As Director of the CrossFit Games, Dave Castro has one of the sport’s most recognizable faces. The retired Navy SEAL has been the Director of the Games since its inception ten years ago, and he took to Reddit last night to conduct a rare AMA, (“Ask Me Anything”) in which redditors asked him about everything from performance-enhancing drugs to the hardest workout he’s ever done.
Here are a few of his most notable responses. (Note: Some text has been excerpted from longer strings of answers/responses.)
/u/Frigy
Hey Dave, When do you think or what would it take for the Froning v Fraser talk to end? Also Who do you see as the next person to compete with Fraser in 2018?
It will never end. nor do I believe it should. If people didn’t “what if” it and weren’t passionate about it, it would mean our sport sucked. that they do, that there is interest in that topic, its part of the great sport we have created.
/u/i_have_a_mandolin
Why are there so few AMRAPs in the games?
Those style of events, as many reps as possible in a set time, are not exactly the most viewer friendly for the competition that is the CF Games. We use them in the Open, but for the Regionals and Games. Not having someone finish, someone run across the finish line when done with their work, is not as exciting as having that set up. tests, events with a typical amrap set up would be boring. That being said, the 2223 interval was basically an amrap like workout in an interval format.
/u/moofury
What was the hardest CrossFit WOD you have ever done? Why?
probably fran because of the intensity of it. fran hurt when i started and it still hurts 11 12 years later
/u/bball1niner
What is one thing that you took from your previous profession (Navy Seal) and applied it your current job as Games Director?
To go against the grain.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BIRGNZVDvnz/
/u/therealmrdean
Don’t you think it’s unprofessional to be friends with some of the Games athletes?
no, I don’t. I can’t program a different outcome, if its fair and balances programming. Meaning, it doesn’t matter what I program. Mat would have won this year, and very likely so would have Tia.
That only applies if you program to test fitness. which we do, I do.
/u/steamy
are all Crossfit Games athletes (or most) using PEDs/steroid to any extent?
Every athlete who qualifies from regionals to the Games was tested at that point.
Everyone who podiums at the Games is tested. We have a pool of athletes, that we select, that get put in a testing pool for year round testing. And some of those get tested multiple times throughout the year.
/u/cluster75
What happened at the Black Box Summit between you and Greg Everett/Robb Wolf? I heard their side of the story, but I want to hear yours since people still talk about that event and always seem to refer to Robb Wolf’s account of what happened.
yeah you heard one side of the story for sure if you just heard his. I am notorious for not speaking out on the internet or social media, so I didn’t feel a need to speak out then. me being on IG has been a step out of my comfort zone, that even if you follow me and see how I post, I am still very deliberate about what I show the world. meaning not much. You don’t really get to know me or my private life on IG. and thats by design.
(…)
I could go on about those guys, but I choose not to do it publicly. This to me counts as publicly. When I have problems with people, I like to have them with them, not with the internet.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BXuAk-7g84E/
Stray Observations
When asked if he could ever devise a workout that could “beat” Mat Fraser, he answered, “No, I couldn’t. He is too good.”
Castro is still writing a book about putting together the 2017 Reebok CrossFit Games (that’s all the info he gave out).
Contrary to popular belief, he liked the way the bike event turned out, although there are “a few things (he) would have changed.”
One of his favorite books is the Ancient Greek epic The Iliad, considered by some to be the first book ever written.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BSAE0aMBlGB/
His favorite charity is the Navy SEAL Foundation.
He’s “considering” having competition between the Open and Regionals for the top 100 athletes in each region, but not next year.
If he had $100 billion to make the “ultimate” Reebok CrossFit Games, it “wouldn’t change the events necessarily. But it would change how we present and where we do the events.”
He also never visits the CrossFit subreddit except when he does AMAs — and this was his first in several years. So enjoy this one for as long as you can!
Featured image via @thedavecastro on Instagram.
