SUBU CrossFit in Orlando, Florida, will celebrate its 12th year as an affiliate this June. What started as a few friends working out in a backyard watching YouTube videos and following CrossFit.com has blossomed into a thriving community with 175 members.
“We opened an affiliate because of our love for our community and the unstoppable force that is the methodology,” said affiliate owner Miguel Senior. “Our passion was born with our small group of friends in our backyard, doing what we could with what little we had. That same passion grew wildly once we each completed our (Level 1 Seminar). But it was experiencing the results within our early days that solidified that passion into a lifelong pursuit of progression.”
SUBU’s mission is to improve the community through fitness — and not just within the walls of the gym. With a deep love for their home city of Orlando, Senior and his team mobilize the affiliate to bring about positive change to the community through events and fundraisers, such as Burpees for Bucks which took place last December.
Burpees for Bucks
Each December for the last 12 years, the community at SUBU CrossFit has come together to complete Burpees for Bucks, a month-long fundraiser that benefits local organizations specializing in fighting youth homelessness and helping troubled and at-risk youth.
Through multiple fundraising efforts such as hosting events and raffles, the affiliate raises money all month. Once the grand total is determined, the community completes 1 burpee for every dollar raised.
The members of SUBU are reminded of the cause every day when they go to the gym.
“Our gym is located in the heart of downtown Orlando and we experience homelessness on a daily basis,” Senior said. “Many of which are underprivileged youth.”
The burpee was not chosen randomly but for its functionality and commonality with the youth the event benefits.
“The burpee is more than just functional. It’s about being knocked down and having the strength to pick yourself back up — much like these kids in need,” Senior said. “They are in unfortunate circumstances at no fault of their own. We are here to fight for them. We are here to help them stand back up.”
2023
Burpees for Bucks has spanned 12 years and raised a total of $303,000 for local organizations — $26,178 of that was raised in December 2023 alone.
With more than 26,000 burpees to complete, Senior said the community started in early January and chipped away at them through warm-ups, workouts, and a full day dedicated to burpees. They finished the reps in just four days.
“Through classes, we implement burpees in warm-ups and workouts to help us get started and knock off a small number per day,” he said. “However we make sure to leave a significant amount for the final day, which we call ‘Burpee Day.’”
On Burpee Day, the community completed approximately 18,000 burpees with Senior and the affiliate’s co-owner Larry Marks leading the way, completing 1,000 apiece. Other members did hundreds each to fulfill the promise.
2023’s event benefited the Foundation for Foster Children, an organization formed to “address the staggering and alarming statistics surrounding foster children in Central Florida.” The mission of the Foundation is to “enhance the lives of children in foster care through support and advocacy by creating opportunities for a brighter future” and ensure kids are able to participate in typical childhood activities like soccer, dance, or summer camp.
“We choose to fight for these underprivileged kids,” Senior said. “They deserve our help and if it means we must do a large number of burpees to get the job done then so be it. We sure won’t shy away from a little suffering so these kids can have a chance at a better life.”
Senior said seeing the members of SUBU take on the challenge of Burpees for Bucks and supporting the local community is extremely fulfilling for him as an affiliate owner.
“We’re not just a gym,” he said, “we are a tight-knit family and we will stand together and fight for our beloved city and its less fortunate.”
The owners, coaches, and members of SUBU CrossFit harness the power of their affiliate and community each year to help others. They use the strength earned within the gym to make a difference outside of it — a testament to the power of what can happen when a community works together toward a collective goal.
“We use our fitness to help others in need. We lead our community in a fight that makes a positive impact in our city,” Senior said. “We show both our members and our community that the strength we build inside our affiliate is not limited to our walls, but can stem to reach far beyond any expectations. Through this fight for the good of our community, our members find the strength within themselves to make a difference.”
SUBU CrossFit Raises $300,000 for Local Organizations