PORT ANGELES — CrossFit is on the move in Port Angeles.
The Olympic Peninsula YMCA, which jumped-started the popular strength and conditioning program in Port Angeles, has transferred ownership of its expanded CrossFit operation at the Port Angeles Plaza to a business co-owned by former YMCA CrossFit coach Sean Johnson.
Storm King CrossFit will move the group exercise classes from the plaza at 2026 E. First St. to a remodeled Peninsula Daily News warehouse at 304 W. Front St. on July 1.
“We want to thank the YMCA because they’re the ones that brought CrossFit to the Olympic Peninsula,” said Johnson, who co-owns the small business with Dawn Mason and Adrianne Rygaard.
Olympic Peninsula YMCA CEO Kyle Cronk announced the transfer of ownership last week.
He described Johnson as a “tireless Y and CrossFit advocate who was a significant promoter for CrossFit expansion to the Port Angeles Plaza.”
The ownership and lease transfer became official Saturday.
Storm King is the second Port Angeles CrossFit company that originated at the Olympic Peninsula YMCA, which is headquartered at 302 S. Francis St.
Shawn Sinskie and Karen Brown opened CrossFit ThunderRidge at 325½ W. Second St. last month.
“In a short time frame, we provided a home for people to develop a close-knit community centered on a passion for leading a healthy lifestyle,” Cronk said in a statement.
“Sean Johnson and Shawn Sinskie, two of our program’s early coaches, immersed themselves fully in the CrossFit community and are both ready to expand CrossFit further by opening their own small business.”
Cronk, a CrossFit instructor himself, brought the program to the YMCA shortly after he was hired in 2009.
“The Y’s cause is to strengthen community, and we believe the best way to accomplish that is to find areas in the community where there is need and meet it,” Cronk said.
“Duplication of service, for us, detracts from our core mission.”
Although it is losing CrossFit, the YMCA continues to offer indoor cycling, yoga, Pilates, Zumba, group strength training, step exercise classes and many other health and wellness programs and youth activities.
Variety of exercises
CrossFit involves a variety of exercises, including weightlifting, sprinting, gymnastics, power lifting, kettle bell training, plyometrics, rowing and medicine ball training.
The weightload and intensity are tailored to the individual, with an emphasis on technique and proper form.
Johnson has worked with children as young as 5 and people in their 70s.
“We scale all workouts accordingly,” he said.
Johnson said he was “immediately humbled” when he took his first CrossFit class at the YMCA.
Although he has a military background, the 40-year-old said he is now in the best shape of his life.
Johnson is also the information technology manager at Olympic Medical Center.
He said he is spending less time working out than he ever has because of intensity and variability of the exercises.
He added that the best part of being a CrossFit instructor is seeing the physical and mental transformation of members as they strive to meet their goals, whether they’re chiseled physical specimens or 100 pounds overweight.
“As soon as they walk in the door, we call them athletes,” said Johnson, who compared the coaching experience to “watching your kid’s training wheels come off every day.”
“They start doing amazing things,” he said.
“They start achieving amazing goals.”
Johnson said the business is moving from the plaza because the landlords want to repurpose the space.
PDN Publisher and Editor John Brewer said Storm King CrossFit has rented the former newsprint warehouse for the next three years.
“It’s a great operation,” Brewer said.
Group hikes
Storm King CrossFit got its name from group hikes up Mount Storm King, one of many bonding activities.
“Our athletes are so much more than just a CrossFit member. We have all become friends,” Johnson said.
“Or as we often tell each other, we’re a family.”
Single adult fees for Storm King CrossFit range from $100 to $140 per month, depending on the number of workout days.
Couples can work out together for between $150 to $175 per month, and kids and teens can join for $30 and $40, respectively.
For more information on Storm King CrossFit, visit www.stormkingcrossfit.com.
For information on CrossFit ThunderRidge, visit www.crossfitthunderridge.com.
“We are proud to have been a catalyst for these CrossFit establishments and that the Port Angeles community now has more options for physical activity,” Cronk said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5072, or at rollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
