Local CrossFit Affiliate Celebrates 5 Successful Years

A local fitness program celebrates five successful years, touching hundreds of lives and taking the art of working out to a whole different level.

A year and a half ago, Derek Galkin decided he wanted to change how he was feeling.

“Super fat, lethargic, caught up in work and realized that at the age of 40 that I needed to integrate some health into my life,” Galkin said.

So he turned to a strength and conditioning program called CrossFit.

“I come in every day and you’re striving to not only beat your own personal best, but beat other people within the gym,” Galkin said. “And the competitive nature, it’s motivating.”

CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program defined by constantly varied, high intensity, functional movements. It combines elements from cardio, gymnastics, weight lifting, and core exercises to increase an athlete’s endurance, strength, flexibility, power, speed, and coordination.

“You get a different environment then you get on your own,” said CrossFit Pacific Coast co-owner Traver Boehm. “You get accountability, you get friendships, you build relationships with really like-minded, healthy fantastic people.”

This local affiliate has seen it’s own success: celebrating it’s five year anniversary.

“Literally having zero members to having over 250,” said Boehm. “That’s definitely been our biggest accomplishment.”

Boehm added it’s also an ultimate achievement while combating some negative stereotypes.

“For people that think it’s a cult, come try it out,” he said. “We have dentists and doctors and bartenders and cab drivers. It’s all just really cool people.”

CrossFit Pacific Coast is located at 220 East Cota Street in downtown Santa Barbara. It is one of the largest CrossFit affiliates on the Central Coast with a team of 14 CrossFit Certified coaches who train over 275 athletes, including at sports programs at Dos Pueblos High School, San Marcos High School, and Santa Barbara High School.