F3 region launched in Trussville

Participants become ‘part of something bigger’

Aron Smith never anticipated this.

When a job change altered his daily schedule, making his workout time more difficult, a coworker told him about F3, a free peer-led workout program for men including bootcamp workouts, run groups and rucks. It sounded a bit over the top to Smith, but he decided to commit to it for a month, starting in December 2017.

Four years later, Smith is now leading the new Trussville-based F3 region, F3 Beast, which stands for Birmingham East. The region, one of more than 200 across the country, launched Oct. 23. The three Fs stand for fitness, fellowship and faith.

Smith went from being a guy who rarely ran to running an unofficial 10K after three or four months. He also built deep relationships with the guys who became his running partners. He likened the camaraderie to that of high school football teammates or military buddies.

“There’s something about pressing through hard things together that really makes it special,” Smith said.

The Trussville region held its launch, called Convergence, on Oct. 23 at Cahaba Elementary School. This F3 region includes daily workouts — except Sundays — across Trussville. Each location has a F3-specific name. Cahaba Elementary has three, called “Slagheap,” “Iditarod” and “Mush Ruck.” Paine Elementary School is “House of Paine,” Magnolia Elementary School is “The School Yard” and Clay-Chalkville High School is “Golem.”

Smith is this region’s leader, though about 10 men shared responsibility for workouts, locations and more. His goal is for F3 Beast to reinvigorate male community leadership. While bootcamp-style workouts can lead to weight loss and faster run times, but Smith has seen men become better husbands, fathers and community leaders.

“It kind of becomes a fuel for that,” he said. “That is the heart of really what motivates me to do it. That’s been true for me, and it’s been true for most of the men who are there. It does have a sort of transformative effect over time.”

David Coffman is one of those men. He had been out of the military for 20 years and struggled to stay active. He’s been involved with F3 now for almost three years.

“F3 got me back into a workout routine and provided a great atmosphere for camaraderie and to build some relationships with some great men in our community,” Coffman said. “It has had a big impact on my life, so I want to pay it forward to other men and help them enjoy the rewards that come from F3.”

The beauty of F3 is in its simplicity. Men can check the week’s workout schedule at f3beast.com and simply show up to a workout. No fees or equipment are required, only a desire to participate. The workouts typically last from 5:30-6:15 a.m. and are designed to be challenging yet inclusive. The workouts are outdoors year-round. If it’s freezing, their teeth chatter as they run. If it’s raining, they get soaked. It’s challenging.

“But I find that most men have a lot more in them than they know,” Smith said. “This is kind of a way to reveal that at some level. We really enjoy watching that transformation in a lot of people over time.”

After the workouts, the groups end with a circle of trust, in which a prayer or thought is shared, and a name-a-rama, in which any newcomers are given a nickname. Smith, for instance, is nicknamed “Breach,” because he works in cybersecurity. Another man, whose first name is Oscar, was nicknamed “Grouch.” Smith joked that he now can’t go out to date night with his wife in Trussville without running into at least one man that he knows.

“It’s just kind of how it works,” he said. “It has this great connection sense of really connecting you to your community.”

That’s where Smith never anticipated any of this when he got involved in 2017. He started going to F3 workouts in Homewood and Mountain Brook since he worked downtown. Helping launch a region in Trussville wasn’t in the plans, and it would alter his schedule. But he realized he wasn’t connected to the community he calls home. Now, he is. F3 groups in Trussville have received Trussville City Schools Board of Education approval to hold their workouts at the elementary schools, and they have put together desks at Paine Elementary and worked on outdoor spaces at Cahaba Elementary. The goal, Smith said, is to take that faith component of F3 and put it into action in Trussville.

“F3 is not a Christian organization,” he said. “It’s really an organization that says, ‘You need faith in your life, and faith is essentially something bigger than yourself.’ The transformation of people happens in small groups. What happens is they become part of something bigger. They get a sense of mission and they want to go do something to be a part.”

Now that F3 Beast is launched, the goal is to expand in the immediate area. Smith hopes to see future involvement in neighboring cities such as Moody and Leeds. Smith never saw this type of workout program, nor his leadership role increasing, when he first got involved. The transformative effect F3 has had on him has been significant.

“It’s something I never anticipated for myself,” he said. “I couldn’t have imagined it.”