Founder and Head Programmer

Andrew Rape.

Founded CFT in 2008 · Writes every workout · Builder

He is not on the floor coaching your class. He is the reason your class is worth showing up to.

2008
Founded CFT
18 YRS
In Coaching
1:59
Fran
13TH
SE Regionals

The short version

Coach. Competitor.
Builder.

Andrew opened CrossFit Trussville in September 2008, which makes it one of the oldest CrossFit affiliates in the world and the oldest in this part of Alabama. He and his wife Candace own it alongside Sophia and Lee Contreras.

He does not coach group classes anymore. He writes them. Every CrossFit session on the whiteboard, plus the competitive track, comes out of a ten day movement audit he runs before a single rep gets programmed, so no pattern repeats and nothing is written by feel. Most gyms buy their programming. This one does not.

The approach is analytical by nature. Each athlete is a problem worth solving, and the payoff is somebody doing a thing they were certain they could not do. He also coaches nutrition and takes a small number of one on one clients.

When he is not here he is building something else. Beyond the gym he co-owns a connected portfolio of Trussville businesses, including Drip IV Therapy, HRZN Creative, and The PHNX Collective, the facility CFT now calls home.

"Thoughtful design, objective results. Especially when an athlete walks out with confidence they did not have walking in."
  • RoleFounder, co owner, head programmer
  • ProgramsCrossFit and the competitive track
  • EducationMarketing, UAB, minor in Medical Industrial Distribution
  • DisciplineBJJ blue belt, USA Weightlifting
  • Off the clockHusband, father of three, always building

The athlete résumé

The numbers
behind the programming.

Andrew does not program from theory. He programs from a competitive career at the top end of the sport, which is why the same whiteboard works for a first timer and for someone chasing a podium.

300
lb Snatch
400
lb Clean & Jerk
1:59
Fran
13th
Southeast Regionals
CrossFit Regionals competitor

The professional years

He played
Madison Square Garden.

2014Through 2016,
New York Rhinos
When professional team fitness launched in the United States, Andrew was drafted. He was the first pick of the second round, taken by the New York Rhinos, and competed for three seasons in arenas around the country including Madison Square Garden, sharing the floor with athletes like Mat Fraser and Annie Thorisdottir. The preparation, the pressure, and the precision that level demands is what he brings back to every session he writes here.

Beyond the gym

A builder
by nature.

The drive to build does not stop at the whiteboard. Andrew co-owns and operates a connected portfolio rooted in Trussville, each one an extension of the same principle. Thoughtful systems that produce real results.

Fitness, since 2008
CrossFit Trussville

One of the oldest CrossFit affiliates in the world and voted Best Gym in Trussville 2025. Andrew founded it and still writes the programming.

Wellness, since 2023
Drip IV Therapy

Co-founder and co-owner, bringing IV hydration and recovery wellness to the Trussville and 280 communities.

Creative, branding and web
HRZN Creative

A branding and web studio building modern digital presence for local businesses, including the site you are reading right now.

Community, the collective
The PHNX

The PHNX Collective and Venue, the facility and community hub at 139 Railroad Street that CrossFit Trussville now calls home.

Credentials

Certified
in the work.

Eighteen years backed by continuous education across programming, weightlifting, gymnastics, nutrition, and business systems.

  • CrossFit Level 2 Trainer, CF-L2
  • CrossFit Level 1 Trainer, CF-L1
  • CrossFit Judges Certificate, 2015 to 2024
  • USA Weightlifting Level 1 Certified
  • OPEX CCP, Program Design
  • OPEX CCP, Nutrition Specialist
  • OPEX CCP, Life Coaching
  • OPEX CCP, Athlete Assessment
  • OPEX CCP, Business Systems
  • OPEX Elite Competitor Certificate
  • Olympic Lifting Specialty Course
  • Gymnastics Specialty Course
  • Anatomy Specialty Course
  • Running Specialty Course
  • Scaling Specialty Course
  • Lesson Planning Specialty Course
  • Coaching Fundamentals Specialty Course
  • Spot the Flaw Specialty Course
  • Michael Cohen Olympic Lifting Certificate
  • Level Method Foundation Certificate
  • Kettlebell Fundamentals, Kettlebell Kings
  • BJJ Blue Belt, competitor
  • CPR, AED, and First Aid Certified

Train with the person
who built the program.

Andrew takes a limited number of one on one clients across weightlifting, program design, nutrition, and business coaching.

Weightlifting Program Design Nutrition Business
Book a Consultation