Crystal Hatch
Crystal has long been involved in the development of various fitness modalities and has been passionate about movement since childhood. Her journey has crossed disciplines like running, outdoor sports like hiking and backpacking, Krav Maga, gymnastics strength training, traditional weight training, yoga, and calisthenics. Crystal co-created, built, and ran the first adult gymnastics strength training facility in the world – Awaken – for more than 7 years in the Mile High City of Denver where she still resides.
My Journey
I've always been passionate about movement. Running, Krav Maga (street fighting), gymnastics strength training, weight training, and calisthenics. I had a very successful brick-and-mortar gym in Denver but Covid forced us to get incredibly creative and transform our top-rated, world-renowned gym to a method of training that's entirely online. Which anyone can access now, not just Denver locals. Creating ClubCal transformed into this exciting, utterly new fitness method blending calisthenics and free weights.
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As an entrepreneur, I want to empower others to find love and movement in their bodies, regardless of what they look like or where they start. The moment when someone first kicks up into a handstand holds a tuck planche, or goes upside-down on the stall bars for the first time is the reason why I do this! To get someone to feel strong and empowered. The fun part is you can start at home, no mask required. Read more about my journey here!
How Did You Start Club Calisthenics?
Club Calisthenics has been 10 years in the making and is a culmination of the most effective fitness methodologies. My past experience as an online fitness coach and the owner of a world-renowned gymnastics strength training center in Denver, CO - Awaken Adult Gymnastics has helped to shape the ClubCal method. I have hosted professionals and athletes from around the world – yogis, hand balancers, calisthenics pros, Cirque du Soleil performers, gymnastics professionals, and podcasters (Tim Ferriss). I've been incredibly lucky to have the opportunity to create a training method that distills knowledge from everyone I've learned from and trained with.
At ClubCal we believe that skills come from your strength, which is why we've developed a method using both free weights and calisthenics exercises to build your body from the ground up. We've taken our favorite "foods" (exercise) from each "dish" (person) and created our own special recipe. Everyone who's had the opportunity to try out our method comes out feeling hooked and wanting more. We wake up your body with exercises that many have never tried before.
One of the challenges with my strong belief in collaboration is that it can be hard to maintain the balance of learning new things while also staying true to our vision. My body image is constantly challenged by what the media expects from me as a fitness professional. Still bigger than that is the body image that surrounds the fitness industry in general. I am here standing strong to remind people that there isn't one definition of beauty, strength, or perseverance. It exists in all of us, in all shapes and forms. Our unique characteristics and limitations also can become our strengths. Someone who is naturally gifted in strength may struggle in mobility and visa-versa. There is no body-shaming at Club Calisthenics, and we don't praise weight loss, or physical change, because it is triggering and emotional for so many of us. Changes in our physique happen as a result of the programming but it's not the main goal.
We don't objectify bodies, but we celebrate the way they move. We want to change the way fitness exists in our minds… we want to empower people to be active because of what it allows them to DO with their bodies, not because of what their bodies look like. It's about movement and feeling stronger both mentally and physically after.
As a fitness professional, entrepreneur, and business owner with an intimate knowledge of bodyweight training and high motor intelligence, I believe that fitness is also cerebral. Your vestibular sense uses information from tiny cells in your inner ear to provide you with information about gravity, balance, and movement of your body through space. I'm very into kinesthetic senses and I truly enjoy helping people grow and learn more about this type of fitness. In the industry, there is this almost rush mentally that more is better! But if you can slow down in your training, you'll fee each muscle group and get more "bang for your buck.".
I believe I have a responsibility to not only my team but to the community and the world at large. If you have something that you've found to be transformational, you MUST share it. It is your legacy and your responsibility. It has absolutely been a struggle to find footing as a female business owner in a male-dominated industry. It's hard to be taken seriously or to stand up alongside some of the strongest professionals in the industry and find your worth. I've struggled to balance my work with my personal life, and have often found myself missing out on social outings and healthy relationships because my love for, and drive for my businesses always seem to lead my heart and is the focus of my energy.