Hey there, my name is Jared Stilwill and I am the owner of FTFF. That's me  in the picture (to the left if you’re  on a desktop or below if you are on your phone.) That beautiful woman next to me is my wife Arie Stilwill. We would like to sincerely thank you for checking out our website and for your interest in my programs.

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My Story:  

I've been into fitness for a while now, but I wasn't always super fit.

In fact, I was actually quite chubby growing up and stayed that way all throughout elementary school and middle school. Because of my weight I was embarrassed to take my shirt off in the pool during the summer. I actually remember a girl I had a crush on asked me why I hadn’t taken my shirt off like everyone else during a water balloon fight at an after-school YMCA program. I don't remember my response,  just that I felt really  embarrassed and ashamed.

I would watch movies like the Terminator with Arnold Schwarzenegger or Demolition man with Sylvester Stallone and think, ‘man I want to be strong and muscular like those guys’. I would make up workouts at home and look in the mirror immediately to see if there were any changes.   

 

I was shorter, chubbier and had sports induced asthma. Needless to say, I wasn't super confident growing up.

 

I leaned out a bit in high school but was still self-conscious about the way I looked and would still avoided taking my shirt off in front of people. 

So my junior year in high school I got really lean…but in a super unhealthy manner. I would wake up every morning, run about 3 miles, eat a bowl of cereal, go to school, workout during weightlifting class, skip lunch, sleep through 6th period, go home and eat another bowl of cereal and then go to bed. I would go to bed hungry but thought if I could just go to sleep I'd be fine.

 

What finally gave me a new perspective on training was my passion for paintball! I joined a team, started playing tournaments and realized I didn’t want to train to be lean anymore, I wanted to train to be faster and have better endurance than everyone I played against. I played Semi Pro and went on to play in the Pro circuit competing in the US, Canada, and Europe. 

 

After stepping away from paintball, I was in and out of LA fitness knowing I still wanted to train but without a purpose for staying fit, I kept falling off track and was super inconsistent. 

 

One day about a year of being inconsistent, I stumbled upon a Groupon for a CrossFit Gym near where I worked. Although I had heard mixed reviews about CrossFit at the time, I thought I would give it a try and decide for myself. It was the best decision for my fitness I have ever made. It was new, intense, exciting, challenging and most importantly fun! I fell in love with CrossFit and have stayed consistent to my goals in fitness and health ever since.   

 

How and Why I became a coach:

After about 2 years of CrossFit as my way to train, I was given the opportunity to help a buddy (now best friend) operate a new gym location of his. I got certified and started coaching within weeks of our initial conversation.

  

Fast forward 4 years later I feel as though I have not worked a single day. I've found a new passion in not just my own training but in training others. 

 

My favorite thing about being a Coach is that I have the ability help people train the right way and eat the right way to reach their fitness goals.  With the experience I have in my own journey and all that I have learned working in the industry, I now have the power to help people feel confident and comfortable in their own skin. I know what it feels like to be ashamed of the way you look, I know what it’s like to wear clothes you think you can hide in and not the ones you actually like, and I know what it feels like to want to change.  If you have ever felt this way, please reach out. I want to help.  

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