Sevan Matossian (00:01):
It’s a, it’s that, uh, crazy time of year. Bam. We’re live. We did it. Yeah. Look at people in the ch people in the chat. Look at this. Uh, how many burpees are we, uh, making sev do for being late? Geez,
Spencer Panchik (00:15):
15 <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (00:18):
Thank you. That’s, that’s, that’s, that’s a palatable amount. Fifteen’s good. Um, uh, are, are you home?
Spencer Panchik (00:27):
Uh, no, I’m actually out in Utah.
Sevan Matossian (00:29):
Oh, okay. Uh, those, how about those stairs? I think there’s
Spencer Panchik (00:32):
A delay.
Sevan Matossian (00:36):
There is, you’re, you’re, you’re pretty broken up. How’s your, how’s your signal? Are you on your phone?
Spencer Panchik (00:41):
Yeah, I mean, it says I’m, it says mine’s all the way up. Let me get off of wifi. See if I,
Sevan Matossian (00:51):
Yesterday I did a podcast with, um, Bronislaw in Poland. He looked like he was parked out in the middle of a field, and the connection was amazing. Oh, I know exactly what your question is. Jake Chapman. I have a question for Spencer. I, I know, I know. Yeah, I know you do.
Spencer Panchik (01:18):
Is that <inaudible>? Uh,
Sevan Matossian (01:20):
Yeah. Now, now they’re saying I have to do 50 burpees ’cause of this delay.
Spencer Panchik (01:24):
Great. Is that good?
Sevan Matossian (01:25):
Yeah, that’s perfect. Sweet. Thank you. How’s that for you? Did the delay go away?
Spencer Panchik (01:29):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (01:31):
Awesome. Hey, stairs like that, does that interfere with your training? Are you, like, if, like, you have to go up and down those an extra 10 times?
Spencer Panchik (01:39):
Uh, as long as there’s a bathroom up there. <laugh>, <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (01:44):
Um, are you, why are you in Utah training, vacation? What are you doing?
Spencer Panchik (01:48):
Um, my coach is out here, so it gave me a chance to come out and work one-on-one with him.
Sevan Matossian (01:53):
And, and who’s that?
Spencer Panchik (01:54):
Uh, Nick Fowler.
Sevan Matossian (01:56):
Oh, that’s right. That’s right. Okay. So you’re in Salt Lake City?
Spencer Panchik (02:00):
Yeah, I’m out here. Uh, Arthur, uh, ops out here too.
Sevan Matossian (02:04):
Oh, how’s his English?
Spencer Panchik (02:06):
Um, it’s getting better. I mean, it’s definitely a little challenging, but it’s getting better.
Sevan Matossian (02:13):
Um, he’s coming on, uh, tonight and I’m just dreading it like, like no other, like, like I cannot fucking believe I’m gonna have to deal with a translator. <laugh>.
Spencer Panchik (02:22):
Oh, is there a translator coming on?
Sevan Matossian (02:23):
Yeah. That’s smart. Probably, right?
Spencer Panchik (02:25):
Yeah, definitely.
Sevan Matossian (02:28):
Crazy. God, I’m so, I’m such a, uh, prima donna. I just don’t want to speak to anyone who doesn’t speak English.
Spencer Panchik (02:34):
<laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (02:35):
How is he? I, I saw a photo of you with Nick Fowler on your Instagram. I wonder if I can find it. And there’s a dude standing next to you, but I can’t see his face. Is that seven off?
Spencer Panchik (02:46):
Yeah, that’s him.
Sevan Matossian (02:47):
Oh, is he big?
Spencer Panchik (02:49):
Oh, he’s massive. I’m like a, I’m so small next to both of them. <laugh>,
Sevan Matossian (02:56):
Uh, who, who And next to Fowler also.
Spencer Panchik (02:59):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (03:00):
Lemme see if I can find that picture. Oh, uh, is this it? Oh yeah, this is him. Yeah, he’s huge.
Spencer Panchik (03:08):
He’s massive.
Sevan Matossian (03:09):
Lemme see if I can pull this up. That’s the dude.
Spencer Panchik (03:15):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (03:17):
Shit, I had no idea he was big like that. Look at his feet. They’re even like fucking skis. <laugh>. How big is he?
Spencer Panchik (03:26):
Um, probably like six two.
