Andy Petranek is the founder of CrossFit Los Angeles. He has been inspiring people to lives of health and fitness for over 20 years. His passion for life and sport has led him in many directions - from classical music as a teenager, to the Marine Corps, whitewater kayaking, and professional adventure racing. His skills as a coach come from years spent as a student, his "beginners mindset", and his desire to grow and learn continuously through life. He trains/coaches individuals and groups of all ages and fitness levels in nutrition, fitness, and athletic conditioning. His workouts, designed to be completed in less than 30 minutes, are the most effective and efficient you'll find anywhere.
I’ve been coaching and motivating people in and around health and fitness for the last 20 years. Many people find it hard to believe that I ever had a life before fitness, however, I wasn't an athlete at all prior to college, I was, in fact, a musician. Growing up in a family of classical musicians, I played just about every instrument you can think of... finally settling on the trumpet by the time I hit high school (with the string bass a close second). The culmination of my musical study came with my acceptance into the Eastman School of Music. Freshman year of at the University of Rochester changed ALL that – surprise, surprise!

That first year of college I learned about fraternities, sports, and girls…Need I say more? Music was now completely out of the picture, and with an ROTC scholarship, and a desire to be a Marine, fitness became a priority. Training for Officer Candidate School, and then OCS itself became my introduction to intensity - days and days of training and workouts that could literally leave you wasted for hours, depleted, dehydrated, utterly exhausted, way worse then just a "nice" visit from Mr. Pukie. With school, my platoon sergeant, early morning workouts, fraternity parties, and finals behind me, I graduated and was commissioned an officer in the United States Marine Corps.

The first year in the Marines probably the most challenging... it was also an amazing learning experience. I learned everything about being an infantryman or “grunt” – from tactics, and land navigation to communication and leadership. I became an expert shot, learned knots backwards and forwards, learned how to SCUBA dive, even repelled off helicopters. Then, as a combat engineer, I learned about building things, laying minefields and obstacles and then explosives – how to blow things up! After that, the real “fun” began - I reported to my first duty station, Camp Pendleton, CA in the First Combat Engineer Division, checked in with the Colonel, and got the personal files of 40 Marines that I now was responsible for – in the Marines, they call it “Platoon Commander.” I traveled the world with my platoon – California first (a long way from my home state of Maryland), then Hawaii, Panama, the Philippines, and finally Oman, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – yes, the first Gulf War. I loved my experience as a Marine, but after four years, it was definitely time to move on.

For most people, getting a job is priority one when they get out of the military. Not me. I decided to ride my bike across the United States with a couple of friends! Then I got a job – as a sales rep/engineer for a Fortune 500 specialty chemical company. In my free time, I went outdoors taking up cycling, mountain biking, outrigger canoe paddling, whitewater kayaking, snowboarding, rock climbing, and mountaineering. Most of the sports I tried, I took to the extreme... paddling Class IV & V whitewater and waterfalls throughout California, paddling across the Molokai channel, climbing Rainier multiple times, racing my bike across Costa Rica. Then, in 1995, I tackled the Eco Challenge, a round-the-clock, 300-mile expedition adventure race that is regarded by athletes across the world as the greatest, most extreme challenge ever; the premiere test of physical skills and mental tenacity. Yes, it was all that! And since in that first one, my team didn’t finish as a complete team, I HAD to do another one… which led to my third… and fourth. I went on to get sponsored by Red Bull for shorter distance races (24 hours or less), and routinely placed in the top three in at least 30 races over five years.

Mine was a circuitous route to the health and fitness industry, but a route just the same! During years of racing, people regularly asked about what I did to stay in shape, and when I stared telling them, advising them, and training them, it was a very natural fit. I got an entry-level sales job at Gold’s Gym Venice – in the nutrition department, and also became a massage therapist. Wanting more education, I enrolled in UCLA’s fitness instructor program and subsequently attended the prestigious CHEK Institute for corrective, high performance exercise kinesiology and nutrition. I have trained with some of the world’s best coaches in running, corrective exercise, Olympic lifting, gymnastics, and yoga and have coached thousands of people in all aspects of health, fitness and conditioning.

