Meet Coach Cris
Cris is the current owner of Asphodel Fitness and founder of Asphodel Elite Performance, the Keep Moving Project, and the Hong Kong Strength Project. His goal is to turn you into what you view as an everyday hero with a focus on mental and physical resiliency, while getting pretty freaking strong in the process.
In 2008, a year after graduating University and starting a career in financial and management consulting, Cris found himself burned out and overweight. In fact, he had starting taking prescription antacid medication to combat a life lived under constant stress and dread. One day looking in the mirror, he realized the irony of having started sports started early (being a competitive preteen baseball player), with one of his first dream jobs being a professional skateboarder that was put on hold after a serious accident resulting in spinal pain he lives with today. Even more ironic was his exposure to what is now called CrossFit nearly three years prior (around 2005-6).
Through a career change where he began to prioritize his health, he started CrossFit again under the guidance of John Meeks. Coach Meeks was a former #2 in the world Taekwondo athlete and combined the traditional S&C Cris was used to from high school with CrossFit. Cris managed to refocus and worked his way to a regional CFO role for a major worldwide retailer, but quickly found himself heading back to where he was in 2008. He had recently started dating his now wife while being a member of Asphodel.
In 2016, he left his corporate job and became the full owner of CrossFit Asphodel, which he rebranded to Asphodel Fitness and Performance in an effort to bring his love of fitness and health to as many people as possible - from individuals to sports teams to businesses. Now, he is working on his PhD in Health and Human Performance after earning a Master’s in Strength and Conditioning. Cris understands what it is like to find yourself overwhelmed and sitting in the bottom of the well by yourself, then pulling yourself up and using that as fuel for better days.
Of course, he needed an amazing team to help along the way. This passion is at the heart of Asphodel’s coaching team. We understand your needs and work to make you the best version of you, to turn you into your version of an everyday hero.
MOST NOTABLE CERTIFICATIONS & SPECIALTY TRAINING:
Strength and conditioning specialist, with distinction (CSCS, D*)
Strength systems international (ssic) level 3
altis apprenticeship (and various courses)
EXOS Performance Specialist (XPS)
Special populations specialist, with distinction (CSPS, D*)
Certified CrossFit trainer (CF-L3)
Velocity-based training certification
Functional Movement Screen (FMS L2)
certified sports nutritionist from the international society of sports nutrition (CISSN)
Performance nutrition coach level 3
Keep Moving Project is a social enterprise founded by cris and his wife, operating under the ethos of “fitness is a basic right, not a luxury.” Hong Kong strength project is a free service that will be launching in 2023 aiming to promote physical and mental resiliency in Hong Kong.