Today we’d like to introduce you to Chris Coker.
Chris, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I earned a Bachelor’s degree at Texas A&M – Commerce while playing NCAA golf, and heading up the University’s NCAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. During that time, I learned the basics of Olympic Weightlifting and started self-educating myself in the world of exercise science and strength and conditioning. Later, in 2009 I began working with CrossFit athletes and coaching more weightlifters at New Braunfels CrossFit. I returned to the DFW area to open CrossFit Wylie in early 2012. Since that time, I have been fortunate enough to coach multiple National Champions and National Record holders in weightlifting and multiple CrossFit Games athletes. I’ve Traveled the world coaching Team USA athletes, and my Wife Laura and I have watched our local gym grow into a community of over 250 youth and adult athletes.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has been a relatively smooth road, fortunately. We face the same challenges any small business owner faces such as financing growth, find proper facilities and location, balancing work and family life, and so on. But we’ve been blessed to have great people around us, supporting us both personally and professionally.
Please tell us about CrossFit Wylie.
CrossFit Wylie’s core business is centered around our adult group fitness classes where we simply focus on being as fit as possible while staying safe, having fun, and staying focused on long-term goals of healthy happy lives. We also offer CrossFit Kids, where we introduce our youth to fitness and educate them that exercise and activity can be just as fun as an iPad or video game, with the goal of setting them up with lifelong habits of staying active and healthy. Within the CrossFit community, we are known for our weightlifting team where we are a training site for Power and Grace Performance, one of the best weightlifting teams in the country. We also have two National Record holders training at our gym for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 and half dozen or so state record holders looking to make a name for themselves. What most people don’t know is that we also specialists in strength and conditioning for other sports and have trained countless collegiate athletes along with professionals from the NFL, WNBA and other Olympic sports. What really sets us apart from all other gyms is my wife, Laura Coker, she has her own Physical Therapy practice within our facility and specializes in preventative care, working diligently with athletes and members that have weaknesses and imbalances that make them prone to injury, ultimately preventing the need for serious treatment down the road. We call it pre-op care to avoid post-op care. Additionally, we offer yoga classes, personal training, and more.
Over the past couple of year’s Laura and I have also had the amazing chance to help two other gyms open in the Dallas area. CrossFit Torva opened on Beltline in Carrolton in 2015 and CrossFit Allen opened at Stacy & 75 last year. Both facilities are top notch and have great coaches providing an excellent service!
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite memory from early childhood was getting my first car, a blue electric Jeep wrangler for Christmas! I drove the wheels off that thing, along with the doors, hood, and every other piece. From there I went on to race go-karts, and race sprint cars professionally starting at 15. I ultimately gave that up to pursue golf and college, but that first car changed everything!
Contact Info:
- Address: 120 Security Ct. Wylie, TX 75098
- Website: www.crossfitwylie.com
- Phone: 903-513-5766
- Email: crossfitwylie@gmail.com
- Instagram: /crossfitwylie
- Facebook: /crossfitwylie
Image Credit:
Lifting Life
Sick Angles
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