Sevan Matossian (03:31):
And, and wow. And, and that, that’s funny. I, I haven’t heard anyone talk about his size. Um, is, and that dude, Nick Fowler was, um, Roman’s coach for a, for a minute too. Right? Basically got Roman to the games.
Spencer Panchik (03:44):
Yeah, he, he worked with Roman.
Sevan Matossian (03:47):
Yeah. Cool. Well, shit. And are you at Elevation?
Spencer Panchik (03:50):
Um, it’s a little bit of elevation. Um, I’m training at Chris ER’s gym.
Sevan Matossian (03:55):
Oh, okay. Do you see him?
Spencer Panchik (03:57):
Uh, I’ll see him here and there. I think he was traveling.
Sevan Matossian (04:01):
Does he jump in any workouts?
Spencer Panchik (04:03):
No, he hasn’t jumped in any yet. <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (04:05):
<laugh>. Um, let’s say you had a workout you were doing and he wanted to jump in. What’s the etiquette on that? Could he,
Spencer Panchik (04:16):
Uh, definitely. Yeah, definitely. I mean, it’s to workout with the CrossFit OG for sure. <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (04:22):
And, and, and, and put it to ’em and spank ’em.
Spencer Panchik (04:25):
It depends what it is that man’s good at body weight stuff. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (04:29):
Hey, um, is this the first time you’ve ever Oh, no. You, I was gonna say, is this the first time you’ve seen him, but you saw him when you were a kid. You saw him all the time? Yeah.
Spencer Panchik (04:37):
Yeah. Gotta see him. I gotta see him. I saw him, uh, his last year. He competed in California.
Sevan Matossian (04:43):
Okay. Okay. Um, second year to the games. You’re, you, you, are you pretty pumped two consecutive years?
Spencer Panchik (04:50):
Yeah, I’m really excited, excited, uh, to show up and, uh, showcase what I’ve been doing.
Sevan Matossian (04:58):
Um, tell me about the semifinals. Um, you, you made it by the, the skin of your teeth, right?
Spencer Panchik (05:03):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (05:05):
Um, is, is there, is there a reason for that?
Spencer Panchik (05:08):
Um, I, I feel like my fitness didn’t really showcase, um, or I feel like the leaderboard didn’t really showcase where my fitness was at. Um, I had some issues with my sled in event one, which was really frustrating. And, um, it just put me kind of at a deficit, um, through the rest of the weekend, but just happy I was able to, to get it done.
Sevan Matossian (05:31):
When, when you took 12th, um, when you take 12, is there anything that gives you, um, solace like, well, fuck it. Um, Justin shit, the bed too. Like, do you get to, do you, do you say that to yourself?
Spencer Panchik (05:45):
I mean, at the end of the day, it’s just getting to the games and then the leaderboard resets. Um, I mean, there’s been, I mean, Justin’s first year he won the games. He didn’t win a semi-final. Um, but yeah, I think it’s, it’s just getting to the games and there’s a lot more events at the games. Um, I, it’s, it’s, it’s frustrating when, I mean, for me, I felt like something kind of outta my control happened. But again, our our sport’s still growing and stuff, stuff happens and it’s just really being able to, to overcome that and, and really show up in the rest of the events. There’s, it’s, it’s not a one event weekend for a reason.
Sevan Matossian (06:25):
Um, what about the, the, the kind of workouts that there are, like, I would’ve not thought in a million years that Luke Parker would’ve beat you at the semi-final
Spencer Panchik (06:36):
<laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (06:37):
Yeah. And that’s not a dig at him. He’s just, it’s his, it’s his first, you know, he’s just coming off a team and I just wouldn’t think that he could beat someone like you.
Spencer Panchik (06:45):
Yeah. I, I mean, I think, uh, when I look at it, it’s, I mean, the average, I think somebody put out the average weight of the games athlete this year was like, it was like 6 2, 2 0 7 or something crazy like that. Um, so I think obviously as you get more events, you’re gonna be able to test more things and, um, I definitely think there was like a little bit more of like a bias towards like a, a bigger higher output athlete over the course of semifinals. Um, but I mean, that’s, I mean, that’s just where the test was this year. And, um, really it’s, it’s, it’s getting to the games and being able to successfully do that.
Sevan Matossian (07:22):
I mean, tell me about that, uh, 51st place. That is, that is bizarre, right?
