
Sevan Matossian (02:52):
Um, Fado, where are you?
Facundo (02:54):
I’m in Germany. I’m in southern Germany. My mom’s house in, uh, close in Newburg. We came to spend, um, Christmas here, part of Christmas here actually. And tomorrow we drive back to, to Brussels, Belgium, where I, I live.
Sevan Matossian (03:09):
How, how long is that drive?
Facundo (03:11):
Oh, six hours
Sevan Matossian (03:12):
And, uh, raining snow mountains. No, it’s
Facundo (03:15):
Beautiful day. It’s a beautiful day. And I also wanna say that one of the things that we have in Germany that is amazing, that the highways, you know, the freeways, I dunno, highway, they are free speed. So if you drive well enough, you are free to go as fast as you want. Uh, so it makes it quite, you know, simple.
Brian Friend (03:33):
Germany also has ha happens to be the host of a semi-final this year.
Facundo (03:38):
I know, I know. I’s, I think,
Brian Friend (03:40):
And in the competition, as long as you move well enough, you can go as fast as you want.
Facundo (03:45):
Well,
Sevan Matossian (03:45):
Very nice, Brian. Very nice. Look at you keeping the show together.
Facundo (03:49):
You know, I, I I admire you, Brian. I really do <laugh>, but, uh, yeah, I mean, some
Sevan Matossian (03:55):
People call that autism. Some people call that autism for kudos. Some people call
Facundo (03:59):
That. No, I look before, before going to the dirt. Yeah. I think I have to say that I’m very proud and very, you know, happy on how well, uh, our friend Brian is doing. I think that he, he studied himself as the main analyst of our sport, and I think he started with a lot of elegance and a lot of, uh, loyalty. And I remember when I first met him, I was working for Croci back then at the games 2018, I think. 18, yeah. Brand. And, uh, you know, there was a boy who knew everything about everybody, and I thought that I was that person, but you know, was not the case. And, uh, the other day I was watching the Dubai Championship and I was very happy to, to have him, you know, commentating on the, on the broadcast. I’m not sure I would, was going to be able to see it all without Brian there.
Sevan Matossian (04:45):
<laugh>. Hey, I, I agree Fado. And I also think that Brian, um, sort of transcends the sport in his, this is probably making Brian uncomfortable, but I know transcends the sport in his, um, you know, presentation. Meaning, uh, you know, there’s people like Howard Cosell, like they could do football or they could do boxing, or they could, I feel like Brian could do anything. It’s not, it’s not just CrossFit.
Facundo (05:04):
Yeah. Well, I think he works very hard. I think that, you know, he’s never unprepared When he has to do something, he puts a lot of his time and a lot of his energy, uh, you know, and he takes responsibility of ownership of whatever he’s is given to him. Are you okay, Brian, are you still doing well?
Brian Friend (05:20):
Did you open this by promising You’re gonna dump the dirt on me afterwards?
Facundo (05:24):
<laugh>? No, I just said, I just said start nice and then go into the dirt, but there we go. No,
Sevan Matossian (05:28):
And, and Fado I will also say this, um, Brian really likes a lot of people in the space, and he is sort of the, um, I, I seem him as sort of the United Nations. He likes to keep the peace with people. Uh, and, but that being said, I do also think that he holds you to maybe a slightly higher tier than other people. And he’s always been extremely fond of you, and I would even say proud of his, uh, relationship, uh, with you. So,
Facundo (05:52):
Well, I think it’s a mutual feeling. I think we, we saw each other grow in, you know, in whatever we decided to, to go through, you know, because I was working as a very, very low rank media person at, at the Catholic game. He was starting there. And throughout the years, we, we see each other grow and, and, you know, and it’s, I’m, it’s, it’s great to see that, you know, when you have that kind of companionship and you see someone that you admire doing well and, and getting to whatever they wanna go. But I think that he’s getting blush now, so maybe we’ll change subjects and we talk about somebody else.