In ’04, while surfing the web, I stumbled upon CrossFit.com. That day forever changed my life. CrossFit to me was a system that encapsulated all I believed about fitness at the time in a very well developed, thought-out and organized system. And when I tried it, it turned my boring, mundane training workouts into athletic challenge... more of a sport. CrossFit had me at day 1... it is currently MY training system of choice. I workout about 3-5 times per week. My diet fluctuates between Zone and strict Paleo. And I quite literally, after 6 years of CrossFit and 44 years old, in the BEST shape of my life! I’m inspired by overachievement and by people beating the odds, and love to see transformation happen in front of my eyes almost every day at CrossFit LA. I love what I do, and love my life. I now have another part of life to love – fatherhood. Julia, my wife, gave birth to our son, Dashel George, on March 8th, 2007 - he is the love of our life. At 4 years old now, I'm starting to teach him some of the things Daddy does... and the next chapter begins!

Links
Endurance Radio.com
Mountain Zone.com - Hi-Tec Adventure Race
Mountain Zone.com - Hi-Tec Adventure Race
Great Outdoors.com - Girl Teams
Mountain Zone.com - Eco Challenge Australia

Michael came on board with CrossFit LA in 2006 and, finding something here that he had never found in his workouts and training before, quickly rose to the top of our leader boards. When he expressed an interest in instructing, we welcomed him with open arms.
I was born in Los Angeles and despite being athletic as a kid, I was never really involved in team sports. I loved being outdoors and running around, but after a brief stint in t-ball followed by a year or two in AYSO, my youth athletic career fizzled unspectacularly. Despite wanting to participate in athletics in high school, my lack of preparation frequently left me on the sidelines. I discovered theatre and music, became enthusiastically involved, and by the end of high school, was accepted to NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts in 1991. I attended for only a year and a half before beginning more than a decade of the bohemian lifestyle of an actor / professional chef / traveler.

In 2003, the little nagging voice in the back of my head finally motivated me to earn my bachelor’s degree. I graduated summa cum laude from UCLA in June 2006 with a degree in philosophy which left me perfectly prepared to wonder, “What now?” I had become a lifting and cardio fanatic while attending NYU and participated in individual recreational sports like climbing and cycling up until my days at UCLA. By the spring of 2006 I had become entirely unsatisfied with the modern traditional philosophy of working out and began experimenting on my own with alternatives to the bodybuilding/endurance model of fitness. When I happened upon an LA Times article about CrossFit and Petranek Fitness that spring, it looked a bit crazy, but it seemed like a good fit for me. After filing the article away for a few months I began training with Petranek Fitness in September of 2006 and have never turned back.

CrossFit inspired me to push myself harder than I ever thought possible, and delivered results that exceeded all of my expectations. For the first time ever, I felt like I was participating in a team sport and training like an athlete, a totally new experience for someone used to traditional weight training and cardio at a “globo” gym. Working out ceased to be a chore and actually became fun, thanks in part to friendly competition and camaraderie, both sorely missing from most of the athletic endeavors of my adult life. When Andy invited me to become a trainee, it sounded like a fantastic way to become an influential part of something that I loved to do every day anyway!

I am now CrossFit certified and a certified Olympic weightlifting coach. I love coaching because of its constant source of inspiration for me – to watch and assist “normal” people from all walks of life as they learn to “do the impossible.” I feel extremely fortunate to have been given the chance to contribute to people’s lives in such a meaningful way. Nothing has been better for me physically or mentally, and I look forward to sharing it with the rest of the world!

Sam came to CFLA straight out of the world of academia. With college professors as parents, athletics were not necessarily revered in his home. But as you'll see when you meet him, with both desire and persistance, anything is possible!
Contrary to popular belief, I was not born a CrossFitter. I did not come out of the womb and land in a full squat, nor was I doing muscle-ups on the mobile above my crib, and until I turned 24, no one ever, EVER accused me of being an “athlete.”

I was born in Lansing, Michigan to two college professors. In our house, reading, proper grammar, and mathematics were revered above game-winning three-pointers and time in the weight room. I did develop a love of watching and playing sports, and spent some of my happiest times going to college football games with my Dad and playing pick-up sports with my friends.

Being the child of academics, I ended up attending University of Chicago in the Fall of 2004. I was not a great student during those years, but there were a few things that kept me sane: playing catch with my high school friend Rob, singing in our glee club (you read that correctly), and playing pick-up basketball at Ratner Field House.

