FIELD NOTES // 015 - The First Roots

The First Roots

Nothing strong grows overnight.

A tree doesn’t break the ground without first driving roots deep where no one can see.

CHLKDUP was the same.

In 2019 it was just an idea stitched into cotton.

But ideas don’t last unless they’re planted in something bigger.

–––

Planting in Community

I didn’t have a gym.

I didn’t have a built-in crowd to sell to.

So if CHLKDUP was going to grow, I had to give it soil.

That soil became Box League.

Four weeks of sweat.

Seven teams in the first season.

More every year after.

–––

Roots in the Photos

Every week ended with a group picture.

Shoulder to shoulder.

Faces red, hands torn, shirts damp.

Those photos weren’t just memories.

They were roots.

Proof that people believed before there was much to believe in.

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Growth You Can’t Fake

At its peak, Box League had thirty-two teams.

Different gyms. Different athletes.

But all tied together by one name on their shirts.

That’s when I realized CHLKDUP wasn’t just mine anymore.

It belonged to the people who carried it into their gyms,

who trusted me to guide them through competition.

–––

Roots Made it Real

Iron can test your body.

But community tests your purpose.

And even though we’ve moved away from events,

Box League is still part of our DNA.

Because the first roots of CHLKDUP were never fabric and ink—

they were people.

FN // 016 → Built, not given.