Sevan Matossian (06:27):
So, just so you guys know, also, that’s not an understatement what, uh, Fado is saying. Um, these are two guys who started at the very, very, very, um, bottom, you know, holding people’s bags, taking out the garbage, uh, fitting in where they could, can fit in. And Brian, Brian was like that everywhere in his life, but, so he didn’t have to humble up much. But Fado was not, Fado was, uh, uh, had a, uh, an alternate life where he was, um, a very well, uh, respected, um, individual. And he, he bowed his head low and came in under the, the crack under the door and built himself up to probably one of the most prestigious and highest positions, um, in our, in our cult. So, congratulations to both. You actually.
Facundo (07:17):
Thank you. Thank you.
Sevan Matossian (07:19):
Um, so what, what, do you have a title over there? So you, you are strictly a mayhem person.
Facundo (07:28):
I’m, I, I, I want to thank, I want to think so. Yeah. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (07:31):
I mean, the Mayhem Empire, that’s your court. The Mayhem Empire is your, um, uh, castle. That’s, that’s you, you’re not a, that, that’s home for you.
Facundo (07:40):
I’m not sure it’s my castle, but it’s the castle where I like to live.
Sevan Matossian (07:45):
Okay.
Facundo (07:46):
I think it’s richest Castle more than mine.
Sevan Matossian (07:48):
<laugh>. Right. Fair. Fair. And, and, um, and then within that castle, what are your, uh, duties? What’s your, your position obligations?
Facundo (07:57):
So, my obligations, I, I don’t, I take it differently, but what I do is I, I, you know, I, I, I coach, so there’s, there’s Jake Locker. Jake Locker is the, the, the director of online programming for Mayhem. Uh, you know, he’s, uh, maybe the most underrated coach around because he’s responsible for most of Mayhem athlete, uh, success. So me and, uh, Jake and me and Rich, of course, we, we create, uh, the program in, in my case mostly for elite athletes, for games athletes, and, um, individual programming. Uh, so that is why what I’ve been doing for the last, uh, years, year, year years,
Sevan Matossian (08:39):
I’m trying to find Jake Lockhart’s Instagram account. Is, is it, is it
Facundo (08:44):
Jake is a very shy person. He’s very, uh, low key, uh, you know, like, like good people should be kind of No, uh, and uh, he will find him there.
Sevan Matossian (08:57):
He’s, oh, okay. Okay. There, he’s, let me see this guy. Oh, yeah. I don’t even recognize him.
Facundo (09:01):
Yeah, so Jake is the director of online programming and, and for Mayhem Athlete, he’s extraordinary. Um, as a coach, he’s amazing to, to work with. And, uh, you know, it’s a person who, uh, who was there since the beginning of Mayhem online programming. And, uh, he’s, uh, he’s, he’s, he’s the guy there. So me and him, uh, we, we work, uh, me, Muslim individual athletes on, on elite athletes. He does most of the Mayhem programming with Rich. And, uh, that is what I’m doing at the moment, at, at Mayhem.
Sevan Matossian (09:40):
Hey, will you, um, send me that at, at some point I’m gonna invite him on the show. Let’s get to the bottom of this. So your job, along with Rich and Jake is in the biggest picture is to give the athletes adequate preparation for their goals.
Facundo (09:57):
That is correct.
Sevan Matossian (09:59):
And the goals of your athletes are,
Facundo (10:03):
Well, some athletes will be very happy if they make it to, to regional this year. Some of my athletes, a couple of them will be very happy if they win the games.
Sevan Matossian (10:12):
Okay. So, so the, and anyone else, do you, do you coach anyone else? Do you coach? Are there any, like, you know, um, do you ever coach any classes or anything like that? Yeah,
Facundo (10:22):
Yeah. I, I, there was a time that I was coaching like maybe 20, 25 hours per week next to my work at the Parliament. I was the whole time of the box. I loved it. But I think that, uh, and I say it really with a little bit of heavy heart, you know, I’ve been working so much with a type of athlete that I think that I lost the capacity to coach a different kind of athlete. You know, every coach has a capacity. They explore that they have more tricks and more, you know, more elements underneath their, you know, uh, as a capacities. And I lost, I would love to coach a, a class, but I, it’s not something that I do very much at the moment.
