An interview with Duncan Seawell, Psy.D., Board Member of Forging Youth Resilience
What is Forging Youth Resilience?
Forging Youth Resilience is a nonprofit that provides workouts, mentorship, and nutrition education to youth across the country. We’re currently in about 20 different locations. Long-time CrossFit athletes might recognize Steve’s Club — that’s where we started. We rebranded during the pandemic and have been Forging Youth Resilience (FYR) ever since.
We’re a program that really fights against the odds. Children are growing unhealthier in almost every measurable way, and we strive to reach them through CrossFit to build relationships and provide coaching and mentoring in their lives, to set them on a healthier path. We’ve been operating this program since 2007, and it has been a national initiative since 2010.
How did you personally get involved?
I started CrossFit in 2009 and, like so many others, it absolutely changed my life. I knew I was moving back to Denver (Colorado), and saw the article Steve did in the CrossFit Journal back in the day. I thought it was such a cool thing, and Denver didn’t have a program. So, I went to a bunch of my CrossFit buddies and said, “Hey, would you be on board with me? Is this crazy?” And we started up in 2015. We once had five different locations in Denver.
Where did you start, and how did you find the first kids to participate?
We grew out of Bladium CrossFit, and Project Rise Fitness was actually our first home. We also worked in a locked residential treatment center with the most affected youth. We purchased equipment and installed it, transforming their entire fitness program into a FYR program.
Outreach is such a big challenge. How do you get kids to come to the gym?
We had an excellent fortune when an alternative high school and middle school moved into the parking lot right across from us. They were an online school, and we established a strong relationship with them that worked well. But there are many ways to attract kids to the program, and we share our strategies with everyone who’s interested.
What did those early days look like?
In 2015, not many kids in the area had access to CrossFit. We had some very motivated coaches who thought this was a great idea and that kids absolutely should have access to it. We opened our doors, started welcoming students over, and figured out class times that could work with them and their principal — middle of the day for some kids, after school for others.
We encountered some incredibly motivated kids from that group who went on to coach the younger kids in the classes and earn their Level 1 certificate. It took off from there.
What characteristics did those first students who truly embraced the program possess?
They were primarily children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Many of them didn’t speak much English and were enrolled in an online alternative school, so their education wasn’t traditional either. They were really motivated kids — some had a sports background, maybe played soccer or something similar — but the idea of just showing up to the gym, improving themselves, working with a coach, and their peers was way more attractive to them than any particular sport. There is a low barrier to entry for our programs, and everyone’s welcome. Many kids were attracted to that.
Did students receive P.E. credit for participating?
Yes! For that first school, their P.E. involved going out into the parking lot and kicking a deflated soccer ball around. Then the gym opened up, and our program opened up to them, changing the course of some of those kids’ lives.
Later, we worked with a high school near Bladium CrossFit that had gym class but didn’t have formal sports. They would walk a couple of blocks over and get their P.E. credit through FYR classes with us. That was also a really successful model.
How often did students participate?
Initially, we had a class every weekday that served as their P.E. class, and then we added classes after school, as well. We conducted extensive recruitment efforts within the community to find volunteers. We had people with formal CrossFit training and CrossFit athletes who’d been doing it for a long time serving as mentors and role models in the class. We were handling classes of up to 30-plus kids at that time.
What changes did you see in those first few months?
We saw amazing improvement. Some took the time to test us out and ensure that’s where they wanted to be. Some days, they’d show up, didn’t want to be there, and left, but they were always welcome back — that’s a big piece of our philosophy.
We really saw them change in terms of their interest in their own health, based first on the idea that they could improve in a very measurable way. They could see the outcomes of their strength improving, their cardio improving, and their times on benchmarks. It’s impossible to refute the fact that you’re a little bit better than you used to be when you have these data points staring you in the face.
Those types of changes ultimately kept people coming back. They got to see those data points reflected back to them. And of course, like in CrossFit, there are like-minded people around you giving high fives, celebrating benchmarks, seeing PRs, and making a big deal of it. Unfortunately, those things didn’t happen nearly often enough in these kids’ lives.
How do you manage the wide range of fitness levels?
Anyone familiar with CrossFit knows it’s for everybody, right? We can take anyone, scale it, and do whatever we need to. You’d have people coming in who had already self-identified as athletes, right next to someone who’d never touched a barbell before, and it simply didn’t matter. That’s the culture we created around it.
Just as the seasoned athlete was seeing gains and taking pride, the kid with no experience was also seeing gains, and they would turn and high-five each other. That kind of connection persisted and led to the formation of a new group. A lot of the kids identify it as CrossFit. During summer camp, when kids from different locations come together, they often refer to it as FYR Detroit or FYR Denver, but mostly they just call it CrossFit. They identify CrossFit as the thing that changed their life.
