Congratulations to Tyler Losure, our March 2024 member of the month here at Viking Athletics! Tyler and his wife recently joined our family, after training on his own in his basement for the last several years. A punk rock and cold brew enthusiast, Tyler is especially proud of his performance during Open WOD 24.3. Keep reading to learn more about him!

• What are your hobbies/interest/talents outside of the gym?

Outside of the gym, I usually have a large cold brew in hand (shoutout Perkatory Coffee Roasters) and am usually listening to some kind of punk rock music. Most days I fight a losing battle of getting out of bed on time as my 50lb meatball of a pitbull, Owen, is sprawled across my chest. In the nicer months I’ll try my luck at golf, trying to convince myself that the slice last round was just a fluke. My wife and I have also discovered we are cruise-people, and so we are always checking out the daily sales on cruise trips that now flood our inbox on where we want to take our next cruise to.

• Share with us one thing that most people do NOT know about you?

I was born in California, have lived in four different states, and have moved close to 15 times in my life. I am deathly afraid of spiders.

• How long have you been with us at Viking Athletics?

My wife and I joined Viking together in January 2024.

• Take us back to your first week here. How did you feel? Remember the workout?

The first week at Viking was exactly what I had realized I had been missing after training alone in my basement for the latter part of 5 years. From having a coach in front of you to give you cues on form and technique to the other members surrounding you to cheer you on as push through a tough workout, it was a rejuvenation I didn’t know I needed in my training.

• What moment/achievement are you most proud of at Viking Athletics?

There have been a number of small wins that have left me walking out of a class with a smile and a fist bump of excitement with my wife on the ride home, but one in particular that really stands out is my performance in the Open workout 24.3. After the workout was announced and watching others try different strategies, my goal was to just finish the first half of thrusters and chest-to-bars. With the help and encouragement of those near by (thanks Steve!) I surprised myself by completing the first half in good time.

It was the second half of this workout that was going to be a “if I get there, we’ll see what happens” strategy. With the first set of heavy thrusters complete it was time for muscle-ups. I remember jumping up and realizing I was able to get my hips high enough to turn over and push up to complete my first muscle up. I was stoked. I beat my initial goal. But as I dropped back down, the energy from everyone was enough to shoot me back up and next thing I know I had completed a second muscle-up. This continued and each muscle-up completed, despite tearing open every single callus in the process, was such an awesome feeling.

To date, I had never done more than 3 muscle-ups, so to complete 7 that far into a workout was amazing. As I came down from my last muscle-up, Steve was excitedly saying I had time to get a few more thrusters. I grabbed the barbell and next thing I knew another 7 more thrusters were done as the clock hit 15 minutes. Despite not being able to use my hands for a few days after, that workout is one that will stick with me for a while. And sorry again Erik about leaving the bloody chalk in the bin!

• Design your perfect workout?

Anything with deadlifts and box jumps. I also really enjoy heavy and odd object carries. Any combination of those movements would be great.

• What is your least favorite movement?

Like my relationship with golf, the snatch and I have something similar going on. Bulgarian split squats.

• Summarize your lifestyle in 5 words or less.

Work hard, be kind, listen to punk-rock. Yes, that’s 8 words and why I work in marketing where math is rarely involved.

• Have you experienced any changes in your lifestyle since joining Viking Athletics?

The biggest change since joining Viking has been socially. It can be hard to find and keep like-minded people who enjoy suffering and putting themselves through some really tough things. Add in working from home full-time, people moving away, and all the regular adulting that needs to get done, and you can quickly find yourself going days or weeks without having real and meaningful interactions. Joining Viking has quickly given me an amazing community of people that I can confide in and lean on. Plus it’s something that I get to do with my wife!

• What advice do you have for anyone who is thinking about joining or who has recently joined?

Be open, be humble, be kind, and work hard.