Sevan Matossian (11:04):
And, and, and, and mostly that’s just, that’s, uh, time time constraint issue. Right.
Facundo (11:08):
Well, nobody hired me to, nobody invited me to coach a class. I mean, alright. Does maybe I gladly go <laugh>? No, but people seem to be scared of me somehow. I, I really don’t know why
Sevan Matossian (11:20):
Are there athletes that
Facundo (11:22):
Water just saying
Sevan Matossian (11:23):
Fair, fair, uh, um, are there athletes, if you were Russian, I wouldn’t believe you. Are there athletes who, um, specifically fall under your umbrella? So like, if they want to call someone, they were, they would call you first and not Jake, or not, uh, rich,
Facundo (11:40):
Yes, they are some
Sevan Matossian (11:42):
And, um, are c Can I start guessing some of them? Who they are?
Facundo (11:46):
<laugh>, you may wanna try
Sevan Matossian (11:48):
<laugh>. Okay. Is, is Roman one of your athletes?
Facundo (11:51):
So there’s not much guessing, right? It’s just a Go for it.
Sevan Matossian (11:53):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just, just go, just go for it.
Facundo (11:55):
Yes. Uh, Roman, Roman is in mayhem at the moment. He’s been there for, um, months. Uh, yeah. So out of the blue, out of the blue, uh, <laugh>,
Sevan Matossian (12:05):
This workout
Facundo (12:06):
Is,
Brian Friend (12:06):
This workout is insane, by the way.
Facundo (12:08):
Um, he’s been at Mayhem for, um, for a month now, kind of a little bit, yeah. For a month. And I think that, so I, I did work with Roman in 2018 when I was working with Chris Hinshaw, Hinshaw was doing his aerobic capacity, and I was somehow involved there. Uh, Chris was always very generous in, you know, let me work with, with some of his athletes. And, uh, then, well, back then Roman had a different coach and I was starting to, uh, change into just overall CrossFit coaching, not just aerobic capacity. And we stop working together, but we always stay in touch. And, you know, um, so for this last month he’s been in May at Mayhem, he’s been training there. We’ve been somehow working together, and I think that we are seeing if, um, we are a good match to each other.
Sevan Matossian (13:00):
So there’s, there’s a court, there’s a courtship coming on, going on,
Facundo (13:05):
Um,
Sevan Matossian (13:05):
Whether it’s unofficial or official, you’re in proximity with him. Yes. You interact with him regularly. And, um, okay. And, and, and, and may, would it be fair to say that you also don’t wanna step on anyone’s toes? You’re, you’re cognizant of his, the other people around him who participate in his training, and you’re there as a tool if he wants to use you, and if not, you’re, you’re fine with it.
Facundo (13:29):
Um, well, you know, I mean, I, I, I, I, if comes to me, I never wor I never ask Why do you leave your former coach? That’s not my, my, you know, my, my topic. I, I respect enormously, the, my colleagues. So I respect enormously in that case, whoever worked with him before, which we, we, we already know who, who that person is. And of course, that person did a great, great, great job. Otherwise, Roman wouldn’t be where he is now. And, uh, and I, you know, I’m very respectful about the Ram’s past and whatever he was able to build with another coach. And, you know, the things, everything has the time. Maybe tomorrow, you know, I find myself in the same role and which I find myself in the, in the past. So, uh, I think that we all,
Sevan Matossian (14:11):
You mean maybe like, maybe like proven would start courting you and we would start seeing you over at proven, and you would be torn between.
Facundo (14:18):
I don’t think that me leaving mayhem is an option at the moment.
Sevan Matossian (14:23):
No. Okay. Okay. Okay.