How does the national structure work?
Steve started things in 2007. Lee Knight came along in 2010 and developed a national program with a 501(c)(3) IRS designation. We’re the umbrella organization — same 501(c)(3). When you’re under our umbrella, you’re permitted to solicit tax-free donations and gain access to our extensive network of locations.
We share strategies for outreach, retention, and working with children with mental health issues. Trauma-informed coaching is a big piece of what we do. We select athletes to attend our camp and host a summit every spring, where we gather to network and share best practices. We facilitate fundraisers and help local clubs get the financial footing they need to run successful programs.
How do individual programs structure their classes?
It depends on the location. Some may be every Tuesday and Thursday at 4 o’clock. Some are scholarship-based programs where kids can take part in any of the gym’s CrossFit classes, and FYR takes care of the fee. It’s whatever works for that location, gym, coach, or local club leader.
Can a coach sponsor an individual kid through their gym?
In theory, yes, but they would need someone local to lead it. You need to be identified and create a board of at least three people to get the nonprofit designation. Once you have that going, you have a program. Christina is our staff member who helps with all onboarding. Anyone can email Christina at christina@forgingyouth.org and she’ll get you rolling.
Tell us about your background in psychology and how it informs the program.
I’m a clinical psychologist working primarily with teenagers here in Denver. I got into it because, during my internship and postdoctoral studies, I discovered CrossFit and realized I wanted to work in a nonprofit capacity. I donate my time to the organization, and I currently serve on the board of directors, helping to direct the national program.
The trauma-informed aspect is primarily about understanding how the mental health of your athletes influences their commitment to CrossFit, their own self-reflection on improvement, and their pre-gym experiences. All those things come to class with you. And I genuinely don’t think it’s just with FYR youth. It’s in every adult class I’ve ever been in. We all have our own history.
This initiative aims to help coaches understand their athletes and the variables related to mental health, enabling them to be better coaches, fostering stronger relationships, and encouraging kids to continue attending. Ultimately, this helps adults and kids form meaningful connections. We have volumes of research confirming that it takes just one solid adult in a child’s life to significantly improve protective factors.
Can you give an example of that philosophy in action?
Grit Underground was a Steve’s Club originally and was featured on the CrossFit podcast. They have this wonderful explanation: “Yeah, today is not your day, kid. You have a lot going on, but I’ll see you tomorrow.” That’s us. That’s fundamentally our philosophy — keeping that relationship alive for that kid because ultimately that relationship, that safe space for self-development, is the essential ingredient in the resilience they’re creating.
We can’t control many aspects of what’s happening in these kids’ lives; there’s a constant barrage of negative and potentially life-changing events coming at them. What we can do is understand the research on what creates resilience and protective factors, and package them in a way that can be implemented in any CrossFit gym across the country.
How do you train coaches in trauma-informed practices?
At our summit, for the past four years, we’ve had a trauma-informed coaching-specific seminar. Myself and two other social workers who work as leaders in FYR built out the curriculum and taught all the coaches. We also provided time for coaches to discuss what’s going on in their clubs, what particular kids give them a hard time, how to engage with different types of kids, and what to do when mental health issues escalate — who to refer out to so you’re not the kid’s therapist or parent, but you’re facilitating better health.
How involved are the parents?
It varies. FYR Aggieland in College Station, Texas, has its own parent class now. They made a space for parents to hang out during classes, and it evolved into its own CrossFit class for the parents.
At the same time, I’ve attended high school and college graduations where the parents didn’t show up, and I was the one there to see that kid walk the stage. That’s hugely fulfilling and amazing, and I’ll take that opportunity every time. It’s also a little bit sad, but usually there’s a good reason why that relationship fell apart.
What are the requirements for coaches who want to start a program?
They need their Level 1 (certificate) and should be working toward their CrossFit Kids Certificate Course. Those are our minimum qualifications.
Tell us about the summer camp.
Camp is absolutely my favorite. It’s a week-long event held outside Boulder, Colorado, at Denver Public Schools’ outdoor classroom in Balarat. There are two large dorms or cabins, a meeting building, a kitchen, and a dining area. Kids come out, and we hike and do all sorts of courses in the outdoor education space. Coming to 9,000 feet is outside the comfort zone of most of these kids to begin with.
They’re chosen from all our local clubs, and they do apply. Generally, they have support and nomination from their local club leader or home coach. They fly out to Colorado with their coach, and we run the most intense version of FYR that exists.
