DAVE CASTRO | CrossFit Open 18.0 and Fighting Mat Fraser
Chris Williamson (host), Dave Castro (guest)
In this episode of Modern Wisdom, featuring Chris Williamson and Dave Castro, DAVE CASTRO | CrossFit Open 18.0 and Fighting Mat Fraser explores dave Castro Reveals CrossFit Open Secrets, Athlete Mindset, And 18.0 Origins Dave Castro discusses the genesis of CrossFit Open workout 18.0, explaining how a long-held idea for a pre-Open workout was finally realized through a collaboration with Reebok. He outlines the intent behind simple but challenging movements, new standards, and the strategic ambiguity they create for athletes anticipating the Open. Castro also talks about the pressure on athletes during live Open announcements, his own approach to programming inclusive yet demanding tests, and how he personally experiences the workouts. The conversation rounds out with reflections on Reebok’s role in CrossFit’s growth, global affiliate culture, and the competitive mindset that sets champions like Mat Fraser and Rich Froning apart.
Dave Castro Reveals CrossFit Open Secrets, Athlete Mindset, And 18.0 Origins
Dave Castro discusses the genesis of CrossFit Open workout 18.0, explaining how a long-held idea for a pre-Open workout was finally realized through a collaboration with Reebok. He outlines the intent behind simple but challenging movements, new standards, and the strategic ambiguity they create for athletes anticipating the Open. Castro also talks about the pressure on athletes during live Open announcements, his own approach to programming inclusive yet demanding tests, and how he personally experiences the workouts. The conversation rounds out with reflections on Reebok’s role in CrossFit’s growth, global affiliate culture, and the competitive mindset that sets champions like Mat Fraser and Rich Froning apart.
Key Takeaways
18.0 was designed as a simple, classic CrossFit test with strategic twists.
Castro used two familiar Open movements—dumbbell snatches and burpees—but added new standards to both, creating a straightforward yet novel challenge that also plants speculation about what will appear in the Open.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Live Open announcements place unique pressure on athletes.
Unlike regular participants who can plan, strategize, and repeat workouts, announcement athletes must perform within minutes of hearing the workout, often with no chance to refine technique or pacing.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Programming the Open must balance elite testing with broad accessibility.
Castro aims to identify the fittest on earth while still allowing hundreds of thousands of people to participate, requiring workouts that are scalable yet still technically and physically meaningful.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
“Anyone can do it” is true but requires basic CrossFit competence.
Even scaled divisions demand familiarity with foundational movements; total beginners could not meaningfully participate without some prior exposure and instruction.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Castro tests the workouts himself but feels the most anxiety once scores exist.
He’s comfortable doing them in the design phase, but once global benchmarks are set, he feels pressure to meet or exceed mid-pack scores when he re-does them officially during the Open.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Reebok has broadened CrossFit’s reach beyond its core community.
Through events like this 18. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
The best competitors focus on beating others, not just doing their personal best.
Castro highlights Mat Fraser and Rich Froning as examples of athletes who are mentally committed to winning at all costs, prioritizing relative performance against rivals over simply maximizing their own effort in isolation.
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Notable Quotes
“The workout had to be true, core CrossFit—simple, nice bite.”
— Dave Castro
“I’m thinking more about the test that I have to program being that it’s going to rank the fittest in the world, but also be appropriate for 400 other thousand people.”
— Dave Castro
“Anyone can do it—that statement is true, but it’s also misleading in the fact that you need to know how to do some basic CrossFit movements.”
— Dave Castro
“We actively don’t go out and try to promote ourselves. We let the brand promote itself organically.”
— Dave Castro
“Mat’s not trying to do the best he can. He’s trying to beat the guy to the left and right of him.”
— Dave Castro
Questions Answered in This Episode
How might CrossFit further evolve Open programming to stay inclusive as movements and standards become more complex?
Dave Castro discusses the genesis of CrossFit Open workout 18. ...
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What specific data or feedback does Castro look at after each Open to refine future tests?
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
How would CrossFit’s growth and culture differ today if the Reebok partnership had never happened?
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Could the sport benefit from more transparency about how workouts are tested and selected, or would that undermine the element of surprise?
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
What mental training or strategies do top athletes like Mat Fraser use to cultivate the ‘win at all costs’ competitive mindset Castro describes?
Get the full analysis with uListen AI
Transcript Preview
(wind blowing) Mr. Dave Castro?
Yes.
Main man, how are you?
Good, thank you.
Welcome.
Thank you.
Welcome to London. Um, 18.0 has just ended me.
(laughs)
Um, can you explain where that came from?
Yeah, so the, uh, the idea of doing an 18.0 or a pre-workout before the Open starts has been something that's been floating in my head for years. I've always wanted to do it. We've never activated on it or moved on it, uh, within CrossFit. We've never made it a priority to execute on. And this year, Reebok asked me if I'd come out and do this event with them, and they s- they reignited that idea and they said, "Would you be open to doing a pre-Open announcement?" And I said, "Sure, let's call it 18.0."
Uh-huh.
And so we decided to, uh, to do it here. And the workout had to be true, core CrossFit. You know, simple. Nice bite. Uh, two movements that are common to the Open, but with different twists.
Yeah.
The- the- the dumbbell snatch we put a new standard on it of just bringing it down below the, uh, head before you make the switch.
Mm-hmm.
And then the burpee over the dumbbell is something new. We hadn't seen that.
Yeah, it is.
So it's pretty cool 'cause now you- you're gonna have people, uh, assuming, and they might be assuming right or they might be assuming wrong, that that burpee that we just introduced will be the burpee in the Open.
Well, you like to throw a couple of curveballs in, right?
Yeah, and so this is- this is- this, uh, 18.0 has provided a nice little, uh, it's gonna get people talking about what might be coming.
This is just-
We'll be all.
... another Dave Castro Instagram post, isn't it?
Yeah, basically-
(laughs)
... but just for Reebok and live and for this event.
For sure. Um, so yesterday on Instagram, I saw you trying to put Dan off during a photo shoot?
Yeah.
Um, have the guys ever tried to put you off during the games? Have they ever tried to come up behind you and whisper just random movements in your ear so that you end up, like, saying the wrong thing or forgetting?
Not during the games. During the games people ... they're pretty occupied with what they have to do.
Yeah, that's true.
And they respect that I'm pretty occupied with what I'm doing.
Yeah.
So, uh, during the games, no. But at other events and in other, um, stuff like this, yeah, guys, the guys, especially the guys I'm close with, will, uh, will push me or poke at me and- and do stuff. But, um, but typically not at the games.
Uh-huh.
'Cause everyone has their own things going on.
Install uListen to search the full transcript and get AI-powered insights
Get Full TranscriptGet more from every podcast
AI summaries, searchable transcripts, and fact-checking. Free forever.
Add to Chrome