Chris Petrie

I grew up playing sports, from riding dirt bikes to high school football and on to wrestling for Arizona State University. I have always had a passion for athletics, especially for competition. I have also had a passion for coaching and spent a few years as a high school football coach. When I realized I could remain at the same fitness level as I was in my early 20s, compete at a high intensity once again, and coach others to reach their fitness goals, I joined the CrossFit Incendia coaching staff.

I started CrossFit in the summer of 2008 with Coach Brian Vayda while working together at the same fire station.  We were hooked right away and even went as far as using telephone poles that fell over in a summer monsoon to build a pull up bar rack and made homemade rings out of PVC pipe using the fire station oven. For me, CrossFit started out as a way to workout while on duty to “how can I improve so I can beat Vayda!” After the summer of 2008, I moved to a different fire station and left our homemade CrossFit gym.  Over the next four years I hung out inside globo gyms, enjoyed the air-conditioning environment, watched television while jogging (AKA yogging with a silent J), stared at myself in the mirror while doing bicep curls and would attempt one workout a month that included legs. I also got what we we call in the fitness world – soft.

In the summer of 2012, Brian and Lisa Vayda met my wife and I for lunch and told us they were moving to our side of town and opening a CrossFit gym! As soon as they opened, I brought in a bunch of friends and we came in for our first official Incendia WOD. The WOD included thrusters, toes to bar and a “mild run” carrying a medicine ball and I think I came in last place! (Okay, I came in last place).  The worst part – Vayda beat me. That humbling experience caused me to step inside the globo gym one last time to cancel my membership and pursue the stuff that works – Crossfit. Today, it’s a family lifestyle. You will see my wife Andrea in CrossFit and occasionally in competitions, my 3 year old son Carter in the play area doing burpees and my 1 year old daughter Caylee in a stroller cheering/crying us all on.

My goal as one of the Incendia coaches is to teach you the correct fundamentals to keep YOU safe, to push you further than anything you thought you were capable of, to make you smile when you may feel like crying and for you to enjoy every second of it.

  • CrossFit Coach
  • CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
  • Firefighter/Paramedic/Engineer with Phoenix Fire Department