Spencer Panchik (07:27):
Yeah. I was like 12 minutes faster in training when I did it.
Sevan Matossian (07:32):
12
Spencer Panchik (07:32):
Minutes? Yeah. I was like, just under 20. It was like, I think it was just under 20 or 20 some, somewhere in there. Um, and then I got capped. I like, I would’ve been well over, I think it was a 30 minute cap. Um, but I would’ve been well over 30 minutes.
Sevan Matossian (07:46):
What was the workout again? It was three machines and then, and then some. What was the other?
Spencer Panchik (07:50):
Yeah, I believe it was, uh, three K, three K bike, um, sled pool, two K run, and then a one K ski, and then sled pool.
Sevan Matossian (08:00):
And, and your sled got, your sled came off. Its, its piece of toilet paper. <laugh>?
Spencer Panchik (08:05):
No, my like, I mean, there was ss sliding off a little bit, but like, my buckle, like kept rolling underneath it. Um, so I tried to go up and fix it, and then I’d fix it, and then I’d pull it again and it would just roll back underneath it. So I was like pulling the sled as like the buckle was underneath it, if that makes sense.
Sevan Matossian (08:22):
Yeah. And, and did it, did it feel, um, did it feel weird?
Spencer Panchik (08:27):
I mean, it felt like a one rep pull every time. I mean, I, I pushed the bikes in training. I was like, oh, like this will be fine. Like, I’m gonna push the pace a little bit. Um, it was supposed to be a pretty good event for me. Like, I’ve been working so hard on the machines and then I got to the sled and I was like, oh man. Like, this is not what it’s supposed to feel like. <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (08:46):
Damn. Yeah. Fi I mean, that, that is, uh, bizarre. 51st and 12 minutes faster in training. That’s a trip. What was, um, when you come off the field like that, what is, um, is Nick there? Is Fowler there?
Spencer Panchik (09:01):
Yeah, he was there.
Sevan Matossian (09:03):
What’s he say to you?
Spencer Panchik (09:05):
Um, I mean, there’s nothing you can really say. There’s no, uh, there’s no good advice. There’s, I mean, there’s, there was six events, so there’s still five more events to really make up for it. And, um, we were the first semi-final, there was 60 athletes, so nobody really knew how the leaderboard was gonna be. So it wasn’t like, would it be possible to come back? Absolutely. But it’s, it’s how, how are the rest of the events gonna play out? Because we’ve never seen a 60 person roster, uh, in place.
Sevan Matossian (09:36):
Yeah. Just from a, from a quick glance to show you just to how big of a hole you had to dig out of every single person above you. The worst they ever got in a workout. There is a 29th.
Spencer Panchik (09:48):
Yeah. I think the hardest thing was, uh,
Sevan Matossian (09:51):
So you dug out of a crazy hole, dude. A cra Yeah. I wonder if any, I wonder if anyone made it to the games this year at a, like, at a real semi-final. I don’t, you don’t. Not Africa or, or Asia. Where, where they got a 51st and made it. I wonder if you dug out of the biggest hole.
Spencer Panchik (10:06):
Well, it’s like somebody like gh, um, because I don’t know, I don’t know what happened if something happened to his letter or what, but like, there weren’t enough athletes to get in between, uh, between him in order to jump back up. I think he could’ve won out the rest of the competition and I think it still would’ve been really hard for him to, to qualify. So like, that’s what’s, I mean, that’s, there’s like perks and benefits to, to being in a, I mean, a stacked field because you’re gonna be able to see it. Uh, you’re gonna be able to see it change.
Sevan Matossian (10:36):
Um, I, I love, I love your optimism and, and you actually, and you did it. Um, someone was saying Sidney Wells. Yeah, I remember. I wonder what hers was. I wonder if she took a last, I remember it was pretty crazy that she made it.
Spencer Panchik (10:50):
Yeah, I think she, she had a pretty big comeback and I think, uh, Bailey Rel had a pretty big one too.
Sevan Matossian (10:57):
Um, o overall something like that po positive for your career, right? I mean, that there, that’s gonna be the biggest. Um, did did anything weird happen after that? Did you cry after taking the 51st? Like how do you No,
Spencer Panchik (11:09):
No. I, uh, I think it was just,
Sevan Matossian (11:11):
Did you, did you, did the voice come in? You’re fucked. You’re not making it?
