October Member Spotlight: Melissa Purcell

Tell us a little about yourself and how you got into Crossfit? 

I am a trial lawyer and run a multistate law firm, which means a whole lot of sitting on my rear inescapably. I was doing solo lifting at the gym 5 says a week, but it was just lifting (and then 60 mins of cardio on a treadmill), just super boring and not at all functional. I needed more… I needed to get in shape and something fun and challenging. My siblings who live elsewhere do crossfit and they are really fit so I went looking. When I came in to try it out I found a surprising combination of things in each class. I had done lifting and separately in the past I had done gymnastics for years, but never moved like this. I really started to enjoy the need to learn technique over time. In addition to just putting in the sweat equity. It always feels like me versus me which is my favorite kind of competition. I love the holistic approach, we do heavy lifting, conditioning, breath work, beach workouts, I had tried a bit of everything and never felt anything was right for me until I found this particular community. Not just the workouts but the people And coaches. I feel like we don't just learn to move weights up and down but how to functionally use that strength in the world, which I really love. Like, when I do burpees even, I'm thinking about working on my surfing pop up. It's not just cardio. And when I end up doom scrolling it's usually watching vids of athletes doing amazing things in crossfit gyms and wondering if I can work up to that. It looks fun, strong, and exciting which inspires me to want to get better. I didn't want to just lose weight, I wanted to get strong and have fun doing it. 

What keeps you coming back each day? 

The fun workouts, the coaches, and the community, seeing my own progression in a million ways. When I come to the gym I instantly feel stress leave my body. It is such a fun place to be around some of the most amazing people. It's so cool and humbling to be around such tough people who are also fun and funny and welcoming. I love seeing my progress when I can do something I couldn't before or finally cross some milestone. Some days I feel so defeated for some stupid small thing and I come in, find a spark of something, and leave feeling like a million bucks instead. I find myself pushing harder when I see us working super hard as a group while overcoming soreness and sometimes grueling challenges while people are still cracking jokes and sometimes even breaking into karaoke singing. Lol. And, success. I've done one on one with coach Kyle and nutrition with Casey, and while everything took time to click for me, I've lost 122 pounds since fall 2024 with their guidance, almost all of which was body fat. They always welcome me even on my crabby days and I can't think of any place I'd rather be. 

What is your favorite at-home exercise to do?

BREATH WORK! If that counts as an exercise.  It has changed me! 

I stretch and do body weight exercises every day, after a long early morning walk (without my dogs, I like a little me time!). I like to do some of our class stretches like the Spiderman lunges and twists, inch worms, slow pushups, and I'm working on my hollow crunches and holds because I'm weak there. I have a pull-up bar and I also really love to just do static hangs to stretch out my back. Way too much sitting in my line of work. 

If you had to do 100 reps of one movement (not running), what would it be?

 jumping air squats. That would suck but I think it would be pretty much a full body workout and I could do them between court cases if I had to, no equipment needed. If I could do double unders I'd say those, but I'm not cool yet. 

What are 1-2 of your goals for 2025

One strict pull up for the first time in my entire life (which I just completed last week in class. YAYYYY)

One double under! 

Maybe a hand stand walk? 

Favorite lift?

Clean and jerk, although I am not great at it. 

If I could say favorite move, not necessarily a lift, I'd say hand stands. I can't believe I can do them and I have made such good progress. So close to hand stand walks! 

Least favorite Crossfit movement? 

Bulgarian split squats, AHHHHHH

Hometown?

new York new York is where I grew up and I consider home. insert Rockettes kick line to the song here

Favorite Charleston Restaurant? 

Jinya Ramen Bar. Mmmm! Spicy chicken ramen with nori. 

If you could do another job for just one day, what would it be? 

Classical pianist 

I have played classical piano since I was 6 years old and always wanted to be a concert pianist at Carnegie hall. Does it have to be just one day? :) 

What would you most like to tell yourself at age 13? 

Don't be afraid of being different. Don't let being different make you mean. Use it to be kind and understanding. Work hard and don't let anyone tell you that you're not good enough to do something, whether it's a career, a goal, a lifestyle, just put one foot in front of the other, put in the work, and you can do anything in this world. Remember to look around, see, be grateful, and always share success by helping others with a hand up, because even on your worst days, somebody out there is suffering much more. And take care of your body. You only get one. 

If you could meet anyone, living or dead, who would you meet? 

Wayne Brady. Super intelligent and funny, surprisingly musically gifted, and seems like a really good person. 

One thing about me people would be surprised to know? 

I am in remission from stage four uterine cancer that I did not expect to survive. I let my hair grow really long now because I was totally bald a few years ago. Cancer took a good chunk of my internal organs and caused me to gain weight in excess of 500 lbs at my highest. I've worked hard to get that weight off. I had come to terms with death, which was hard to do but was necessary for peace in my brain. Now that I'm in remission, though, miraculously, I appreciate life so much more now than I did before cancer and I am grateful for every moment, good, bad, or ugly. 

If the Nomad coaches came to your house for dinner, what would you prepare?

Shredded chicken soft tacos, with seasoned black beans, cilantro lime rice, avocado, fresh jalapeño slices, cilantro, Greek yogurt “crema”, serrano pepper salsa, and topped with homemade crunchy air fryer chick peas for CROMCH. 

Give us a “Question of the Day” to use in class. 

If you could only watch reruns of one show for a month (like loss of power w hurricane) what show would you download to watch over and over? 

Or if we already had one like that, then:

What food do you enjoy that other people think is weird or gross/yucky.