Athlete of the Month: September 2015
LAURA HAMMDORFF
Member Since: April 2011
Nickname: Hammer
Windy City: While Laura (aka Hammer) was skeptical from the beginning, we eventually won her over here at Windy City. To say she has done the same with us is a massive understatement. Over the course of the past four and half years, Hammer has become an integral part of the Windy City community. Always good for a laugh and a smile, Laura loves to keep it light in the gym. And while Hammer is truly a phenomenal athlete, she's an even better person. We're lucky and honored to call her one of our own.
"Mistakes are part of the game. It’s how well you recover from them, that’s the mark of a great player" - Alice Cooper
Hammer: Windy City has, in large part, made Chicago home for me. When I moved to the city from Boston five years ago, I spent the better part of my first year traveling out of state four days a week for work, struggling to settle in to a city where I knew no one, and looking for an outlet to replace the one I had from swimming competitively for ten years.
Like a number of people, I was hesitant to join a “crossfit” gym because of its reputation, but after a bit of coaxing from a former college teammate and an initial meeting with Justin and Sheena, I decided to give it a shot. I remained skeptical throughout my whole on-ramp process, and had decided not to sign up for a membership, when I was once again coaxed in to at least participating in the Crossfit open, which was starting the next week, before I made a final decision.
Cut to four and a half years later, and I’m still here. As an athlete, I’ve been able to challenge myself (and at times, Justin’s patience) with multiple types of training programs, and have successfully found that competitive outlet I wanted so badly.
As a typical twenty-something, Windy City and its community has been the one constant for me through seven moves, three job changes, and all of the other ups and downs that accompany your mid to late twenties. Many of my strongest friendships have started within the gym walls, and I’ve always found the advice, laughs and reality checks I’ve needed from the coaches and members.
Justin, Sheena, Mully, Captain, Tings, Jo and the Brochicks…special thanks to all of you for your continual encouragement both in and out of the gym, and for putting up daily with my sarcasm, obsession with carbs, and propensity for overly dramatic facial expressions and storytelling. You all make every day more fun than the last.
To DK, Niner, Holly, Bean, Sawyer and the other old timers who have since moved on from Windy City, thank you for pulling me in and making me part of the fam from the start.
Recently, Coach Austin wrote a blog post about how WCSC is “unlike any other”, and I can say that my experience here has never made me think any differently. To me, Windy City is a community that has grown over the years from a place to get in a daily workout to a vision that challenges each and every one of its members to create and live the adventure they’ve always wanted, and I consider myself lucky to be a part of it.
Recent Adventures
Since joining Windy City, I’ve dabbled in a bit of everything; I ran Ragnar in 2011, have tried my hand at Oly competitions, and was lucky enough to participate in the 2012 CrossFit Regionals competition as part of the Windy City team. I took a break from 2012-2014 to focus on rehabbing an old shoulder injury, and most recently have enjoyed getting back in to the swing of competitions with the 2015 Open and the day to day training with the Competition team. Outside of the gym, highlights of the past few years have been trips to the Grecian islands, Yosemite, a polar plunge in to Lake Michigan this past winter, and simply taking advantage of all the adventures Chicago has to offer.
Future Adventures
Currently, I have a trip to the Bourbon trail scheduled for this fall, and I’m angling to get back over to Europe next spring. Bolded and underlined on the bucket list is also a hiking trip to New Zealand and the Australian coast at some point in the hopefully not too distant future. Athletically, I’m planning to compete in the 2016 Open, and whatever other competitions or meets strike my fancy along the way. I will also continue to compete with Beef in any and everything possible, until we set a date for our final tete-a-tete. Don’t think I forgot about that, Beefie.
Personal Goals
At the Gym / Athletics: I tend to have frequently changing goals, but the overarching ones are continuing to remain injury free and to challenge myself to become a better competitor both mentally and physically. I’m also always on the hunt to grow the Brochick army, and, more concretely, will be chasing a double body weight back squat in the near future.
Professionally: I’m still very much finding my stride in my career, which I consider to be a good thing. I love what I do and I’m lucky to have a number of paths to choose from as I look to grow in the future. Honestly, I can say my goal right now is to decide which of those paths I want to venture down, and then pursue it.
Personal: I’ve spent the past year or so trying to be more patient with myself (and others), and focusing on enjoying the moment without worrying too much about having a plan or predetermined path. Both are things I still struggle with, so I’d like to continue growing in that aspect, while also getting outside of my comfort zone a bit and trying some activities that I wouldn’t normally seek out.
Words to live by:
Find joy in everything you choose to do. Every job, relationship, home... it's your responsibility to love it, or change it. -Chuck Palahniuk
Kyle Eertmoed posted at 12:24pm on Sep. 11, 2015
Great story, Hammer. Congrats!