Spencer Panchik (11:14):
Uh, I mean, I’d be lying if I said that didn’t come in. Um, but it’s really just putting your head down and I mean, all you can do is really just give it your all and wherever the cards fall, they fall. Um, but I just knew, I, I, I, I knew it was a good weekend for me, um, and I just needed to go out and execute. But I will say it, it forced me, like when you’re in a position like that, you, you, I don’t wanna say you can’t take a risk, um, but it’s, it’s harder to really go out there and like throw it all out in one event because you can’t, you can’t have another placing like that. So it’s, I, I need to ride the line, but I still to be a little bit conservative,
Sevan Matossian (11:56):
Um, because, you know, second grade Spencer Pancheck is in there as like, uh, Spencer, uh, this is you from the second grade. I can do math and I’m doing some simple math here. And you’re fucked <laugh>, uh, you should, uh, go out and hang out with Saxon and Scott for, I mean, you can’t not, it can’t not creep in.
Spencer Panchik (12:12):
Yeah, absolutely. I mean,
Sevan Matossian (12:13):
Yeah. And so you have to kick that voice’s ass. So you, do you, do you talk back to that or you just push it away? You just let, or you just
Spencer Panchik (12:22):
I just push it away.
Sevan Matossian (12:23):
Yeah. Shut up,
Spencer Panchik (12:24):
<laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (12:25):
You’re fucking in the second grade. Shut the fuck up. Yeah. Hey, do, um, does Scott say anything to you or, or, uh, Saxon, are they there? Like, does Saxon be like, dude, the family name? Dude, I already fucked up. I already took
Spencer Panchik (12:38):
That off. Yeah, I mean, I mean, with, with what happened to Saxon, it was definitely a little bit more motivating. ’cause I’m like, we gotta keep our name, we gotta keep our name in the sport. Um, it’s like somebody, somebody has to make it, we gotta keep this streak going. Um, so that was definitely a little bit more motivating. But, um, yeah, I mean, it was just really just putting my head down and just going, like, I’ve been in, like, I’ve had this happen to me in a couple competitions and I’ve fallen short, like probably like two years in a row. Um, so it’s just, it’s, it’s really just going and, and just leaving it out on the floor in every event.
Sevan Matossian (13:12):
That being said, you brought up a really good point. So of these events, you were saying that like you had to really be smart. Yeah. There were, there was no room for risks. Um, can you gimme an example of what that would be? Is that like the, I mean, you had a great, what a great, uh, snatch 2 85. Congratulations. That’s badass <laugh>. Thanks. But, but, but would you have tried two 90? Is that an example or, um,
Spencer Panchik (13:36):
Yeah, I would’ve tried. I probably would’ve, I would’ve jumped for, I, I think I would’ve probably tried to take one more lift, but I probably would’ve jumped to like two 90 or 2 95. Um,
Sevan Matossian (13:45):
But I just, and that’s all because of that first place finish.
Spencer Panchik (13:48):
Yeah. I mean, I knew two seven, or I knew 2 85 would’ve been good. I knew it would’ve been conservative, but I knew I could hit it.
Sevan Matossian (13:57):
A and, and, um, how about also, I’m thinking on, um, what’s the, which was the Linda one That was event three. Yeah. I’m guessing on event three, you have to be, you took 10th, I’m guessing there’s a, a spot where you’re on the bench or something and you’re like, I could squeeze out one more rep. Ah, better not, what if I get stopped and you have and you took a rest?
Spencer Panchik (14:17):
Um, no, not so much. I mean, I, I needed to throttle it down. I think Linda was one. It was really challenging to be in the second heat on, um, ’cause you’re not feeding, like I, I think it was me and Tyler Christoph, we were one and two in our heat. Um, and like, we were kind of the battle in a back and forth. But like when I went back in and, and watched it, I think there were like five or six other people that were within like five seconds of us. Um, so like I, I think whenever you’re in that final heat, you’re able to really push off of each other a little bit more. It’s, um, I don’t wanna say easy to fall asleep, but you become almost complacent. You’re like, ah, like I’m winning this heat, or I’m like, I’m doing well in this heat. Um, and it’s just, yeah, it, it kind of hurts you a little bit. I felt like in Linda and then the 800 meter run where like two events where I was in like a, I don’t wanna say a slower heat, but I wasn’t feeding off of faster times.
