Gym Un-culture

Walk into any gym, and you’re sure to see the usual faces: the bro watching himself in front of a mirror, the meat head grunting and throwing weights around, and the guy who likes to camp out at equipment until he decides that he’s done with it. You’ll find the usual trainers: impossibly thin women and cartoonishly muscular guys, both types who think that exercise is one-size-fits-all.

Joey however, manages to challenge every single one of those stereotypes. He calls himself a coach rather than a 'trainer' because of the style of training he uses. His goal is to help you become more fit through guidance. Teaching you what to do and how to create the habit of exercise. 

Walking into the coffee-shop for this interview, the first thing you notice about Joey Dussel is his backpack. Almost comically oversized, Joey’s backpack potential clues about its owner. In Corvallis where a large chunk of the population are students, backpacks don’t give any cause for a second look. Joey’s backpack however, doesn’t look like the average textbook lugger. “Army green”, bearing an American flag emblem, and covered with various types of tools and pockets, it looks a bag that would be right home in a military environment. Even the bright blue tube leading to a water bladder within the backpack speaks of someone who is used to being outdoors and probably for extended periods of time.

Although he sees the assumption as a compliment due to the huge amount of respect he has for our service members, Dussel has never been in the military.

Watching Joey casually walk in, his outfit gives the opposite message. Casual but sporty sneakers, loose, summer appropriate shorts, and a light T-shirt seem to suit his mood for the day, and the casual nature of visiting a coffee shop in the early afternoon.

Dussel was born in Klamath Falls, Oregon, a place that he calls “a good place to be from, but not a good place to live.” Nearly four hours away from Corvallis, Klamath Falls is a small town of about 20,840 people. Although Joey doesn’t seem unhappy about his upbringing there, he seems to have taken the opportunity to leave and see new things.  “It’s a town that’s very set in its ways."

When asked about his exit from Klamath Falls, he credits his move into exercise coaching as being a big part. Coming from a background in coaching youth sports, Dussel discovered a CrossFit gym in Klamath Falls, but he first became aware of the brand after seeing a video from one of his favorite athletes, BJ Penn.

Penn is a Brazilian Jiu Jitsu practitioner, and mixed martial artist. “There’s this video where he jumps out of this pool, like straight out even with the water resistance, and he says it was because of CrossFit.” Joey says. He credits that as his introduction to the idea that CrossFit can give you a different type of athleticism.

As a Jiu Jitsu practitioner himself, Joey saw an opportunity to augment his training, and change himself. “I was always small, and a little embarrassed about my small size and low strength for an adult, ad had been  doing traditional weight lifting routines without real results for a while. After doing CrossFit for a while I started to see myself change. Once I started being able to lift heavy weights, it was amazing.”

For the unfamiliar, CrossFit is a mind and body fitness philosophy, that includes everything from Olympic weight lifting, to gymnastics. Even though if offers the chance and training to those who want to compete in competitions, it’s also designed so that even your grandmother can complete a workout. Joey has extensive experience as a CrossFit coach but never part of the abundance of horror stories about gruff and heartless trainers, workouts aimed at hardcore athletes, and a bunch of people who only care about how hard and fast you can go. You may have heard all kinds of stories about people being expected to push themselves and compete with others around them, and how they are injured (sometimes seriously) in the process. 

Joey does use CrossFit as a base for a big chunk of the training he does with clients but with some hefty modifications. Ask Joey about training and rather than a canned or “marketing pitch” answer, you start to see the passion come through. His eyes light up, he shifts in his seat, and he’ll tell you that not only does he love it because it makes his daily life easier, but because it gives him a chance to help people, and change lives. He says this with no hyperbole, or any sense that he’s just saying it out of ego. What you see is very much what you get with Joey.

For Joey, helping people isn’t just limited to fitness. Ask him about his curiously modified backpack, and everything has a story. “I’ve got my backpack with supplies in it – flashlights, medical supplies, stuff like that,” Dussel says. “I also have what’s called a ‘go to hell’ box in my trunk, which is full of emergency supplies in case things go wrong.” 

Dussel also has what’s called a “bug out bag”, which is another type of ready-to-go kit for evacuation in the event of a disaster, as well as what he calls a “jump out bag” in case he ever needs to jump out of his car in response to a roadside emergency. Ask him why he feels that he needs so much gear, and nothing changes. You don’t get a lean in, or the conspiratorial whispers of someone who’s afraid of danger lurking around the corner. You get the same Joey you had previously.

“I carry things, and I carry extras of things, based on what I didn’t have last time,” Dussel notes. “If something goes wrong, I’d like to have enough supplies to take care of them in that situation until more help arrives. Usually when I add something, it’s because I was in a situation before and I didn’t have it, so I carry it for next time.”

This same care extends to animals as well. Carrying several leashes (added of course, after he tried to catch a stray dog and didn’t have a leash) in his car, he’s always ready to rescue a wayward dog and try to return it to its owner.

This level of concern and consideration is part of what makes him such an effective coach. Dayna Edwards, an athlete at one of Joey's gyms, describes how his passion is reflected in his teaching. “He’s very passionate and motivating,” Edwards says. “He wants to be a good athlete, but also believes 100% in what he teaches.”

Dussel himself is careful to make it clear that he holds no special skill that others lack. “If I can do it, anyone can do it. I’m not a super athlete and have never been that guy, but learning the proper technique has helped me greatly. A good coach is able to translate that to others, and help them achieve the same goals.”

The level of detail and dedication that Joey puts into his role as a coach extends beyond gym time as well. He describes himself as having taken upwards of 40 hours just to plan workouts. “I lie awake sometimes, just running the workouts through my head and thinking of different people in the class and how they’ll do with it.” He says, starting to run names through his head. “I’ll just go through people and think about every step of the workout, and if they’re able to do it or will need some help. I’ll do that until I fall asleep.”

He describes his philosophy in a few words. He doesn’t just want to burn through people by having them work harder and faster. He wants to build people up gradually – something that isn’t lost on his fellow coaches.

 “Joey has an approach like I’ve never seen,” fellow coach Traci Martin Beaver says. “Details matter, and he’s able to break them down easily. He can break down movements piece by piece and make them approachable.”

 No one that’s described Joey has gone without mentioning the word “passion”. “He’s passionate, knowledgeable, methodical, and a perfectionist, but safety and proper body mechanics are always his priorities.” Martin-Beaver notes.

This has probably come from experience. In his very first experience with CrossFit training, rather than the team/group format that it usually is, this gym (called “Boxes” in CrossFit), had no supervision or training. There was just a list of moves to do, and members were left to their own. No one was around to help with technique or safety.

The gym where Joey serves as the Director of Programming, has avoided this mistake. Before you can even begin the program, coaches schedule a week to take you through the fundamentals – basic moves that matter most. After that, you can join the group class of your choice. Unlike the experience that Joey went through, his gym is very much a hands on community. Despite how large the classes are, the coaches are always circulating the room, checking form, stability, and making sure that everyone gets help right away if they need it.

Joey’s spirit has become part of what separates that facility from some of the others. While members work on their own personal goals, they still take the time to cheer on others, and encourage others who are working on their goals as well.

Having graduated from Oregon State University in 2014 with a major in exercise and sport science Joey has found a new way to take his love of fitness, and his love of making life better for people and make them work together. When asked if he’d ever considered being a paramedic or EMT, Joey is considering adding skills as a paramedic but says that he will not give up training. “I’ll always do this, I get so much from it,” he says.