about
THE CrossFit 7070 STORY
Mark and Shannon VanderMeer - OWNERS
CF 7070 as we see it now was born in December 15, 2018. Shortly thereafter, we began to formulate what the identity of this box would be. The following story indicates what we as a staff aim to do for our 7070 family. It is written from the perspective of Co-owner Mark VanderMeer. In May 2016, my wife Shannon first witnessed a CF class, and noticed a member doing scaled ring rows. She thought “Hey, I might be able to do something like that!” Bottom line, she had to do something. Her health was failing, with much of this to do with a disease called “Myasthenia gravis”, a degenerative autoimmune disease that attacks the body tissue.
This left Shannon feeling constant pain, so much so that she needed a cane just to get around. CrossFit may have been the last thing she wanted to do. But we were out of ideas at this point. We didn’t know if CF would help, but at least we knew that the coaches at 7070 would give their best effort in helping Shannon along the way. What you’ll see now is a cane hanging above the jump ropes. A cane that is completely unnecessary for Shannon. This is something that the coaches decided to do after CrossFit became a lifestyle for her. It’s a reminder to Shannon and anyone else that may have doubts about whether “functional fitness” is worth it. Truth be told, simply moving functionally in of itself may not be worth it. But when you commit in such a way that you sell out each and every workout, and you realize the importance of the process in all of your goals, you’re not simply moving functionally, you’re elevating above barriers in your life. At CrossFit (elevation) 7070, we elevate above barriers. A barrier is something that doesn’t move, and we all have them in our life: it could be an autoimmune disease, a relationship issue, financial burdens, or the barrier of making an athletic team. At CF 7070, we work on becoming physically and mentally stronger to elevate above those barriers. We do it in such a way that you’ve got a community to have fun with and relentless coaches to teach and guide you along the way. Go elevate above barriers!
OUR coaches
Mark VanderMeer
OWNER/TRAINER
Mark competed in Track/Cross Country Grand Valley State University (NCAA Division 2), and after graduation hoped to further his distance running career. But family responsibilities grew and he found himself searching for a way to stay competitive. "A friend talked me into trying a CrossFit workout (Fran), and after being unable to do a single pull-up, I knew something had to change.
Shannon VanderMeer
OWNER/TRAINER
Although she grew up in an active family and participated in high school athletics, Shannon developed chronic pain at a young age. After getting married and having children, her pain worsened to the point where she was totally inactive. Shannon lost so much feeling in her legs that she eventually became dependent on a cane to walk. She was diagnosed with Myasthenia Gravis.
Emily Roe
TRAINER & PHYSICAL THERAPIST
Emily spent what seemed like a lifetime running and biking. But eventually a knee injury led to her decision to try CrossFit. She loved it and never looked back. She loves how effective the CrossFit workouts are, the opportunity to learn new skills, and the friendships formed at the gym. Emily's passionate about helping others move well with proper body mechanics, purposeful warm-ups and cool downs, injury prevention, accessory work, and scaling and adaptation.
Whitney Hickey
COACH
Whitney swam competitively through college for 13 years. Started powerlifting after 2 shoulder surgeries in 2014. She dropped in Crossfit gyms since 2012 but officially joined a Crossfit gym in 2018 and the rest has been history!
At her first Crossfit gym she joined the compete program where we trained twice a day and competed in NE Ohio. In 2020, Whitney decided to take her L1 and start her coaching journey.
Whitney joined Crossfit because she wanted to be more well-rounded as an athlete. She enjoyed power lifting but found it to be hard on her body. She missed the competitive energy that swimming gave her for many years, when she started Crossfit she found that it filled that void.
Whitney started coaching at 7070 on a whim, but have stayed because of the community and team.
Outside of the gym and work you can find Whitney skiing in the winter, hiking in the summer and spending time with her dog.
Certifications: Crossfit L1, Crossfit Nutrition
Missy Havercamp
COACH
Growing up Missy played soccer as goalie, and would spend winters snowboarding. A knee injury which led to surgery took her out of both of those sports.
After doing workouts at other facilities or at home workouts, Missy realized she needed more motivation and wanted to learn barbell movements. After walking into CrossFit 7070 in early 2020, she has since been addicted to CrossFit! Missy notes that the variety of movements and workouts that are programmed every week are effective and fun.
“The community is one of the most amazing things about CrossFit; everyone wants to see you succeed and cheer you on!”
When Missy first thought about joining CrossFit, she found it intimidating, but when she learned about CrossFit 7070’s use of Level Method, Missy realized she could do this. One reason Missy started coaching is because of the coaches already at 7070; they helped her with strength and confidence. Missy wanted other people who might be intimidated to also realize they can do this!
“I wanted to be able to motivate people, coach them on the movements, help them build the confidence they may need and celebrate their accomplishments”
Outside of CrossFit, Missy is almost a certified gemologist, designs jewelry, and loves shooting archery.
Megan Harvey
COACH
Megan grew up playing sports in school. Main sport was track and field, and had a scholarship to run in college (Western State).
Megan joined CrossFit because she wanted something different. She wasn’t working out for about 3 years after she graduated high school and college due to back injury at the time and was just working a full time job and she forgot how much she loved working out and being in shape.
Megan started coaching at CrossFit 7070 mainly because of the community. She loved being a part of a group that makes you feel so loved and welcomed. Megan was terrified when she first started CrossFit. She was a
a bit intimidated since she was a runner and all she knew was how to lift (clean, squat and deadlift), but had no idea what any other movements were. But the community made it so much better, and found it was fun to learn all the new movements!
Megan says “I’ve always wanted to be a personal trainer of some sort and I instantly feel in love with CrossFit and have had some people pushing me for a long time to become a coach and I finally did and I don’t regret it one bit! Best part of my day!”
Fun fact:
Megan is a Colorado Native