May Meet The Members
Meet Tex & Matt!
Tex Serisier-Platt is one of the most consistent 5am-ers in TORIAN history and a friendly sight to any coach fortunate enough to work the opening shift. She first started at TORIAN with her Mum and Dad (Vicki and Mark, celebrities in their own right) by attending personal training sessions with Coach Izzy.
After dragging along her sister Paisley the whole family transitioned to regular classes where Tex has gone from win to win in her progressions. A testament to what showing up everyday can do for your fitness, Tex has developed herself from scaling almost everything to the point where they are not many workouts left she can’t RX under time cap.
An absolute ray of sunshine in the cold, dark, morning and an awesome example of the kind of awesome people our community naturally attracts.
Matt Preston-Smith is equally a familiar site on the opposite end of the spectrum. Anyone who frequents our PM classes will probably notice Matt coming in around 5pm to do some “homework” before jumping in on the 6pm class almost without fail.
Matt is a typical quiet achiever, who puts his head down and gets the job done. He is dedicated and patient, working with Coach Jack 1 on 1 to fix a few weaknesses and then diligently doing the necessary work in his own time to get the results and achievements he is chasing.
A rare example of delayed gratification in a world that all too commonly demands a quick solution and gives up too quickly after not seeing a tangible result. Matt does get to shine on running days however when he casually crushes what would be most people’s personal bests without even breaking a sweat.
Matt has also worked hard to move himself towards the elusive RX sphere and has had a few time of the days under his belt during his tenure.
Matt is one of the most coachable athletes in the gym always willing to take on advice and never lets the chasing of the clock get in the way of trying to be better.
Anyone who has ever engaged with Matt can confirm: one of the nicest people in our community.
Whether you are up before the sun rises or heading home after sundown, you’ll find people who are chasing their goals, working hard for themselves but also supporting their peers and community with equal enthusiasm.
Matt and Tex are two of the very best of such people, and if you see them in the gym give them a hi five and a congrats for being our May Members of the Month.
Tex & Matt Q&A Q. Age?
Tex: 28 Matt: 28
Q. How long have you been CrossFitting for?
Tex: 6 Matt: 1 and a half years.
Q. What made you start?
Tex: Mum started PT sessions with Izzy to help with her Multiple Sclerosis symptoms. On my 22nd birthday she asked me to come do a session with her and I naively thought “if mum can do this, I’ll cruise through it”…I did not. Mum did everything Iz told her to like a champ and I was just hoping it would end soon. I went home afterwards, threw up and swore I’d never speak the name Isobel Allen again… 1 month later Dad and I joined and trained with her for 4 years. A few years after that we convinced Paiz to come too. Matt: The principles of CrossFit, it’s a balanced strength and conditioning program that prepares you to be in the ready state. I originally thought this would be great off-season training for footy. Committing to your own programming in a gym is lonely, requires discipline and doesn’t provide technical feedback - The CrossFit approach addresses these downsides and offers so much more.
Q. What is your favourite thing about TORIAN?
Tex: It’s not like any gym I’ve ever been to before. The coaches put the time and effort into you. They know what you are capable of, when to push you to work a little harder and when you should scale. Also the other members who are always around to encourage you to keep going even when you feel like giving up. Matt: The community, 100%. It doesn’t matter what’s happened during the day, when you walk inside Torian everyone is in the state of mind of improving themselves and others. We appreciate and admire effort.
Q. What has been your proudest achievement in CrossFit?
Tex: Finally getting double-unders unbroken, followed closely by cracking 100+kg deadlift. Matt: I didn’t have the strength to do a single full range of motion strict pull-up.It’s taken a while, but it felt great to smash that 3 strict pull-up hold point and progress.
Q. What is something that you couldn’t do before CrossFit that has changed your life?
Tex: So many things. My general fitness has improved drastically. Before CrossFit I never realised how unfit I actually was even though I didn’t typically look unfit. I couldn’t do a pull up or push up, i was exhausted after running 400m and I had very little strength. Now I am the fittest, strongest and healthiest I have ever been. Matt: Understand how limited my motor control and range of motion was and is and how it’s holding me back. I want to be able to move freely and without pain when I’m 60.
Q. What do you look forward to the most every day about Torian?
Tex: Just getting up and feeling like I have achieved something at the beginning of the day. It starts my morning off on the right foot mentally and helps me get through the rest day.
Matt: Seeing friends, people smiling, everyone happy to be here. The 6pm crew is awesome. Challenging myself to improve, progress being made everyday.
Q. What would you say to someone who is thinking about starting Crossfit but is worried?
Tex: It might seem intimidating at first but everyone is at a different level so if you just give it a chance you will quickly grow to love it and see the benefits.