Facundo (14:24):
Uh, I’m very happy they are. And, and, and for me it’s a, it’s a dream place to work at. And, you know, it’s, it’s really, I don’t think that I could ask for more the environment. They are, it’s extraordinary. We have as a leader, well, rich Ronen, who is an extraordinary person, an extraordinary leader for, for all of us. And, uh, there are many they didn’t ask me, but I’ll tell you anyways, <laugh>, there are many things that are for me, uh, unrivaled at mayhem. We, you know, we’re very proud of each other. We are, are very, um, appreciative of every, each other’s work. Every time that I’m there, I’m, you know, we have an extraordinary media department with Scott and, and Bennett and, and, and Benjamin. And, and I’m really, you know, surprised on how good they are. And if I move somewhere else, mayhem, I I, that, that level of excellence is everywhere there. And I’m very, you know, very humble to be part of it somehow. So I think hope that is a lot of mayhem for me in upcoming years.
Sevan Matossian (15:18):
There’s a healthy peer pressure there because of the el the standard. Everyone holds themselves and others too,
Facundo (15:24):
You know, that is in the country. I think there’s a lot of humbleness.
Sevan Matossian (15:26):
Humbleness
Facundo (15:27):
Because if you are an athlete, right, and you know, you, you go for, for the workout of the day as a, as, as, as a whole group, and the worker workout includes a very heavy barb, but you do know that there’s a big chance that gee is going to take that workout if you do a workout that is less, more than 15 minutes. You do know that hail is going to, you know, take five minutes of you if you put a machine or whatever, Roman is there. So there’s no, there’s no day that you can go there and say, I’m the best. I’m here and you know, I’m here to show that I’m going to win the crossword games or whatever. Everybody is really good. And on the other hand, whatever you’re doing training wise, you have rich flowing, breathing behind your, you know, your neck and, and he’s waiting for you to make a mistake. Say, well boy, that was the lecture, the the lecture you need to learn today. So I think that nobody there is very, uh, egocentric or hold himself very high in a standard. I think we are all quite humble.
Sevan Matossian (16:20):
Isn’t it interesting to paint that picture versus like how someone like, uh, Colton Merton’s trains?
Facundo (16:26):
I do not know how Colton trains
Sevan Matossian (16:29):
It on a pig, on a pig farm in a shack with an uneven floor with no other athletes and five, uh, of those little wiener dogs that he’s, he’s, that he’s trying to start a breed, a dog, dog breeding farm. What a, what a con what a contrast to, um, yeah, the running at night, you know, where they get a 32 wind shell.
Facundo (16:50):
Got it. Yeah. I wouldn’t do that. Yeah, for sure. I mean, but you remember, uh, Savan, you are as old as me almost, uh, the miko Sal times where he used to train in his garage with, uh, looking at his fridge without music and
Sevan Matossian (17:05):
Just where in the closet. I, I saw a closet where he, he stored all his old furniture that he was supposed to repair, and the rower barely fit in there, and it was a six by six room, and he would say, I would be in there for an hour rowing. Yeah,
Facundo (17:17):
Crazy. Including cold Finland. Yeah, for sure.
Sevan Matossian (17:19):
So yeah. And he rode his bike to the gym in the snow and Yeah. Yeah. And, and, and it’s, and it’s not to say that Rich hasn’t been there e either, by the way. I mean, he, he had some, you know, he used to train just in that one barn outside his dad’s house. Yeah.
Facundo (17:33):
Well, I mean, I don’t know if you’ve been there, but Yeah, rich did, uh, rich did whatever he needed to do to, to go to wherever he wanted to go. And I think he did it quite well.
