January 2019 Athlete of the Month - Mike Patterson

January’s honor without question goes to Mike Patterson. This guy has been on the list of candidates for months. It is only fitting that we honor him and celebrate him with Athlete of the Month.

On January 24th, I got a phone call at five in the evening giving me the sad news that Mike Patterson passed away suddenly. I couldn’t wrap my head around it. I was in disbelief and heartbroken for a member whom I really did not know outside our four walls. He had a quiet demeanor and possessed more short term power on the ski, bike and row than we could dream of. His nicknames to his buddies outside the gym were “Sugar” and “Patty.” To us, he was “Big Mike.” Outside the gym, he and managed his family’s bakery in Brooklyn, he raced is 1988 BMW M3 and was a loving son, brother, fiance and friend. I had the pleasure of meeting Mike’s mother and fiance Sharon and they were incredibly grateful for the attendance our members showed to say our final goodbyes to Mike. (The 5:30am crew was there before anyone else.)

A few words come to mind when I think of Mike:
1) Yankees
He always had a Yankees fitted hat on. That was his trademark.

2) Respectful
Mike was soft spoken. He walked the walk and always did the right thing.

3) Selfless
He put others first and always offered help.
Like Stu said in the obituary, “If Michael had it, it was yours.”
The the Mike picked up his brand new Ford Raptor truck, I walked in the gym and asked if it was his truck in the parking lot. He went to toss me the keys and said, “Yeah, do you want drive it?”

There are many memories of Mike and a lot of you shared them in the book I gave to Sharon.
Big Mike had all the characteristics in an Athlete of the Month at CrossFit Island Park.
I wish he was here to enjoy it with us.

Rest easy “Big Mike”


- Written by: Coach Rob Moloney