Last night the whole crossfitter community was there pinch (made with three fingers) off guard with one shocking news: Fraser retires. It seems crazy that the King of CrossFit® made this decision at an epic moment in his life, when he went down in history as the best ever.
After the last podcast from Darren Woodson, where the dispute with Froning came to the surface, now this bomb. In a burning letter published in the magazine of Morning Chalk Up, he explains his reasons.
Mat Fraser's letter
“Today, a few more days after 8 years of starting my career in the competitive CrossFit world, I am announcing my retirement.
In 2012, the owner of Champlain Valley CrossFit signed me up for the internal competition, the Winter Throwdown. I couldn't afford the entry fee for the event, and he offered to pay for it but told me that if I won, I would have to buy myself a pair of CrossFit shoes.
At the time I was training in a pair of Air Max 90s. I didn't understand the hype around CrossFit.
I was from the Olympic Training Center, where I lived and breathed Olympic weightlifting. My goal was to compete in the Olympics, where every jerk and momentum was a serious and silent event.
But in Champlain Valley, it was a class full of people running from one movement to another who dramatically fell to the ground when time ran out.
At that Throwdown, then, I won by pocketing $ 500.
As a freaked out college kid, I thought I had found gold and that I immediately wanted to find other opportunities to earn more money that would suit me. I searched for a site where each local event would post their competitions and prize money.
I started traveling all over New England to compete for $ 1000 here and $ 5000 more there. It wasn't a great idea for a full time student, but I didn't start CrossFit thinking about making it my career.
Almost a decade later, I crossed the finish line at the Ranch, holding the hand of my training friend who has become more than a sister. Together, we broke the record for the most championships won. She had won her quarter in a row and I, against all odds, had won my fifth.
In my first Open, I didn't even know how to do twelve burpees in a row. In my recent Games, I have won by the largest margin in the history of the sport.
So, on the spot, this is a difficult decision.
CrossFit is where I met my best friends, business partners and even my wife. CrossFit is where I found the artist who tattooed my chest ..
CrossFit is what allowed me to travel across the world, and how I bought my new home in Vermont.
Since the end of the 2015 season, when I decided to stop fooling around and commit full time to this sport, CrossFit has been my whole world.
And for the same reason, this is an easy decision. Except for a few weeks in August, when I took a break, my focus was relentless.
I gave up on holidays, bachelor parties and so many dates with Sammy that I lost count, so I wouldn't miss a single training session or a whole night's sleep.
For eight years every day, it's been harshly the same: waking up earlier than usual, selling my soul to the Assault Bike, swim intervals, 40-minute AMRAP, eat, sleep, do it all over again.
No decision was unintended.
In the weeks just before the Games, I obviously stopped a lot of risky activities, like riding a motorcycle to the gym, and even small activities that could have made a difference like not using a steak knife.
It wasn't worth the risk of cutting myself and ruining a whole week of training or compromising my performance during competition.
I was obsessed with finding improvements where possible and was always terrified of someone slipping away from me.
I trained with terror.
But the hard work paid off. But now, I am ready to make my own decision based on how it affects my family, friends, health and happiness. Not just my performance.
The good news is that you will see a lot more of me now after retirement than before.
I never wanted to give up the slightest advantage, so I never posted my workouts, released my schedule, or hid my weaknesses.
Rather, I trained them, relentlessly, and the process earned me a reputation for being stoic, even arrogant, based on who you would talk about me.
The only time I'm in everyone's gaze is when I'm showing my work. I have a laser focus on my lens. I'm there to reach the one thing I've spent hundreds, even thousands, of hours chasing it for.
It never bore me, it was the small price to be the biggest, but now I'm excited to show you the Mat that everyone near me has always seen.
I'm still figuring out how I can be part of this community. I'm not planning to open my own affiliate box, but I'm starting to build my own home gym, where I'll show you everything on the YouTube channel that Sammy and I will launch soon. Beyond that, I'm looking forward to enjoying the season as a fan, like all of you.
So thank you for giving me this opportunity, and special thanks to everyone who helped me as a sponsor, as a training partner, as a coach and as a friend. I will always be involved in CrossFit, but I won't be doing it from the competition field anymore. "