Midway through my senior year at UChicago, my friend Jacob, who is a real athlete, started telling me I had to try this thing called “CrossFit.” I took a look at the website, but the workouts seemed to be so long and so difficult, I didn’t know where to start. My friend kept steadily insisting, and I eventually gave it a shot.

The first workout I attempted left me lying on the floor, begging for mercy after 10 minutes. After a week of painful walking and injured pride, I resolved to be good at this thing which had beaten me. So I started...small at first, and gradually training more and more. I learned to do kipping pull-ups, power cleans, handstand push-ups, and lots of other fun party tricks. My friends noticed I had begun to fill out my clothes a little differently, and wanted to know what I was doing. A few started coming with me early in the mornings, and I was now a de facto trainer.

Then I graduated. With a degree in Economics and no plan at all, I moved out to LA in the Fall of 2009 to try my hand at comedy. After tens of open mic nights, improv classes, and other painful experiences pushed me to the limits of human shame, I realized I was NOT a comedian. I was still training on my own in parks and at the beach, and wanted to see if there was more to this CrossFit stuff. I earned my Level I CrossFit certification in November 2009 and absolutely loved it.

Now I needed a home. I had gotten about as far as I could get doing CrossFit on my own, and was hungry for real coaching and the fun of a community atmosphere. In December of 2009, Becca and Andy agreed to let me start interning at CrossFit LA in exchange for a membership. I took on being at the bottom of the ladder with pride--”Sam the Intern” always seemed to be hanging around, ready to help out. Over time, my duties and responsibilities grew and grew, and I morphed from “Sam the Intern” to “Sam the Coach.”

I’ve kept training hard as an athlete, and I still accomplish things I never thought possible for myself--from my first muscle-up in February 2010, to being part of a team that qualified for the CrossFit Games Regionals in June 2011. The difference for me now is the joy I get out of being a coach. My CrossFit journey has shown me what’s possible for me, and now my passion is to show others what’s possible for them. Being the source of people transforming their own health and fitness means that I get to do what I love every day, and work with an amazing community of people who never stop inspiring me.

Jonesy came to us in 2007 completely frustrated by "pop-fitness" in Los Angeles health clubs. Finding our gym was a relief to him since we gave him a place to train more like what he was used to - and great for us, since he brought with him so many years of athletic training experience.
As an athlete, training has always been a part of my life. Growing up in Kansas, I played sports starting at 3 years old. I spent most of my childhood playing football and wrestling, and when I was 13, I started lifting weights during football off-season. Junior year I started competitive powerlifting (back squat, deadlift and bench press), which was about the same time I realized that I was never going to play football professionally. That’s when I shifted my focus from being a professional athlete, to athletically training them. I went to Kansas State University to study Kinesiology and while there, I got the opportunity to train as a student assistant in the PowerCat Strength and Conditioning program, working with a variety of Division 1 athletes in multiple sports. In 2004, I graduated with a degree in Kinesiology, with an emphasis in both biomechanics and nutrition.

I moved to Los Angeles in the spring of 2006 to be a personal trainer at Equinox Fitness Club in Santa Monica. I loved my transition from Kansas to the beaches of LA, and my job as a personal trainer, but was just not satisfied. As a strength coach I was used to training athletes, and there is a big difference between the “weightroom,” with loud music pounding, sweat pouring, athletes grunting and intensity… lots of intensity; and the “fitness gym”, with mirrors, generic pop music, trainers, and weight machines. This just wasn’t for me.

The movie “300” was actually responsible for my discovery of CrossFit. I saw videos of the actors in training for their roles online and immediately looked for CrossFit in Santa Monica. This led me to CrossFit Los Angeles, and I’ve been here ever since... Working out at Petranek Fitness reminded me of my days at Kansas State – quality coaching, practice of skills, variety of movements and intensity! It pushed me to improve – both personally as an athlete and professionally as a coach. I also immediately took to the community – the friendly competitiveness that pushes me to go harder, and to never, ever quit. The moment I walked through the door here, I knew I had found my home.

CrossFit LA (Petranek Fitness) and CrossFit have reenergized and refocused my life. I train CrossFit. I teach CrossFit. I am CrossFit. I love my job. I love my life. I love the fact that I can have such a profound, positive affect on changing people’s lives.

