Mark found his love of fitness and working out while playing hockey growing up outside Chicago. As a sophomore in high school, his coach inspired him to buy a cheap weight set from the newspaper. After learning to do curls in the basement, Mark started training at the local park district gym where he became hooked on working out. Through lots of training, he was able to maximize mediocre talent. He played four years of hockey at St. Olaf College…although he was a much better player in the weight room than on the ice. After college, Mark dabbled in other sports from broomball to triathlons to rugby.
Eventually, Mark’s training devolved into watching TV on the elliptical machine. After a late night pizza and ice cream binge, he saw an ad for CrossFit on ESPN.com. He checked out a local class and has now been hooked for more than a decade. For Mark, CrossFit is a fun place to sweat and hangout with friends. He calls it his “grown up recess.” Mark loves rowing and credits his affinity for fine cigars the key to increased aerobic capacity.
Outside of CrossFit, Mark is a professor of business at North Central University in Minneapolis and does marketing and strategy consulting for a variety of businesses. He and his wife Stephanie (who is also a coach at City of Lakes) enjoy helping at their church and taking care of their Rottweiler Hoda.
– Crossfit Level 1 Trainer