Sevan Matossian (17:42):
Um, fa Kudo, will Roman win the games if they pay money? I’ll have to ask the question. If they pay money, I have to ask the
Facundo (17:50):
Question. Okay. And if, if they pay money, I will answer whatever they, they ask
Sevan Matossian (17:53):
<laugh>. Alright, thank you. Thank you. Teamwork
Facundo (17:56):
<laugh>, uh, well, certainly Roman has the potential, you know, uh, that’s clear to everybody. Uh, he, he has the potential and he, you know, it’s, it’s, I I you need to be at the games to understand the amount of pressure you are when you are there, and especially the first time, especially when you wanted to be there for five years in a row. And that chance has not been given to you, uh, when the language that is spoken there is not your main language. So you need for whatever you do, your translator in order to tell you whatever you need to communicate. I think that Roman has proven, proven that he has the, the capacity. And I think that I can tell you that he has also the, the work ethics to, to go further in, in whatever his goal is. So
Brian Friend (18:41):
What happens, you know, I, like you said, obviously he’s, he’s got the, uh, capacity to do it. So he goes to the games this year, I think he has an incredibly successful games run. Um, people were loving him. He was em embracing the moments, and he obviously did very well and came close to winning. Then he goes to Rogue, another big off-season competition and doesn’t necessarily go as well. Where do you think mentally athletes of that level, like, does that result at Rogue affect him at all going into the next year?
Facundo (19:10):
No, I don’t think so. I think that for this athlete, of course, RO Rob is an amazing competition. Of course, they always wanna win. I think that there are athletes that the on not the only thing, but the main goal is the crowded games and everything around it is okay, you know, I can make some money. I, I can, uh, confirm to myself how good or how, where are the points that I need to work on. But, um, I think that in, in Roman’s case, his most of his attention is at the CrossFit games.
Brian Friend (19:38):
Yeah. I guess I was just thinking like, you know, maybe you put it in a, in a comparison to someone like Chandler Smith. Like Chandler obviously didn’t have the CrossFit game season go very well for him this year, but he shows up at Rogue, ends up taking second. I have to imagine that from a mental perspective, that’s a huge positive boost for him. So I was just wondering if maybe the opposite was true for Rumor, where he’s like, man, I went from second at the Games to fifth at Rogue.
Facundo (20:00):
Well, you know, Laar, Laar had a great games, a great games, and then he started Rogue 500 meters into the run. He, you know, hurt himself, goes to Dubai. He was very unhealthy, very, very more than what people think that he was. And uh, yeah, there’s a point where you say, oh man, I mean, I wish the things would’ve won, would have gone better. I don’t think that that defines his fitness. I don’t think that now he’s lost, uh, facing the new season. You know, he’s an extraordinary athlete, had a couple of body bands and you know, as I said before, I understand, and I he, that he will not believe that the outcome of on this competitions make him, him believe, oh, I’m this, at this stage of my career, I change, I finish eight of the games and now I finish whatever at Drug or a Dubai, right?
Brian Friend (20:56):
Yeah. And I mean, and, and, and, uh, well, Laars had a, you know, exterminating circumstances that have affected his competition results in the off-season. But the opposite could be true for Roman too, is that he could look at, come off the games and feel pretty good, and he might go to Rogan, say, you know what? Maybe I, I’m not as good as I thought in there. And it might motivate him to, to close up some of those holes even more.
Facundo (21:18):
I think that, I think that clearly it, we, we work, we see those results, we see those performances, and we take notes on things that we believe need to be improven, whether are for the games, whether they are for Rogue. Right. Uh, that’s, no, no, no, no doubt about that. But, you know, I say it again. I think that both, in this case, Roman and Lazars main, uh, goal is at the graphic games. Whatever happens around it, you know, could be great, could be less great, but they are also two assets that are do better at the games than a two day competition with six workouts in, divided into two days. You
Brian Friend (21:54):
Know, Laar did win the semi-final <laugh>, Roman, what’s, uh,
Facundo (22:00):
Because Laar, when he’s, when his feet, when he’s feeling well, he’s an extraordinary athlete. And me as a coach, look, I will be honest, hopefully somebody pays more money because I’m gonna say something very honest. Me as a coach, I told, yeah, I told Lazar when I see the money thing, I, I will say what I told Lazar. Okay, no, I told Lazar and, uh, you know, you don’t have to finish because I know that he was not at his best.
