CrossFit Hillsdale: Finding Community in an Unexpected Place

[April 8, 2026]

Submitted by Mary Samuels

Six years ago, if you had told me I would be an enthusiastic member of a CrossFit gym, I would have suggested that you seek professional help. As an older woman with a job and a family, I am not and have never been a gym rat.

But then I ran into a friend at the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market who had just come from a class at the Southwest Portland Martial Arts and Hillsdale CrossFit gym nearby. She’s about my age, and until I talked to her, it would not have occurred to me to try a CrossFit gym. I didn’t think I was the “type." I was intrigued.

I tried out their free week of classes and was immediately struck by the friendliness, the inclusivity, and the sheer fun the group was having. Since then I have found myself at the gym five or six days a week.

But I am not a stereotypical CrossFitter and this is not your stereotypical CrossFit gym. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been gratified by my progress (I’m stronger, more flexible, and overall more fit), but there have been other real benefits, quantified in terms of relationships and community.

There are some amazing athletes working out at the gym, of all ages (teens to 70s) and fitness levels, who also love to accompany the workout with discussions about history, philosophy, movies, books, and life in general. In between squats, lunges, and cleans (I don’t do burpees), there are dad jokes and conversation ranging from the life of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie to the secret to the best chocolate stout cake (it turns out of one the fittest guys has the best recipe).

More than a few have been members since the gym opened more than 15 years ago. We’re now into second-generation category, with kids who have aged into Crossfit working out with their parents.

The atmosphere is collaborative rather than competitive, and the more talented folks help coach those of us not blessed with natural athletic ability. We cheer each other on when we try for personal bests in weight lifting or simply doing the movements better; but we have also supported each other through crises, illnesses, and loss, and celebrated marriages, births, and professional triumphs together.

Besides Crossfit, the gym has martial arts classes for kids and adults, family classes, programs for babies and toddlers, parkour, kids’ camps, yoga, and monthly community book club (no assigned reading!). Many Sunday morning Crossfit workouts are followed by a field trip to the Farmer’s Market or PDX Coffee Club down the street.

This article is not actually an advertisement for the gym (although you might love it there). It is, instead, an observation that belonging and community are sometimes found in unexpected places. I did not expect to make some of the closest friends of my life at a local gym, but I have. I did not expect to look forward to spending time at the gym, but I do (despite the fact that I really don’t like to exercise). And while I did expect to improve my fitness, I did not expect the gym community to become the foundation of how I get through life’s challenges, but there you have it.

So my message is to find a community and revel in it. It may be in an unexpected place, but it will be there, and it will nourish your soul. Good luck!

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Where are the surprising places where you have found community? Let us know.