By Bella Martin - CrossFit Host or Reporter • Dec 10, 2024
Hello and welcome to my inner thoughts, I’m Bella.
You might have seen me along the sidelines of a CrossFit event or interviewing your favorite athletes. No matter the venue, I always have a journal in my hand and more often than not, I get asked “what do you write about?” The not so exciting truth is, I write down everything. I write down things that are happening on the floor, questions that I’d like to ask, facts, fleeting thoughts... Everything. When I’m home, I still write a lot but it's different. I write about my day, my dreams, and everything in between. This blog series will be a peek into my brain so that you never wonder again what I’m writing about.
To start, I’ll tell you some things about myself. Not just the sports side, but also who I am as a person.
Since it's the fall, I’ll share that I’m a fightin’ Texas Aggie.
I went to Texas A&M for undergrad and graduate school which is where I found my passion for not only writing but also for professional sports and entertainment. During my time in school, I wanted to pursue working in athlete branding and help athletes behind the scenes. Funny enough, I am one of those people that can say that I actively use my degrees in sport management and athlete branding nearly every single day. Something that most people don’t know is that when I was in graduate school I worked with a sports candle company to acquire and develop partnerships. Growing up, my dream was to work for the Dallas Cowboys alongside Charlotte Jones Anderson, but doing a white-label candle for her might’ve been good enough to satisfy my inner child. I didn’t know I would ever work as a host or reporter, secretly I don’t love attention. A few years ago, I was told that I should host events and I never turned back. Despite my initial hesitation on if I would be interesting enough and fear of being in front of so many people, I can’t imagine what I’d be doing if not this. I think that sometimes other people, even if they don’t know you well, can see things in you that maybe you haven’t seen in yourself yet. Truly, I give all credit for my current career to other people for not only believing in me but also dreaming bigger for me.
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It's not all just CrossFit and sports in my life.
I love learning new languages, the best way I’ve found is through children’s books and Duolingo. Part of the reason that I love learning is so that I can explore new places in the world and be able to fully immerse myself. I think it is so much more respectful and meaningful when you go to a new place and can communicate with the people.
I’m also hoping that learning new languages can open up opportunities for me outside of the sport!
My big dream right now is to work at the LA Olympics in 2028. It’s crazy to put that out into the world, but if that door doesn’t open for me, I’ll still have had an incredible journey trying. Music is also a passion of mine. I’m always listening to music, when I’m writing, reading, moving…all the time.
If you asked the people in my life who know me best about any quirks of mine, they’d tell you that I have an unhealthy addiction to Diet Coke. To that I’d crack open a cold one and toast to them.
Every Thursday, no matter where in the world I am, I try to have a burger. It's a simple thing that I’ve found has brought so much joy into my life and I hope everyone who reads this finds their own version of a Burger Thursday.
Now that you know me a little better,
the real purpose of this first blog is to open up a little about being a woman that works in sports. All throughout grad school, my cohort discussed how challenging it is for women to find opportunities in professional sports. While CrossFit isn’t one of the major professional sporting organizations, there are some parallels. I think what I’ve found is not necessarily the lack of opportunities for women but the perspectives behind getting the opportunities. I think people are inherently competitive but being competitive isn’t unhealthy until it's acted upon with a scarcity mindset. I fully believe that rising tides raise all ships. When other women are succeeding, it doesn’t mean that I’m not nor does it mean that I’m losing opportunity. When other women succeed, it's good for all of us. Also as a woman, imposter syndrome is one hell of a thing. As a woman who works in sports/entertainment, its sometimes hard to believe that I’m always the most qualified or educated for the role. But, what I’ve learned is that when doors open, walk through them and don’t look back. Keep looking and moving forward and trust that when you put your best foot forward and give your best effort, you belong.
To any woman or girl who wants to pursue a career in CrossFit or really in anything, here are a few words of wisdom that I’d like to share from not only my own personal experiences but things I've learned from listening to other people sharing their stories with me.
Dream really big and surround yourself with other people who have even bigger dreams for you than you do.
I’ve found this to be so healthy for both friendships and relationships. The only thing in life that will limit your success is your own lack of ability to dream. Don’t be scared of setting crazy goals and when you inevitably fail, that's a beautiful thing. It's a blessing to have the opportunity to fail. Its when you don’t pick yourself back up that failure becomes a problem.
Also, support looks different in different situations.
Sometimes support looks like a check-in text, or a long walk with no predetermined ending point, or even dropping off a coffee if you know they’ve had a long day. But, support is also speaking someone’s name in a room full of opportunities or connecting different parts of your world together. No matter what the support looks like, it has to come with a heart of abundance and a true belief that rising tides will raise all ships, not just one at a time.
I’m grateful to Rx Smart Gear for this chance to share my thoughts. Its not often that a brand believes so deeply in someone.
I feel blessed that they see my potential as not only a voice for a sport but also for the community. I’m looking forward to more sweaty sessions and many pages full of thoughts. Please go forward in life and sport with any and all lessons learned from this blog and know that even if we’ve never met, you’ll always have a supporter in me.