Sevan Matossian (22:25):
At which event did you tell him that?
Facundo (22:27):
Both <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (22:28):
Oh,
Facundo (22:29):
Both. Yeah. You know, I, I was there at Drug, I, he, his, his, his, you know, ankle was all swollen and said, how can this guy keep, it was the first event, keep moving at this competition. How he was, and his mindset and his conviction, conviction, conviction, conviction of whatever he wants to achieve was stronger than him just said, no, I, okay. He’s, you know, I think that is very remarkable that he managed to do whatever he did the way he did things. So, um, but yet again, I think that these two athletes that you mentioned, uh, they are more, uh, focused on the girls games that anywhere else.
Sevan Matossian (23:08):
Is, is, is, is, is, is, um, this is a, a harsh question, but is, is Laar maybe cursed? We have, we have the bike incident at the games, then we have the ankle incident at Rogue, and then we have the stairs mishap at Dubai. I’m starting to think like he’s sort of picked up some sort of evil spirit.
Facundo (23:25):
No, no. You, first of all, you like Laar a lot.
Sevan Matossian (23:27):
I love Lazar, I love Lazar. May I’ll send a Catholic priest to his house and get that shit exercise. Yeah.
Facundo (23:32):
Second, you know, it’s funny, Lazar splits during that bike would’ve actually given a better result. If he were continue one more lap, he would’ve finished two, three, fourth. Right. And if you see the kind of athlete he’s, you know, push himself to compete even where he’s not his at his best, believe me, one round of biking would’ve not, uh, given him, you know, much travel and therefore he, you know, that was a, a, a very, um, unfortunate thing. But, uh,
Sevan Matossian (24:04):
Those were, I mean, those were some of the three biggest injuries from the biggest athlete, the in, in, in the history of the sport. I mean, it is, it is uncanny that he’s had three incidents like that.
Facundo (24:17):
Well, I mean, the, the, the, the bike was not a, a health incident. Right, right. But I remember, but I remember Annie having a, a heat stroke at the games. Right. He 17 coming back next year and finished third or second, that, that year. Right. Uh, after eight or nine years competing, maybe Brian knows my heart which year, which year those were, but there was a year that I remember Annie at Merf had a hit stroke. Right. Uh, had to, you know, continue a little bit more then had to, I, I don’t remember if he finished the competition, but no, went back the following year and she finished the podium. Kara Saunders too. Yeah. And the year in which she know, remember how, you remember how she,
Sevan Matossian (24:52):
She fainted across the finish line? Yeah, she fainted. She doesn’t even remember finishing.
Facundo (24:56):
So, you know, there are moments where the health doesn’t go with you, and this the things are, you know, difficult to, to foresee, to predict. But, um, yet again, I mean, even
Sevan Matossian (25:10):
With what about LA’s what about LA’s ankle at, at, um, at Dubai? Was it, you know, we were, we were struggling to believe that it was a hundred percent, but he swore that he’d gotten back to training after Rogue and that he competed. Was he? A hundred percent.
Facundo (25:23):
Um, he, uh, he took a little bit of time off after, after Rogue, as he would’ve taken, despite the ankle after whichever major competition. But then he started working, uh, uh, very, very hard again, uh, for, for Dubai.
Sevan Matossian (25:39):
Um, you know,
Facundo (25:40):
I will tell you something, at the end of the day, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s remarkable because yes, there were these two competitions and I think that that now in Laar is going to give him much more element for himself to work even harder to show next year, you know, or to actually to keep showing to the, to the rest of the community what kind of athlete he is. He’s the first person who actually, uh, you know, uh, finish that high up, um, uh, at the European level. After that, that few years competing, <inaudible> has been the king in Europe over and over in semi-finals in regionals at the games. And comes, uh, a guy that, you know, once when he didn’t feel that he was fitting that fit enough, said no to the CrossFit games, he got an invite, said, no, I’m not ready for this. I will know when I’m ready and I will be, you know, doing my best when I’m ready.
