Born and raised in Pickering, Ontario, Andy "Monk" Swartz started CrossFit in his garage in 2003 turning himself into the greek god he is today. For 10 years he had worked as a lighting director in the Toronto film industry rubbing elbows with the likes of Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman and the Rolling Stones.
During this time, Monk also tried his hand at academia spending a total of two years at Windsor University; one year in General studies and one year in "Inebriation 101" studies.
Tired of the "feast or famine" atmosphere of the film industry in T.O., he moved to Vancouver in 2006 where he found CrossFit Vancouver. Andy found himself spending more and more time around the CrossFit barn. It was a natural transition turning his favourite hobby into a full-time career.
Andy has been heavily involved in sport and fitness all of his life having participated and competed in backcountry skiing, climbing, track, volleyball, basketball, endurance races and trail half-marathons. However, none of these sports has given him stamina and focus like CrossFit.
"I don't see CrossFit as working out. For me it has always been a sport. We play for points (be it time, rounds, or weight totaled). I want to beat the guy next to me, I don't want him to fail, mind you, but I want to beat him. Same goes for my previous performance. Every time out I'm trying to get stronger, faster, and more efficient; add competition and camaraderie, and if Crossfit isn't a sport then I don't know what is."
When coaching, Andy prefers to focus on the details, and proper form, "In Crossfit, when dealing with its elemental movements, you'll find a lot more similarities than differences. Spending time learning and refining these ABC's will pay dividends down the line. Once you have these down, you can form some pretty cool sentences, paragraphs, even poetry. Movement can be poetry. But this can't happen without an understanding of the ABCs"
Certifications:
• CrossFit Level II Trainer
• Weightlifting certified
• Running / Endurance certified
• Z-Health R-, I-, and S-Phase certified
• RKC Kettlebell certified
• NCCP Level 1 Weightlifting Certified
• Stretch Therapy
Hi Andrew, I am very glad to see that you are taking care of my very dear friend Chris Saini. I know he can smell really bad at times but don’t hold it against him, he has been challenged by this his entire life. Oh one other thing, don’t let him around any small furry animals, they may go missing and Chris has been known to hide them in his body cavities.
Anyhow I have lost my cell phone that has his contact info. ie phone # and I can no longer call him for his weekly bedtime story….could you please have him call me at 902-868-1328.
Love the web page by the way!!
Shawn
Posted by Shawn Woodard on 10/16 at 04:24 AMAndy,
I work out with your parents at Crossfit Pickering. They talk about you all the time! I’d like to think you were blessed with some great athletic genes as your mom schools me in WODs almost every night! Considering I’m only 24 she deserves some serious recognition for making us all work so hard to catch her!
What a great family!Erika
Posted by Erika on 03/24 at 09:44 AM