Sevan Matossian (15:18):
Uh, um, and, and then you go look at event number five. Um, you took 20th. That was, that’s your second worst finish of the
Spencer Panchik (15:25):
Yeah, that was the run.
Sevan Matossian (15:27):
So that was the eight snatches and then the run.
Spencer Panchik (15:29):
Yeah, that was one I just was too conservative on. And once I realized it, it was too late.
Sevan Matossian (15:37):
Meaning you’re on the runner, you have a hundred meters left, and you’re like, shit, I I I have more in the tank. I’m gonna finish the tank with a little something in there.
Spencer Panchik (15:45):
Yeah. And that was just, that just wasn’t the event to do that on. Um, when I did that in training, I ran too hard and blew up. So I was like trying to find that line and, uh, it was too conservative there, too hard in training. So it’s just finding that middle ground
Sevan Matossian (16:01):
Dude, look how close that is too. Um, uh, 16th place, three 13 19th place. Three 14. Uh, or no, sorry. 16th three 13. 17, 3 14, um, 18, 3 16 19th place. Three 17. Oh, right. By Tyler Christal again. Wow. And then, uh, and then, uh, and then you’re just a second. You’re less than a second after that. Holy shit. I mean, you’re, you’re, uh, 24 1 hundredths of a second. Yeah. After Tyler Kristal and then the guy after you comes in, right. Basically at the same time as you Nate Ackerman.
Spencer Panchik (16:39):
Yeah. That event was crazy. ’cause there was, I mean, no matter where you were, I mean, anybody could have done well in that event.
Sevan Matossian (16:49):
Yeah. Six guys. Six guys came in in like three seconds.
Spencer Panchik (16:52):
Yeah, that one was, that one was a close event for sure. <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (16:58):
Spencer, when you take that 20th, are you tripping again?
Spencer Panchik (17:02):
Um, I didn’t really,
Sevan Matossian (17:03):
Do you remember that?
Spencer Panchik (17:03):
Anything? Yeah, I do remember it. Um, I didn’t really think too much into that event. I just finished and I was like, man, like I, like I, I messed that one up. Um, but I knew the next event would’ve been a real, was gonna be a really good event for me. So I knew I’d be able to make up some, some points there.
Sevan Matossian (17:22):
And then, and then the event’s over and you’re, you’re basically sitting there on the, um, the vent’s over and you’re just waiting for them to like announce who’s gonna go how, how, how nerve wracking is that? Do you know? Does someone yell at you? Don’t worry, dude, you made it. Or, or does someone tell you, Hey, you didn’t make it?
Spencer Panchik (17:42):
No, I just, I I knew who I needed to beat in that workout, and if I beat them, I was fine. Um, so like, I, I, I knew when I finished. Um, so like that definitely took, that definitely took a little bit of the stress off me. But like last year I was in the same position and I didn’t know, I didn’t know how I did. Um, and then it hit me whenever they announced it.
Sevan Matossian (18:05):
Um, uh, for some people it’s crazy emotional, especially the person who’s on the cut. Was it crazy emotional for you too? Were you overwhelmed with emotion?
Spencer Panchik (18:15):
It’s always emotional qualifying. It’s just, it’s, it’s, um, it’s a very difficult process, um, getting back to the games and, um, it, I mean it’s just, it’s being grateful every time you do it. It’s just, it’s, it’s a blessing.
Sevan Matossian (18:29):
Uh, Elise Car Rid, I don’t know where this question’s coming from. This is a weird question. I apologize. Uh, Spencer, will you let Sevan cover you in the behind the scenes? I, I mean, if I were, if there, if I were to be there,
Spencer Panchik (18:41):
I’d love it. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (18:42):
Well, so, wow. Flattered. Thank you. You’re crazy. Elise. I’d never leave my office. Why would I, why would I be going <laugh>? I do have to get to Chicago, which is kind of weird. <laugh>, um, uh, Heidi Krum is Saxon coming to the games?