Brian Friend (26:32):
Yeah. I actually wrote, wrote an article about Laar and Jeff Adler, who both of them have made this like a ancy within their own well, continent in Lara’s case and Country and Jeff’s case of, uh, you know, it’s on BK and Yona. They’ve been the only two guys from Europe that can crack the top 10 since, since 2015.
Facundo (26:50):
Berg and
Brian Friend (26:51):
What,
Facundo (26:51):
And look at Berg. No.
Brian Friend (26:53):
Yeah. Consistently. There’s been some guys that come up once, Adrian Mun Valler was in the top 10 once dropped out, Hoberg once dropped out, and now Lazarus done it twice in a row. And in Canada was the same, where, you know, pat and Brent come to the top and then these guys come and go. Vin’s been close, you know, the Kone, but the Adler’s now done it twice. Lara’s now done it twice. What I wanted to ask was,
Facundo (27:14):
Sorry. And some coming, huh?
Brian Friend (27:17):
Well, cornier had a, you know, an two years ago was someone unfortunately wasn’t able to necessarily compete at his best, it seems like. And then last year obviously went team, but of course I have my eye on Sam this year. Yes.
Sevan Matossian (27:28):
I think Sam can win the games <laugh>. I believe in him.
Brian Friend (27:34):
He
Facundo (27:34):
An extraordinary athlete. He’s working very
Brian Friend (27:36):
Hard. Yeah, I thought I was
Facundo (27:38):
Hard. I think that the best thing that he could have done last year is to go, uh, and be with which for one full year training, because the, the, the, his, uh, learning curve as an athlete, you know, improve exponentially when you are training every day with Tron, you know, so he’s a very mature athlete. Um,
Brian Friend (27:59):
Yes. Yeah, I was, uh, I was a little bummed that I didn’t get to see him do an individual, uh, event this off season. I know things didn’t work out for him with the Rogan and Dubai, and he’s doing team at Waap Alza, not individual. So I would’ve liked personally from like an analytical perspective to have a data point see him in one of those competitions. So I have a better idea of if he’s a podium, a top 10, a top 20, like what’s realistic for him this year. Um, but it is also kind of fun to have someone that’s that good with potentially that much, you know, expectation that we don’t actually know too much about. I mean, that’s basically what we got with Ricky and Roman last year. We just weren’t sure where they’d end up falling. And Sam might be in that category this year.
Facundo (28:37):
Yeah. But after next year, for sure, everybody’s going to pay much more attention to him.
Sevan Matossian (28:42):
Um, did, does, um, oh,
Brian Friend (28:43):
I mean, look, wait, before we move on, like, he’s gonna go to a semi-final in North America, and if he wins it, people will be paying attention to him.
Facundo (28:51):
Yeah,
Sevan Matossian (28:52):
He does. He does. How does that work, Brian? How does he go to the semi-final North America?
Brian Friend (28:55):
He lives in Montreal area, so he’ll be in the, I think North America, east down in Florida competing. And, you know, he won’t get to go in that semi-final against Maderas, Vener Quant, uh, Falkowski. But there will be, uh, you know, Jeff Adler, Jason Hopper, some other guys from the top 10 in that semi-final. So we’ll, we’ll get a good opportunity to see, you know, where his level of fitness is a couple months prior to the games.
Sevan Matossian (29:21):
Um, uh, Fado is he getting, when, when you, when he does that, when he does teams with, um, rich, does he get a, a ton? Like does he, I, I don’t know how, what to call it, but does he learn the nuances and the swagger and, you know, details that maybe no other person could get unless they actually, like you couldn’t even get from a, a coach that you would actually have to be on the floor with Rich
Facundo (29:43):
Froning? Yeah. In, in some case, without any doubt, because he’s a cle, he’s a clever guy, and he knew the opportunity he had in front of him and he used it a hundred percent. Uh, and also Rich is a very generous person in the way he trains. He mean he shares all his knowledge, and especially with the two.
The above transcript is generated using AI technology and therefore may contain errors.
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