The first time Chris Cooper saw Sevan Matossian — who, unbeknownst to Coop, was the director of media for CrossFit Inc. at the time — he yelled at him to stop taking photos at the Canada East Regional. Now, almost a decade later, the pair sat down for some real talk about everything CrossFit.

The award-winning filmmaker and former media director shares some deeply personal insight from his life, including how homelessness freed him to experience true happiness, how he became a filmmaker, and how his life and identity have changed since being let go from CrossFit Inc.

Please note that this episode involves an open discussion about media and context, and we've left the language intact. It is not suitable for all audiences and listener discretion is advised.

Links:

The Sevan Podcast
Gym Lead Machine
Forever Fierce
Gym Owners United

Timeline:

1:21 – The time Chris Cooper told Sevan Matossian to “get the hell outta here!”

4:41 – How Sevan found freedom in homelessness.

9:51 – Finding purpose working at a home for disabled adults. 

11:38 – Falling into filmmaking. 

15:05 – Sevan’s first award-winning film: “Our House.”

18:39 – Finding CrossFit via a braggart bodyguard.

21:32 – Becoming CrossFit’s first filmmaker. 

24:43 – What CrossFit HQ used to be. 

26:07 – How media made CrossFit what it is today. 

28:26 – Coop and Sevan come full circle. 

33:49 – On speaking off the cuff — and paying for it. 

39:35 – The experiment and the biker gang.

47:06 – Where Sevan thinks CrossFit went wrong. 

49:05 – Brand-building in the CrossFit world. 

51:29 – Taking money but speaking truth. 

55:30 – What happened with Make WODs Great Again?

1:03:16 – How to deal with being canceled. 

1:07:06 – Sevan Matossian today: (mostly) free and (mostly) happy.