CrossFit Games Athlete Interview: Rees Machell

Now that the 2015 CrossFit Games are over and the dust has settled, TWL was lucky enough to catch up with the fittest teen in Australia– Rees Machell. Snagging fifth worldwide in the teen Open and a podium third place finish at the Games in the 16-17 year-old division, we expect Rees will be a blast to watch in the upcoming 2016 CrossFit season.

Read on to find out more about this incredible up and coming athlete:

– How did you get introduced to CrossFit? 

Before CrossFit I raced motocross and played rugby league in Tumut. I received a back injury in league which stopped me from racing and footy until I had fixed it.  From there I started strength training at a globo gym, then decided I needed fitness, strength, power, speed etc so I decided I would try CrossFit. I’ve never looked back since.

– Hobbies? What are you doing when you’re not CrossFitting?
Riding dirt bikes, driving buggies up the bush with my good pal Little Lukey McMahon and waterskiing in the summer. Anything active!

– What was your favorite 2015 Open WOD?
Probably 15.5, regardless of the teen weight it hurt… But I felt pretty strong in that workout.

– What was your favorite Games WOD?
“Amanda”

– What did it mean to you to make it to Carson?
Like a lot of hard work had paid off, and an awesome experience awaiting me. Was unreal!

– How’d you like California? Did you get to explore much after your big victory?
California was a cool experience, the weather was too good. We didn’t explore too much after the competition as we couldn’t afford to stay too long. It was a sudden event and was hard to build up enough funds to stay long, but we did watch the Individuals- which was so awesome.

– Who’s your CrossFit idol?
Going to have to say Rich Froning, no doubt. Works hard and is humble.

– Whats your least favorite movement?
Used to have a few but I worked on them, got better at them and now I love them! Most of the time was a few overhead exercises though.

– Walk us through a day in your life: What do you eat? When/How long do you train?
Leading up to the Games I trained 2-3 times a day. In the morning around 6:30 AM and in the afternoon around 4:30PM then sometimes lunch time aswell. At the moment I eat a lot of starchy carbs and whole meats as much as possible everyday because I’m trying to put on weight.

– What’s next? CrossFit Games 2016?
This was my last year being able to compete as a teenager, next years goal is to make it to Regionals. So, a whole lot of work!

– What are 3 items that are always in your gym bag?

My lifters, tape and protein powder.

– Plug time and shout outs!
Shout out to Little Lukey McMahon and the rest of the McMahon boys Josh and Aydan for teaching me almost everything I know about CrossFit, cheers boys! Also shout out to the Unbroken Athletic Apparel boys for all the support, Raw Fitness Equipment for helping Josh and I with raffling and the donations. Again Faster AUS/NZ for taking me aboard the development team and for the help preparing for the Games. Rob Forte and Reebok CrossFit Frankston for hosting their competition that raised an immense amount of $4,310 towards Josh and I. To all of the people in the CrossFit community and the community of Tumut who raised money to our GoFundMe page and to my friend’s and family. We couldn’t have done it without you guys and my appreciation towards you guys is beyond words.

AMRAP QUICK STATS:

Age: 17
Back Squat: 182kg
If there was a WOD named after you, what would be in it? Thrusters, burpees, bar muscle-ups and pistols
Affiliate: CrossFit Tumut
Coach: None