Friday, October 24, 2014

Virtuosity 1: Morrill of the Story

Athletes look past a monster truck full of rottweilers to find a coach who’s 100 percent invested in his athletes.

Almost 100 people sent us stories of virtuosity in the week after we asked for submissions, and each was inspiring in its own way.

We heard about trainers who have changed lives, athletes who have overcome huge obstacles to find fitness, and communities that exhibit strength measured in something other than pounds. We read every submission we received, and we appreciated the honesty and emotion in each one. They are the products of an amazing community.

Some of those submissions, however, didn’t conform to our submission guidelines, which is a lot like a 400-lb. squat just a hair above parallel. Impressive as it may be, it doesn’t count. We received submissions that were too long or sent in the body of the email rather than as an attachment, and we received a host of pictures that were out of focus or well below the 1-MB required size. As Adrian Bozman would say, “No rep.”

To increase your chances of publication, read the submission guidelines. Attention to detail is the hallmark of virtuosity.

From among the pile of submissions, the one you are about to read stood out like a beautiful overhead squat. Audrey Pike’s story about Kris Morrill contained many of the same elements as other submissions, but it was better. It told a common story uncommonly well. That’s exactly what we’re looking for.

With 10,000 affiliates around the world, and a host of garage gyms as well, truly unique stories are very rare indeed. But the right words make any story as striking as a perfect clean.

To quote Aldous Huxley, “Words can be like X-rays if you use them properly—they’ll go through anything. You read and you’re pierced.”

Read the submission guidelines at the end of the article, write piercingly, and send your story to virtuosity@crossfit.com.

No comments:

Post a Comment