Shannon is our I AM BSHEmoth for the month of June! Shannon has been a long time member of Behemoth and has done nothing but progress and transform both physically and mentally since joining the Behemoth family. It has been exciting to watch her journey and we are even more excited for what's to come. Read below to learn more!-Who are you? Tell us a little about yourself or something that would surprise us.Born and raised in Tulsa, OK, but all my family is originally from Texas. Being raised by Aggie parents of course I made my way down to Texas by attending Texas A&M University and then settled in Houston after college. You might not see me as much on those fall Saturday mornings because I will be watching my Ags at Kyle Field! I met my husband, Joe, at my first job here in Houston and we have been married for 5 years now. We now have 3 dogs (Hershey, Domino and Dancer) and a cat named Butterscotch.-How and when were you introduced to Behemoth?So I actually started Crossfit when Joe and I were relocated to Midland, TX, for a brief 8 months, and when I knew we were going back to Houston we were going to have to find a new Crossfit Gym to attend. Let’s just say, I didn’t have much of a choice. Joe saw Aja in the Crossfit Games in 2013 and was so impressed because of his height and size and what he has been able to accomplish. Joe being so tall he related to that. Joe then found out that Aja had a gym in Cypress area, not too from our house, and Joe wanted to try it out, to see if it was a good place for us. We dropped in for our first visit, I believe at the end of Oct 2013, we then met Aryan and discussed all about Behemoth and we decided to give it a go and it’s been amazing ever since!! So in the end, I am happy I didn’t get much of a choice ☺-What are you most proud of, physically, mentally or both since beginning with us?Oh wow, where to begin with this. I am proud of both the mental and physical changes I have had here at Behemoth. I know when I first started I really didn’t have any goals, all I knew is I wanted to look better because let’s be honest people, we all want to look in the mirror and have that reaction “Damn, I look good.” I have always struggled with my own self confidence in my body and myself in general, as a lot of women do. I remember there being a lot of myself saying things like “I just can’t do this”, “I am never going to get better”, and “Maybe, I am just meant to be this size forever.” I was just so negative about myself and about everything around me. It changed for me when I changed my mindset last fall. I started to look at things in a more positive way. I think that was my biggest hurdle. Once my mindset changed, other things started falling into place and the physical changes were a perk as well ☺ . “Change the way you look at things, and the things around you change.” I am amazed at how much my confidence level has risen. To me, that is worth so much more, than just “Looking good”, but that doesn’t hurt either ☺. Looking back on the past year and ½ since I started here at Behemoth, the progress I have made both mentally and physically is amazing. I am excited to see what the future holds for me. I also want to thank my husband, Joe, for all the support you have given me over this journey, you have truly been my rock!-Why Behemoth?There are 2 huge parts of why Behemoth is absolutely the BEST! You are not going to find another gym with coaches that care about us, the way they do here at Behemoth. The coaching is phenomenal. It’s so great to have the coaches that we do that emphasize so much on technique, so we are doing everything correctly. The last thing any of us want is to be injured from poor technique. Whether its questions on nutrition, workouts, mindset, or just things happening in life itself, they take the time to help each one of us out. Thank you Aja, Aryan, and Leah for everything you do. There are not enough words to describe how truly amazing you are to us! The 2nd part is the community here. From the moment I started coming here, I was amazed at how welcomed I felt. I want to thank everyone with the Behemoth Community for always being so positive, uplifting, and just all around a group of such strong individuals! Not only has it been great seeing the changes in myself, it has been such a great experience seeing those changes in each and every one of you! You are all such inspirational role models to me!-What next? What are you excited about pursuing here in the future?Just challenging and pushing myself more. There is so much more I want to get better at!“3, 2, 1…Go” Mad Lib section-My favorite lift is… Honestly, I really don’t have a favorite. I really like all the lifts at this moment, quite possibly because I still am developing better technique and getting stronger with each cycle. I love it!-My most frequent class I come to is… 6pm!!!!-I have always wanted to… So unfortunately I am not much of a risk taker, but I have always wanted to learn a new language!-When I’m not crushing weights, my favorite thing to do is… So I am kind of lame, but I love having movie nights w/ the hubs, taking it easy, enjoying time with friends and just enjoying life.-Favorite “application of fitness” outside of the gym is… Tennis, taking dogs on walks to the dog park. I just tried paddle boarding and I loved that! Possibly anything besides sky diving or bungee jumping, I am pretty much game for.-Favorite Pandora station… JT Radio Baby!!!-Beast mode engaged when this song comes on… Just give me a song with a good dance beat and I am game!
