On an unassuming industrial street in Long Island, New York, a three-time Grammy Award-winning artist does deadlifts. His name: Wyclef Jean.
“So a friend was like, ‘Yo, you need to try CrossFit.’ I was like, ‘OK, I’ll give it a try.’ But I was like, ‘I hope I’m not gonna get the celebrity treatment,’ you feel me?”
Jean adds: “That celebrity treatment — it lasted probably 3.1 seconds.”
His coach: Jennifer Hunter-Marshall. The CrossFit Garden City trainer is a six-year member of CrossFit’s Level 1 Seminar Staff, has competed at the North East Regional multiple times, and finished in the top 20 worldwide in the 40-44 Division of the CrossFit Games Masters Qualifier.
She’s put Jean through Fran and Nasty Girls and saw him achieve a 300-lb. deadlift earlier this year.
“I like the intensity of the workouts, meaning the way they all push you different,” Jean says. “It’s not boring, and it can adjust to your character.”
As part of the coaching relationship, Hunter-Marshall got to spend some time with Jean inside the studio.
“How he creates is pretty amazing. I knew he was talented, and I knew that people call him a genius, but to see him work and in four-and-a-half hours see him put together a finished product, not many people get to experience that. I felt really privileged to be a part of it.”
Originally published – June 2014
Hips Don't Lie: Deadlifts, Nasty Girls, and Wyclef