GRANVILLE – He’s a fitness trainer who thinks like a systems analyst. He sees a problem, analyzes it and creates an individualized system to fix it. “What it comes down to,” he summed, “is learning how to be a good listener, collect all the relevant data, and then use that to help us move forward.”

He’s Craig McDonald, founder and co-owner of Always Forward CrossFit in Granville.

“CrossFit with Craig,” related Granville’s Craig Washka, “has been my best medicine ever, helping me move again and regain independence in my battle with MS! I have a life again, improving movement, strength and stamina. All done in a power chair! I look forward to every session.”

Now 47, McDonald grew up in Granville, graduated from GHS in 1990, then earned his undergraduate degree in environmental science (with an emphasis on atmospheric and global change) from OSU. He also has a master’s in natural resources from Ohio State. He then went to Denison to become certified to teach science.

“As a child,” he remembered, “I enjoyed being outside and going for hikes and spending time in the woods. I also loved studying and observing the weather and stars and would constantly study maps of all types. I would dream of visiting the places on the maps just to see what they were really like. As a career, becoming a meteorologist was my dream. I certainly never thought I would be in the fitness business!”

That became even more apparent in college. “I let my health slide a bit and became overweight,” he said. So he made the decision to get fit – again. “I loved the process of seeing myself change,” he added, “and come back to where I was as a teen athlete.”

These days his activities center around “being fit,” especially “all types of outdoor activities” such as trail running, hiking, backpacking, skiing and climbing. He’s scaled, for instance, the towering curtain of ice at the world-famous ice park in Ouray, Colorado. He’s also climbed many mountains. Among them, Mt. Washington in New Hampshire – in a 90 mile per hour wind, in the winter.

But it hasn’t all been about fitness. McDonald also taught 8th grade science in Granville for 15 years. “I loved it!” he stated. Along with that he coached high school soccer – and that had a profound impact on him. “I really grew to love coaching,” he said.

But what really changed him was coaching/training his own father. “I saw the possibility of using CrossFit to train my father who was physically declining at the time,” he clarified. “After watching him heal and gain fitness, I knew I really wanted to help others become healthy again.”

He started Always Forward CrossFit in December 2009 – initially in his garage – and, he said, “I’ve been at it ever since.”

“Craig always seems to be one step ahead of other, similar gyms,” assessed Sally Heckman, a CrossFit trainer as well as executive vice president of First Federal Savings. “His emphasis has always been on improving people’s daily lives, in a really nonjudgmental way. It’s really personal to him, and that sets him up for success.”

“I do it because it’s a way I can help people,” McDonald summed. “I decided when I was 17 that whatever career path I would follow, it must directly help people. Now, I love what I do!”

For more

Always Forward CrossFit is located at 464 South Main Street in Granville. For more information, call 740-507-4378 or log on www.alwaysforwardcrossfit.com.

Aces of Trades is a weekly series focusing on people and their jobs – whether they’re unusual jobs, fun jobs or people who take ordinary jobs and make them extraordinary. If you have a suggestion for a future profile, let us know at advocate@newarkadvocate.com or 740-328-8821.

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