Congrats to John Hamlet on being our March Athlete of the Month. This is a very delayed post being it's the end of the month but it's not his fault. John was the fastest to ever respond to the questions below. He is the second straight 6:45am member to ho...

Congrats Brandon on the February honor! As stated multiple times, this monthly acknowledgement often goes to those who aren't looking for it. There individuals are putting in the put because they want to and are focused on their personal goals. This is ex...

Many of you may know Clem from being in class with her and some of you may not have met her at all. She is the perfect example of the saying "She is small but mighty." We are proud to announce Clem as our first Athlete of the Month in the year 2024. Clem ...

Andy Ray closed out 2023 as our Decemeber Athlete of the Month. He has become a 6:45am regular. This honor is certainly something he never expected and wasn't shooting for. That's the beauty of it. He has worked his ass off since joining us and has been r...

Congrats to to Drew on being our November honor! Well deserved is an understatement. For starters, credit Yas for bringing Drew in as they were looking for to new gym that suited their wants and needs. Drew started here while injured. It's very challengin...

My apologies for the delay on this much deserved post. Congratulations Catherine and thank you for being our October Athlete of the Month. You're a pleasure to coach and chat with (usually at 5:30am). Catherine joined Island Park Fitness just about a year...

Mike Fina is our September Athlete of the Month. This comes one year after he joined us, and that is coincidental. It's been awesome to see Mike's progress over the last year and his shift in confidence in here. I would like to commend him on his patience...

Thank you Dominique for humbly accepting the honor of August Athlete of the Month. You not only deserve it but you set a standard of character inside and outside the gym walls. You will all learn a but more about Dom in her Q&A as I did but one thing ...

Sorry for the delay on the post, but his photo has been on the wall all month. Congrats to Mike DeRise on our July honor. He is a 6:45am regular and a genuinely good dude. If Mike gives you a compliment, he really means it. He's not just blowing smoke up ...

Our June honor goes to a 5:30am regular and extremely dedicated athlete. Jamie Demerest joined our community just 6 months ago with her sister after training elsewhere. Consistency is something we all strive for as a daily habit, but at 5:30am is another ...

I am happy to announce that our May Athlete of the Month is Amir Anah. He is one of the most wanted individuals in the mid morning classes. When members across 3 classes are wondering if you are going to be in their class, it's a big deal. Amir joined the...

It won't take long into reading this Q&A for many of you to find something you relate to. We are honored to have Pat Grisafi as our April Athlete of the Month honor. Again, this goes to a guy who wasn't looking for it, this honor has never been a goal...

We are proud to name Pam Regan our March 2023 Athlete of the Month. It was a surprise to Pam when I told her because she said "I'm not a rockstar athlete like these others." One thing I have said over and over again is that this title is not about being t...

Congratulations Duki on a much deserved Miss February Athlete of the Month honor. I've known Duki only in the gym setting for nearly two years now and have had great conversations be it during or after classes. She may very well be the best self managed p...

It didn't take too long after John started here to see that he was a good fit. We are lucky that he was detailed to Coach Casey's firehouse and Casey brought him in. Our monthly honorees come from all different personal and athletic backgrounds. John is a...

We are happy to announce Janice Grassini is our final Athlete of the Month of 2022. Most of you know and have taken class with Janice over the last 10 years. Yes that's right. Janice has been a gym member here for the last decade and consistency really is...

I'm sorry for the delay on our November honor. It's not because we did not have this individual selected. Michele's hard work and consistency has been noticed by the entire coaching staff for a while now. While reading through the Q&A, I'm sure many o...

I am very sorry for the tardiness on this post but I am not sorry with our selection for the October Athlete of the Month honor. Danni Napoli was chosen out of a few stand out names in the coaches' discussion. Let me start off by saying it is an absolute ...

Congratulations Jarrod! We are proud to honor your dedication and hard work with the title of September Athlete of the Month. The first time I met Jarrod was when Izzy brought him and Amir in to introduce me and show them the gym. They were on motorcycles...

I am extremely happy with not only my selection but every single coaches suggestion for our August Athlete of the Month. Dawn is so very deserving of this acknowledgement. If you haven't met Dawn yet, you can find her in most 7pm classes (if she doesn't g...

Let me begin this Athlete of the Month intro by saying it was the first time a photo shoot was requested. And by the look of the finished product, you crushed it Annie! There is so much to say yet so little needed if you want to skip through right to the ...

There are some members who are well derserving of the Athlete of the Month honor but do not necessarily 'need' the recognition. Brian Eidens has definitely landed himself on that list over the last year and he solidified himself this month with the June h...

Our 69th Athlete of the Month in Island Park Fitness is Joe Dressler, aka Joey Tatz. There was no hesitation when selecting Joe for our May 2022 honor. He has made some serious lifestyle changes for the better and feels great. Like many others you meet in...

Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honor to announce Chrissie Hult as our April Athlete of the Month. There are a number of our members who never consider themselves an athlete because they never played orangized sports or played for their school. If you are ...

It is my pleasure to honor Molly Zarba as our March Athlete of the Month. Molly is a daily representation of our vision at Island Park Fitness. Longevity has been her goal and continues to be. She probably has been doing CF style training longer than most...

Our February Athlete of the Month is well known in our gym for being "the runner." Most of you know that Kathy runs to and from the gym (10k total) 99% of the time. It's quite the warmup and cool down. It's also a great way for her to "collect reps" in he...

  I don’t think Miss January 2022 needs much of an introduction but I’m going to share my thoughts and appreciation for our honoree. Margo has one of the biggest personalities that has ever stepped foot in our gym. She also has one of the...

  There are times when an athlete stands out in the coaches’ eyes and the recognition is a huge help to keep up their positive habits and consistency. There are times when we look at a few potential Athlete of the Month candidates and say of th...

  I am happy to congratulate one of the most humble and appreciative people I have ever met. Izzy Fried is our November Athlete of the Month by no mistake. When you read his Q&A below you may find some things you have in common with him. Maybe lo...

  Many of you do not know Mike Lee. He is a quiet guy, but he his a hard worker. You will find him in fitness class or spending some time at open gym working on additional movements. When selecting the next Athlete of the Month, we took a look at the...

  Jully 2021 is July 2018. When I introduced Vinny as our Athlete of the Month (again), I wanted to do it in front of a big group. So the packed out Saturday class a couple weeks ago was the perfect opportunity. What I said that day after a sweat par...

  A big congratulations and thank you to Lauren Lopresti (Lopes on the whiteboard) for being our October Athlete of the Month. This really was an easy decision when thinking about what makes a model member. I first met Lauren back in August of 2020 w...

  When Coach Kyle texted me that he has the next athlete of the month, Vlad Sidoren was his pick with zero hesitation. It’s been easy to witness the progress, growth and consistency in Vlad over the last year but more so over the last few month...

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