Spencer Panchik (18:57):
Um, he said he was, he said, I don’t know what day he’s getting out there, but he said he’d be out there. He better be out there. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (19:06):
I, I, I am, um, I’m, I’m projecting, but I think all of us, when we think of you and, um, Scott and Saxon, we just think you guys all share one brain. So like, if you have it, like, like if you sit down for a stake, you’re like, guys, I’m muting a mistake. And then you ha you know what I mean? Like, like, you guys are in communication just every second.
Spencer Panchik (19:24):
It’s so funny ’cause we’ll walk into the gym and, um, ’cause Scott and I both work with Born primitive and like, we’ll walk in and we’re literally wearing the same outfit like every time. <laugh>,
Sevan Matossian (19:36):
You know, what’s a trip is, you, you, well, because we all knew Scott first before we knew you, you guys, um, it’s, it’s like you guys are turning into him. Like when I was, when I was yesterday, when I was researching you and like going through and look at all your Instagram posts, my brain wants to say you’re Scott <laugh>. Like, as you get older and older, you look more and more like him. But I mean, it, the only reason why I think like that is ’cause he came first, right?
Spencer Panchik (20:01):
Yeah. We get called each other’s names all the time when we’re like competing or traveling, it’s like, Hey, this tax expense <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (20:09):
Does your mom do it too?
Spencer Panchik (20:11):
No, she doesn’t do it.
Sevan Matossian (20:12):
Oh. Because I’ll, I’ll do that. Like, I’ll get angry at one kid and I’ll say the f the, the other two kids’ names first and then finally get to the right name. You know
Spencer Panchik (20:21):
What I mean? My dad, my dad will do it. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (20:24):
Yeah. Like he wants to yell at Spencer. He’s like, Scott, don’t do Sax Spencer. Yeah. That’s how I get, I’m just get all fucking flustered and shit. Yeah,
Spencer Panchik (20:31):
It’s like, ah, you can’t be mad anymore. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (20:35):
Um, you have a, you have a kid.
Spencer Panchik (20:38):
I do. Not
Sevan Matossian (20:39):
You? No, no. It’s okay. It’s Saxon does. Okay. Well, congratulations. Good, smart <laugh>. Uh, you have a, um, are, are you married?
Spencer Panchik (20:49):
I’m getting married right after the games.
Sevan Matossian (20:51):
No, shit.
Spencer Panchik (20:52):
Yeah, two weeks after.
Sevan Matossian (20:55):
And, and how long have you been with your fiance?
Spencer Panchik (20:57):
Two years.
Sevan Matossian (20:59):
And and what, what, uh, why do you think you’re getting married? Um, like the rest of that. Why do you think <laugh>? Why do I think <laugh>?
Spencer Panchik (21:06):
I think it’s time. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (21:09):
Um, and and is something you’re excited about?
Spencer Panchik (21:12):
Very excited. Very excited. It’ll be, it’ll be fun.
Sevan Matossian (21:16):
And then, um, and then you’ll start. Do you guys have plans like, uh, you know where you’ll live, you’ll have a kid, you’ll get a dog you’ll like, is there, is there, or is it just like, yo getting married’s enough,
Spencer Panchik (21:27):
Getting married’s enough right now? <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (21:29):
Yeah. Yeah. And, and how and how is it being an uncle? Saxon has one kid and Scott has one kid, or Scott has two now.
Spencer Panchik (21:36):
Uh, Scott has two. And then Saxon has two twin girls.
Sevan Matossian (21:41):
Oh, right. Okay. Thank you. I I I do remember that. So you have four nieces and nephews. Are you enjoying being an uncle?
Spencer Panchik (21:48):
I love it. I, my oldest brother has four kids too, so, um, I love being an uncle. It’s so much fun. <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (21:57):
Is who’s, what’s your older brother’s name?
Spencer Panchik (21:59):
Sean.
Sevan Matossian (22:00):
Is he, um, oh, all s’s
Spencer Panchik (22:03):
Everybody’s, yeah. There’s six of us.
Sevan Matossian (22:07):
Sean, Spencer, Scott, Saxon,
Spencer Panchik (22:10):
Steve, and Shayna.
Sevan Matossian (22:12):
Oh shit. Wow. Um, well, does the whole, oh, okay. Bye. See you. I wonder if, did you take the whole family there? If you’re a games athlete, is it, um, I wonder if it’s like being married or, or having a wedding. Everyone in the family feels obligated to come. ’cause it’s kind of big. She’s a twin too. I think Sacks. I think Sack. I think, I wonder if they have two sets of twins. That would be crazy. Hey dude, I don’t know what happened. Two sets of twins. <laugh> are, are, um, Shayna and Steve twins?
