LOS ANGELES
DOWNTOWN
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NEWS Volume 42, Number 12
EBRATING EL
YEARS
Since 1972
A Filming Fight at Grand Park
Celebrate Easter in Downtown
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W W W. D O W N T O W N N E W S . C O M
March 25, 2013
The Big CrossFit Battle Suddenly, Downtown Has Six Gyms Specializing in the Rigorous Exercise Regimen
photo by Gary Leonard
Downtowners work out at Trojan CrossFit, which opened in the Arts District in November. The intense exercise program involves an ever-changing regimen of weight lifting with agility and circuit training. by Ryan VaillancouRt staff wRiteR
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rossFit, a burgeoning fitness craze that drives participants to compete against their last performance in the gym, is about to introduce a new kind of competition in Downtown. This test, however, is strictly business. Downtown is now home to four licensed CrossFit gyms. In a one-mile radius, there are more CrossFit gyms than there are grocery stores, movie theaters or bookshops. A fifth gym
planning to open April 1 is seeking affiliation. Another new facility doesn’t label itself as a CrossFit gym, but it offers a workout based on the same routines. The gyms are opening as more young customers are drawn to CrossFit’s intense strength and endurance-building regimen. The routine revolves around ever-changing “Workouts of the Day,” or WODs, that incorporate elements of Olympic weight lifting with agility and circuit training. Although only 10 years old, CrossFit has grown rapidly since ESPN started broadcasting the Reebok-sponsored CrossFit Games competition in 2011.
The new arrivals include Cameron Prestwich, who partnered with Matthew Newhouse — both of them are L.A. County Deputy Sheriffs — to open the 9,000-square-foot Trojan CrossFit in the Arts District in November. He’s banking on the trend’s rapid growth and Downtown’s central location. “It’s more mainstream than you might realize,” said Prestwich. “All you’re going to see is more and more. It’s a big word of mouth thing and CrossFit works.” It remains to be seen, however, whether Downtown is big see CrossFit, page 11
Blowing Up and Melting Down AEG Leadership Flap Is Just One of Seven Unexpected Downtown Twists by Jon RegaRdie executiVe editoR
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n March 14, Downtown was blindsided by the news that Anschutz Entertainment Group President and CEO Tim Leiweke was out the door. People treated it as the biggest surprise since the time that a gaggle of Greek soldiers hid in the belly of a wooden horse. Maybe we should not have been surprised at all. Although no one foresaw The Great Leiweke Exit of 2013, it fits in perfectly THE REGARDIE REPORT
in a year in which seven prominent local businesses, institutions or offices are blowing up or melting down. Wherever you look,
a leading Downtown-based entity is enmeshed in a struggle for supremacy or even survival. The Leiweke-Anschutz continental-sized divide is only the start. Downtown’s leading museum, MOCA is under financial duress. Then there’s the community’s biggest media property, the Los Angeles Times, which faces an uncertain future as hawks (and some vultures) circle a publication that is being sold. That’s not the end of it. The community’s two biggest political jobs are up for grabs, the most powerful religious institution is dogged by controversy and even a tall building is under attack. Here’s how it all shakes out. Mayoral Muck: The March 5 city election didn’t clear up much see Melting Down, page 13
photo by Gary Leonard
Tim Leiweke’s departure from Anschutz Entertainment Group was so thorny that company chair Phil Anschutz (shown here) actually decided to speak to the media. He had not done an interview in about 30 years.