Year after year, these kids come away using words like, “You guys are family now.” They’re changed in a fundamental way. Last year, we had a couple of kids show up — one from Aggieland, one from Chicago — and on Day 1, they said, “Nope, send me home.” Many of these kids are taking their first plane ride and their first time away. By the end, the same two kids were hugging and crying, missing people, and couldn’t believe what an experience it had been.
We want the food, workouts, and connection they receive at camp to continue throughout the year. Obviously, that’s not feasible, but we provide them with a glimpse into what life can feel like when you’re extremely well-connected, when your day is structured in the right ways, and when you’re mindful of how you’re doing and who you’re connected to. I think it’s worth it, even if it’s just for a week.
What role does nutrition play in the program?
A lot depends on how the local club leader prioritizes it. At minimum, you’re talking to kids about macronutrients — what those are and what you’d like to increase and decrease to support better health and workouts.
We’ve had kids in Denver show up as real go-getter types, but they’d eaten nothing all day. We realized that and quickly put a ton of food at our workouts — bananas, fruit, protein bars — to hold them over. Many locations offer food to their athletes.
Primarily, it’s more about education, trying to get them to realize that what they put into their bodies really does matter. We’re up against resistance in terms of cultural variables and what their family’s status quo nutrition is. Sometimes it’s about getting kids to become firm enough believers that they’re talking to their parents about food.
Aggieland offered cooking classes where parents would come in and kids learned to cook, but parents also gained different information about what to eat to fuel their bodies. It varies across locations, but similar to CrossFit classes, it’s top of mind because it’s the base of everything.
Can you share a success story?
The one that amazes me beyond belief is a Denver athlete named Aspen.
She came to our program at Bladium CrossFit, despite not being an especially athletic person, with complicated relationships at home and little support. But she’s also one of the strongest humans I know in all kinds of ways. She developed her strength in classes and was really surprised by what she was capable of doing.
She survived high school and got into Dillard University, an HBCU in New Orleans, but was pretty sure she couldn’t afford it financially. Our program raised a substantial amount of money and used it to alleviate some of Aspen’s financial difficulties. With that and a significant scholarship, she was able to go.
We stayed in touch throughout college. At one point, she was going to leave school — she was done being away from Denver, done with the social dynamics at school, and was at her wits’ end. Knowing what she was about to miss was heartbreaking. We stayed in touch and, with a lot of encouragement, she put in a lot of work to stay on track and see it through.
This past May, I had the opportunity to attend her graduation from Dillard in New Orleans. She’s now at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Center in Denver, where she works as a surgical oncology nurse. She has her own apartment and is managing her life independently. It’s truly amazing.
That must have taken some serious work to keep her in school when she was ready to quit.
If we can distill what we do down to a single example, it’s being confronted with something you’re pretty sure is impossible — you’re not going to be able to do this thing. Then, having the resilience to see that moment for what it is, know you’re stronger than you think you are, stick with it for more than you thought you could endure, and end up with this huge achievement.
The microcosm is our classes: barbells, and physical fitness. The bigger issue is knowing you can actually do that because you’ve demonstrated it to yourself over and over, and having the people around you to remind you of that. That’s what’s so powerful.
For a coach who wants to get involved, what’s their first step?
Email Christina at christina@forgingyouth.org. You can also visit forgingyouthresilience.org and explore our website. Christina is amazing. She’s done this so many times and will walk you step by step, with check-in calls to ensure you’re getting everything in order.
There are specific steps that she will walk you through, but the return on that initial investment is huge. Looking at a life where you know for sure that if you hadn’t been a part of it, if that program didn’t exist, the opportunity for these youth to see their betterment wouldn’t have materialized the way it did.
Is there support from other program leaders?
There’s a group of people in our local clubs who have all gone through this, so there’s real mentorship in how to run a program effectively. You’re not out there on some island. We have community calls, local club check-ins, and a local club committee at the national program level that any local club leader should be part of. We share information all the time. We come together at camp and summit, and we really try to stay connected and supported because, like everything we do, those relationships and connections are what help us through.
What are you most excited about for the next year?
I’m excited to grow and grow stronger. I’d love to see more kids participating in our program, and more coaches experience the kind of fulfillment that the rest of us do. We’re getting better at identifying our essential ingredients and communicating them effectively. We now have a handbook in development that outlines how to run classes and access the most important aspects of our work.
We’re enhancing our capacity to assist local programs with fundraising, outreach, and community support. We’re growing our camp every year — we had our largest camp this year with 30 athletes. I’m most looking forward to seeing it run and do what it does naturally again this year. That’s many more lives impacted, and many more local club leaders inspired to do great work and grow.
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To learn more about Forging Youth Resilience or to start a program in your community, visit forgingyouthresilience.org or email Christina at christina@forgingyouth.org.