Spencer Panchik (22:49):
No.
Sevan Matossian (22:50):
You’re the only twins?
Spencer Panchik (22:52):
Yeah, we’re the only twins.
Sevan Matossian (22:55):
And you guys are identical twins?
Spencer Panchik (22:57):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (22:58):
W were the, um, were Scott’s kids identical?
Spencer Panchik (23:03):
Uh, Scott doesn’t have twins.
Sevan Matossian (23:06):
Uh, sorry. Were Saxons s’s were Saxon’s kids. I, um, identical.
Spencer Panchik (23:12):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (23:14):
Crazy twins are. God, is he, was he stoked? Did you ever talk to his wife about that? Was she stoked or was she tripping?
Spencer Panchik (23:21):
Well, she’s a twin too, but they were so excited.
Sevan Matossian (23:24):
Oh, that’s what someone was saying in the comment. She’s a twin two. Holy shit. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. Okay. There we go. Okay. Thank you Jessica. Everyone getting me up to onto that Pancheck, uh, trivia. Hey, so when you get married, I’m as like, people in the family, like, like feel obligated to go. Right? All your siblings are like, yay, congratulations. And then they get off the phone with you. They’re like, fuck, I gotta rework my schedule. I gotta <laugh>. Is the games like that too. Do your siblings all feel obligated, um, to come to, uh, Madison?
Spencer Panchik (23:57):
No. No. It, it used to be like that <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (24:01):
And, and then what happened? Life sets in, people got jobs and kids and
Spencer Panchik (24:06):
Yeah, everybody has, uh, everybody has a family, which is totally understandable, but again, it’s my job and I’m not going and watching them do their job. <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (24:14):
So you’re cool with it?
Spencer Panchik (24:16):
Yeah, I’m fine with it. I get it. My sister, she’ll be on her honeymoon then.
Sevan Matossian (24:21):
Um, what about, um, your wife’s family? Do they come to Madison?
Spencer Panchik (24:27):
Uh, I don’t think, I think her sister might be coming to Madison. Um, most of those guys work, so they’ll, I mean, they’ll pop to like Guap Palooza and some other events, like they were at semi-finals.
Sevan Matossian (24:39):
How does your, um, h how, how is your wife doing with you going to the games for the second year in a row? Pumped still for you?
Spencer Panchik (24:45):
Yeah’s? Yeah, she’s excited. She’ll do everything she can, uh, to help me and just take some stress off.
Sevan Matossian (24:52):
Is she, is she a, um, how, how involved is she? Is she, like, does she know the ins and outs of your, of your CrossFit career? Yeah, she, she does. So she’s a bit of a fan too. Like, like when I talked to Jake Gaza, Alex husband, he’s like, not only the husband, but he’s a huge fan of his wife. Is she a huge fan too?
Spencer Panchik (25:13):
Yeah, absolutely. Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (25:16):
That’s awesome.
Spencer Panchik (25:19):
Yeah, because she’s, she came out here to Utah with me. She works remotely, so she’s able to come and, uh, do everything with me, which is awesome.
Sevan Matossian (25:27):
Yeah. You like that?
Spencer Panchik (25:28):
Yeah.
Sevan Matossian (25:31):
If you, if you didn’t, if you needed to go somewhere and, and you didn’t want her to come, would you tell her? Like, when, when I told my mom I’m going to, uh, I better rephrase this. If I, if I tell my mom something like, Hey, I’m going to, or even my wife, I’m going to go film something somewhere. Let’s say I’m going to, I don’t know, Paris to film something. They, they might say, oh, can I come and I, and I’ll be like, uh, no <laugh>, it’s fucking, it’s fucking work. No, you can’t come. I’m up at 5:00 AM get home at 10:00 PM and you’re just gonna stress me out.
Spencer Panchik (26:00):
Yeah. I mean, there’ll be times like, I mean, we’ll have a conversation about it if, if we don’t think it’s a good choice, but, um, yeah, I mean, we’re just very transparent with each other.
Sevan Matossian (26:10):
Yeah. Yeah. That’s huge because it’s, it is not that you don’t want them to come, it’s just like, it’s like you’re trying to make this like streamlined as best, as fast as you can so you then can get back and Yeah. Back to your life.
