Just Elite: Recent Episodes
Christelle van Tonder
Experts from around the globe share their knowledge and experience in the sport of fitness. Athletes, doctors, nutritionists, photographers and coaches. Tune in, leave a comment and follow us on Instagram @_just_elite and on YouTube.
As a podium pick for the 2021 NoBull Crossfit Games, Bethany Shadburne beat her two training partners, Danielle Brandon and Kari Pearce to the gold at the West Coast Classic, and was on her way to a stand out performance at her 5th consecutive Crossfit Games. Unfortunately, Bethany tested positive for COVID-19 on her arrival at the Games and had to withdraw from competition. Bethany sits down to talk about the disappointment, how she bounced back, training with the 2020 third fittest woman on earth Kari Pearce and life in Las Vegas.
Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite.
Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
Kari Pearce ended her 2020 Crossfit Games season on the podium wearing the bronze medal after taking the event win in the most gruelling event in Games history, Atalanta. Kari hints at retirement in this interview and talks about the disappointing end to her 2021 season when she tested positive for COVID-19 the first day of competition at the 2021 NoBull Crossfit Games and missed this event for the first time since her debut in 2015. She also talks about her business, Power Abs, where the idea came from and what the future holds. Kari has given so much to this sport and whatever she decides we say thank you.
Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite.
Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
From the 2019 Fittest Teen on earth 14-15 years, to being the 16th Fittest Female on earth in 2021, while still being eligible to compete as a teen, Emma Cary has made a statement. She is hungry and really fit. At 17 years old Emma came 2nd in the worldwide open after the 5 time raining Fittest Woman on Earth Tia-Clair Toomey-Orr. Emma talks about her how her life has changed since the Games, what changes her family has made to give her all the opportunities she needs to be the best in the world, and she also discloses a hidden tallen. All I will say is...woof!
Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite.
Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
Team, individual, master. The Kiwi Alethea Boon started her professional athletic career as a gymnast where she represented her country at the Commonwealth games in 1998 and 2002 in artistic gymnastics and then in 2018 in weightlifting. She competed at the Crossfit Games as part of a team in 2014, as an individual in 2015, 2016 and 2017 and then as a master in 2019. Even though Boon qualified for the Games as a master (35-37), she decided to not attend this year. Have a listen to why and how she balances training and a career. Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite. Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
Feeroozeh Saghafi, had a fantastic 2021 season by placing 7th at the Mid-Atlantic CrossFit Challenge and 7th in the Last chance qualifier just missing a second appearance at the CrossFit Games. In this episode Fee discusses training with Scott Panchik, taking the 2022 season to fully focus on training and announces her new coach.
Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite.
Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
Justin Cotler, went from having a very successful music career as a R&B singer, to being a Crossfit coach to some of the best Crossfit Games athletes. In 2021, he faced a challenge that he has never experienced as a coach, one that saw 2 of his three Games athletes (Bethany Shadburne and Kari Pearce) test positive for COVID-19 while his third, Danielle Brandon has to compete on the biggest stage of them all, while isolating. Cotler sheds light on the Games week, how he supported his athletes and also talks about the Grid league. Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite. Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
Sean Woodland, the voice of Crossfit has been behind the microphone and in front of the camera since 2012, keeping the global Crossfit community up to date with everything in our sport. In 2018 he was let go from Crossfit HQ along with a bunch of other media personal, but he rose from the ashes and made his career his own. In this episode Sean talks about his beginnings in media and sports presenting, how he became the voice of Crossfit, the 2018 fiasco, bouncing back and his catch phrases.
Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite.
Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
Stephanie Chung got named the comeback kid after digging herself out of a whole during the 2018 Meridian Regional and qualifying for her first Crossfit Games. In this episode Steph talks about being an executive member of the Professional Fitness Athletes’ Association, going into semi-retirement to attend PA school, and how she went from being the worst Crossfit box member, cherry-picking workouts to being a professional Crossfit Games athlete. Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite. Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
Taylor Williamson is 1 fourth of the fittest team on earth. Crossfit Mayhem Freedom took the affiliate cup back to Cookeville, Tennessee once again after winning the 2021 NoBull Crossfit Games for a 5th time. Williamson, competing at her 5th Crossfit Games in 2021 joined Mayhem in January after Rich Froning, team captain and owner of Crossfit Mayhem reached out to Williamson. You would think her answer would be a definite and immediate YES! Think again. In this episode Taylor chats about her whirlwind season with Crossfit Mayhem, balancing being a professional athlete, marriage and being full-time student in PA school. Taylor talks about future plans in the sport, communication problems within the sport and how a hard, stressful and successful year will end with her getting married.
Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite. Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
If you watched the 2021 NoBull Crossfit Games you must surely remember the 550 yard sprint event. Not only for the blistering pace at which the athletes ran an uncomfortable distance, but for the camera man who stole the show by running all 8 heats with the men and woman (and leading for a lot of the time) with his camera to get the perfect shot for the Crossfit Documentary. His name is Salvi Villanueva. What a pleasure to get to know this extraordinary and very interesting human with a passion for making videos.
Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes.
Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite.
Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
South African Letchen du Plessis received a scholarship to play netball for the North West University. Letchen had her dream set to one day play for the Proteas and represent her country on the court. Letchen dislocated her hip during a match in 2018 and what happened after that is a series of events that changed her life forever. In this episode Letchen talks to me about the journey from learning to walk again to becoming the second fittest woman on earth in the neuromuscular division at the 2021 NoBull Crossfit Games. Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite. Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
The 27th Fittest woman on earth Carolyne Prevost, sits down to talk to me about her season, this years Games, balancing being a teacher, an elite Crossfit athlete and a hockey career. Carolyne delves deeper into changes made to the season, media cuts and how we can grow the sport. Subscribe and like the YouTube channel to stay up to date with all the new episodes. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite and on LinkedIn at Just Elite. Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed.