You'd never believe it if you saw her, but Shirley wasn't particularly fond of athletics or working out growing up! That all changed in high school and college... when she found one of her passions... working with kids!


Believe it or not, I was never a particularly athletic kid. In fact, you could say that I hated sports! Living in Oregon allowed me to stay active with its hiking, camping and beautiful beaches, but in grade school I actually loathed gym class because of my exercise-induced asthma.

All of that changed in junior high when I had an inspirational teacher who introduced me to weight training. This is when my love of lifting weights began. I decided to join the track team and put my strength to work in the throwing event and hurdles.

I participated in track and field through high school, and lifting weights became a natural part of the training that I did with my friends. The high school weight room was small so I augmented my routine with workouts at the local YMCA. Through my teens I continued to get stronger (though I never particularly liked to run!)

After high school, I moved away to college to pursue a nursing degree at Southern Oregon University. I joined the track and field team and specialized in shot put. While there, I worked with our local YMCA and coached a teen strength-training class. I also taught at an after school program aimed at getting kids to move more and eat better, healthier food.

After graduating from college I moved to Southern California to find sunshine – literally (since there’s not much of that stuff up in Oregon), and as if by accident, I created an active lifestyle for myself while finding a community of people to support it! My first job in LA was at Golds gym in Venice which opened my eyes to insane measures that people will take to enhance their “look”. My next job was as an administrative assistant at UCLA, I quickly found that working at a desk all day was NOT for me. I then became a NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) certified personal trainer and continued to improve my own fitness. In 2007, I helped create and build a new teen fitness training facility in Santa Monica called O2 Max. I worked with numerous kids and teenagers on things like strength training, nutrition, and incorporating fitness into their life.

I joined CrossFit LA as a student in March of 2008, thankful to have finally found a place where my strengths could be put to use. I could lift heavy weight with no strange looks, and was around a community of people who pushed me to do more, continually inspiring me to improve. On the recommendation of my coaches at CFLA, I decided to train for and compete in the CrossFit Games Sectional Qualifier in 2009. Since then I’ve found that I not only love competing, I excel at it, and have been on CFLA’s Affiliate Team ever since (including a trip to the CrossFit Games in 2011!)

I’ve been working with the CFLA Kids Program since it’s inception and am now it’s head coach / facilitator. I’m inspired daily in seeing the ‘light bulb turn on’ in the kids I coach, and since working with them is one of my primary passions, you could say “I’m living my dream.”

I am CrossFit Level 1 certified, CrossFit Kids certified and a personal trainer to both teens and adults. I co-founded a food blog (http://www.sweetcheekshq.com), which promotes healthy eating and provides fun, easy recipes for all to enjoy. I live at Sweet Cheeks HQ with my dog, Ginger, and my ‘left cheek’, Alyssa, and am absolutely in love with my life!

Jennifer Shoskes Jennifer has been a student of health and fitness at CFLA for over 5 years. Energetic and passionate, She is personally inspired by ordinary people doing extraordinary things... and loves helping them make that happen!







Logan Gelbrich Logan came to CFLA in 2009 after retiring from baseball (San Diego Padres), willing to scrub floors for any piece of the action. After interning for a year, the idea of men and women changing their lives by training like athletes was enough to change his!







Matt "Magner" Wagner Magner’s life and career has followed a CrossFit path: constantly varied, intense (but fun!), and absolutely functional (…well, not always). He is an executive recruiter for the entertainment industry and a former actor, writer, and theater producer. He started CrossFitting at CFLA in 2008 and fell in love with it and the community... so much that even with no experience in the health and fitness world, he jumped on board with our Instructor Training Program. After many trials and tribulations, he's now a full-fledged CFLA Class Coach (oh, and he's also a fairly new dad!)



Chris Devlin Devlin's been an athlete most of his life, predominantly in team sports like lacrosse, football, basketball, and rugby. After discovering CrossFit over 4 years ago, he was quickly hooked, and became a fixture at CFLA - the epitome of hard work and persistance. More recently, he became part of our Instructor Training Program because of his desire to share what he knows with others. When he's not working as an actor (you might have seen him on your flat screen), he's either CrossFitting, mountain biking, rock climbing, or otherwise enjoying the great outdoors.

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