Spencer Panchik (26:24):
Yeah. ’cause I mean, there’s some stuff that we’ll do. We’re like, oh man, like this will be a cold trip, or this one’s more I’ll be there for 24 hours. Like, it’s not really worth it. <laugh>
Sevan Matossian (26:34):
How old are you, Spencer?
Spencer Panchik (26:35):
27.
Sevan Matossian (26:38):
And, and how, how many years did you try to make it to the games before you, um, made it last year?
Spencer Panchik (26:44):
I mean, in my head, I’ve said it, I’ve said it since Scott. When? In 2012. Um,
Sevan Matossian (26:48):
No shit at that. When you were that young,
Spencer Panchik (26:51):
Was it realistic? No. <laugh>. Um, but I, I, I feel like that’s what really drove me because I was always chasing his numbers and, um, until I You were
Sevan Matossian (27:00):
15 then. You were 15. Ah, right.
Spencer Panchik (27:04):
Somewhere in
Sevan Matossian (27:05):
That. What year were you born? Are you born in 97?
Spencer Panchik (27:07):
96.
Sevan Matossian (27:08):
96, okay. So you were like, yeah, 56. So from 16 years old, you were like determined?
Spencer Panchik (27:13):
Yeah, I was really, I was really young. Um, and definitely wasn’t realistic, I don’t think until I was like, probably 20. It’s just, I think the guys, it’s, it’s, we don’t really grow into our bodies and get that man strength until you hit your twenties, I feel like <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (27:29):
And so, did you ever see the, um, I’m, I’m guessing at some point you were certain you were like, were you certain, like at 19 years old, were you certain, okay. It’s inevitable that I’d go to the games and then did that ever Dimm, um, before last year, were you ever like, fuck, I might not, this might not happen.
Spencer Panchik (27:49):
Yeah, I mean, I feel like it, it’s dimmed a little bit. Um, like I went in, like, tried to do like different things and I just kept getting pulled back in the CrossFit. It’s just, it’s an addiction to me. Like, I can’t, I can’t stop. I I, I didn’t wanna leave it <laugh>.
Sevan Matossian (28:03):
So, so a couple years ago before you made it to games, there was a chance where you, you let your brain go, like, okay, maybe I should do this.
Spencer Panchik (28:10):
Well, I wanted, so I went in, um, I did like the police academy, um, because I thought that was something that I wanted to do alongside CrossFit. And, um, then I was like, no, like, I’m not, like, I’m not stopping this. And I came back and yeah, I just, I, I couldn’t give it up. Like I couldn’t walk away from it.
Sevan Matossian (28:27):
How was the police academy? Tell me about that. How far, how far down did you make it?
Spencer Panchik (28:31):
Um, I made it really far in and then I, I ran into some issues with our gym. We lost like, uh, ’cause I had a, an affiliate with my twin brother Saxon, and we lost a couple coaches, so I ended up having to pull outta the academy to, uh, go back into running the gym. And then once I got back in there, I was like, no, like I, like, I need to stick the CrossFit. Like this is like, this is what I wanna do.
Sevan Matossian (28:56):
Is that, um, are, are you good at managing stress? That sounds crazy stressful to me. Like be doing the academy and then have to pull out and then you lose some coaches and then to make a life decision to go back to wanting to go to the games. Sounds,
Spencer Panchik (29:09):
Yeah, I was really stressful. Like, ’cause I had to drive an hour into it, so I was up at like 3 30, 4 in the morning and then I’d go in, I’d get out at three coach classes and then train and then do it again. Um, so I did that for probably like three or four months. And then I was like, I need to, like, once I ran into that issue with the coaches in the morning, um, I ended up coming back in and, and doing some of those classes and it’s like, this is what I need to do.
Sevan Matossian (29:38):
And you just pull, you just pull out of the academy.
Spencer Panchik (29:40):
You just tell your instructors, Hey, I’m, I’m out. Yeah, it was really, it was really hard to do because I don’t like walking away from anything. But at the same time, I felt like I was walking away from CrossFit too. Um, and that was like, that was, I just felt like that was where I belonged. Um, I felt like I was given like these gifts to, to be.
The above transcript is generated using AI technology and therefore may contain errors.
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