Matt O'Keefe is the president of Loud and Live sports. With 2 semi-finals under their watchful eye along with the most exciting Crossfit competition in our sport, Wodapalooza, Matt has made his mark and proved to be the go to guy for events and management. O'Keefe is also seen as the agent who first saw the potential of the now most decorated and accomplished athlete in Crossfit Mat Fraser. Matt O'Keefe believes that business is personal and with all of his success in our sport, this approach is the right one. It started with a clothing brand, progressed to being ,in his words, the caddy for Mat Fraser, to now having the biggest names in our sport under his management. The future of Crossfit looks bright, especially if Matt O'Keefe is in it. Please leave a comment and let me know what you think. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter @_just_elite for all our exciting projects and new episodes. Also pop over to YouTube and subscribe to the Just Elite channel.
I got asked by one of the athletes in a recent interview why I changed the name of the podcast. So I decided to let you in on what has been happening the past 9 months, why the name has changed and how this project will not just benefit the fans but the elite athletes way after retirement. We have some big names coming your name on the show so stay tuned and hit the notification button to make sure you don't miss any episodes. Please follow the Instagram page @_just_elite and subscribe to the YouTube channel Just Elite.
Sincerely, Christelle
Dave Levey, the 2018 Fittest man on earth Masters 40-45. Dave competed at his first CrossFit Games in 2012 at the age of 35 only doing CrossFit for 6 months. Qualifying for the Semifinals for individual men Dave proved that he can still throw it down with the younger guys. Unfortunately Dave had to withdraw from the 2021 CrossFit Games due to an injury 4 weeks before he would leave for Madison for his 5th appearance at the Games. Drop a comment below and share your thoughts on the episode and topics discussed. Follow Just Elite on Instagram @_just_elite for more.
Tim Paulson punched his 5th consecutive ticket to the Crossfit Games in Madison after placing third at the Granite Games in 2021. After becoming a father in 2020 his life has changed drastically but balancing his business, fatherhood and training for the Games comes easily for Paulson. Tim talks about his 2019 Crossfit Games experience after being cut after the first event and how he trains his mind just as hard as his body. Please leave a review and follow the Just Elite Instagram account @_just_elite for more on this episode. Subscribe to the YouTube channel Just Elite to stay up to date with all the new episodes.
In 2019 Michelle Merand came 41st in her first Crossfit Games appearance after qualifying via the Fittest in Cape Town Sanctional event where she placed 5th. In 2021 she missed a trip back to the Games by placing 3rd. Michelle also declined her invitation to take part in the last chance qualifier in the coming weeks. In this episode, Michelle explains why, and hints on her future plans in the sport. Please leave a review and follow the Just Elite Instagram account @_just_elite for more on this episode. Subscribe to the YouTube channel Just Elite to stay up to date with all the new episodes.
The 2019 Nasional champion of South Africa Dina Swift, talks about her 2021 season, future plans in the sport and what really happened at the 2019 Crossfit Games. Please leave a comment and check out more content regarding this interview on our Instagram page @_just_elite
Jason Smith has been the national champion of South Africa from 2013 and recently punched his third ticket to the 2021 No Bull Crossfit Games after winning Fittest in Cape Town Semi Final. Jason is also 38 years old but as he says he isn’t ready for masters and he doesn’t think masters is ready for him. He discusses his long and successful career and what he thinks South Africa needs to do, to catch up with the United States. Please subscribe and leave a comment. Follow the Instagram page @_just_elite for more content on this episode.
Arielle Loewen seems to have come out of nowhere to win the Granite Games semi-final and punching her first ticket to the 2021 No Bull Crossfit Games. Arielle qualified for her first regionals in 2014 and competed every year till 2018 where she competed while 2 months pregnant. Arielle did not come out of nowhere. Arielle has been working for this for many years. But was it the plan to go for it this year? Actually, it was kind of an accident. Subscribe to the channel and drop a comment and let me know what you think of the episode.
After an unfortunate accident involving a lawnmower, Jason Leydon's basketball career came to an end. What followed was a few years rediscovery and then Crossfit. He opened his Crossfit box Crossfit Milford in 2008. Jason competed at the highest level of our sport but his first love has always been coaching. He made the transition from athlete to coach and now coaches athletes from across the globe. His client base includes more than 30 Crossfit Games athletes of which more than seven of them has stood on top of the podium. Visit the Crossfit Milford website: www.crossfitmilford.com Become a Conquer Athlete: www.conquerathlete.com Instagram Jason Leydon: @jasonleydon Conquer Athlete: @conquerathlete Crossfit Milford: crossfit_milford E-mail: jason@crossfitmilford.com jason@conquerathlete.com
Yes this is how he is known, "The Baby-Faced Killer". An eight-year CrossFit Games veteran (three individual, five team), James Hobart is the only athlete to have competed on two different Affiliate Cup Champion teams (CrossFit New England: 2011, CrossFit Mayhem Freedom: 2015, 2016). Yes, not even Rich Froning can say that. James sat down to discuss his career, the 2020 Crossfit Games season, his businesses and his predictions for the 2020 Crossfit Games at the Ranch in a few days.