This week’s “Beyond the Athlete” features one of our newest members, Maria Bruno. As soon as I met Maria, I knew that she would be an awesome addition to 717 and an awesome interview for “Beyond the Athlete”. I am always amazed at how she pushes so hard in every WOD but still manages to keep a smile on her face before, during and after the punishment. Aside from her CrossFit acumen, Maria is also very accomplished academically as she has a Ph.D in Archaeology from Washington University in St. Louis and currently teaches course at Dickinson College. Selfishly, my favorite thing about her is that she will always indulge my nerdy anthropology topics and actually seems as interested as I am about them. We (OK, maybe just I) even decided that Coach Aldo most closely resembles Homo ergaster! Alright, enough out of me. Lets meet Maria:
1. Where did you grow up?
South Lake Tahoe, Nevada/California
2. What is your athletic background?
I grew up running around outside and played various sports in middle/high school. But, by far, my favorite sport was snowboarding. I competed in high school and college but decided I needed to do something more practical – archaeology. That eventually took me to St. Louis, about as far away from mountains as possible. I was relegated to boring, useless gym workouts until I discovered CrossFit. (I hear there are a few snowy slopes around here, would love suggestions! CrossFit717 ski trip?!)
3. How did you get started with CrossFit?
I was living in DC in the first part of 2010 and joined the local, generic gym. They had a special deal on personal trainers. The one I got “Manny” just happened to also be doing CF. He had me doing burpees, mountain climbers, and cleans. As soon as I could, I joined a CF box.
4. How long have you been at CrossFit 717?
About 2 months!
5. What are your favorite exercises/WODs?
Overhead squats, snatches, pull-ups. WODs that combine a bunch of stuff.
6. What exercises/WODs do you hate?
I hate rowing and presses.
7. What are you goals with regards to CrossFit?
Be able to do the WODs Rxd! I would love to do a muscle up and be able to do more than 2 pull-ups at a time in longer workouts.
8. In your perfect world, what would you be doing in 10 years?
I would have tenure at a cool college or university, a family, and have visited Africa.
9. Where did you go to high school/college?
George Whittell High School in Zephyr Cove, Nevada
Undergrad – University of Nevada, Reno
Grad school – Washington University in St. Louis
10. If you could eat dinner with 3 people past or present (besides Jesus who is overused and not that interesting), who would you choose and why? Furthermore, what would you order for dinner?
My top-three female heroines:
Amy Poehler
Emma Goldman
Queen Elizabeth I
Lobster, yum.
11. Who is your celebrity crush?
Edward Norton
12. What is your favorite movie and why?
That’s hard. I love movies and have many favorites, but I’ll have to go with:
Rushmore: Hilarious, Bill Murray.
13. What is your favorite thing about CrossFit 717?
The people! I’m a newbie to the area and it’s nice to have place outside of work where you feel so welcome.
Station 717 