Tristan Beck Torres

This week’s Student Feature Friday is junior Tristan Beck Torres who has a love for Crossfit and music. When Crossfit Firewall opened in Holliston, Tristan was the only teen there for the first few months but he persevered and has found a love of the techniques and the community. He loves seeing everyone in their own domain and appreciates being able to see his physical and mental strength as he progresses. He is hoping to partner with Mr. D’Avanzo for an internship next year to further develop his own skills, as he likes the idea of being a Crossfit coach. He describes Functional Fitness and Nutrition as an important class for him because it taught him how to adopt a lifestyle that really resonated with him.

Equally enjoyable for him is music, and in particular, music production. He began playing the clarinet in fourth grade and has since added piano and tenor saxophone to his repertoire. Participating in Districts in 7th and 8th grade alongside other talented musicians further solidified his interest in music. He is excited about his upcoming independent study with Mr. Bilodeau, where he will concentrate on music production and distribution. He loves recording music and sees it as a way to express himself, describing his style as “video game” music. Tristan shows a maturity and self-confidence that will serve him well in his future endeavors.

Q: During our conversation you spoke about the “community aspect” of Crossfit. Can you explain a little about the community and why this is important to you?

A: The community is very open and very kind. People come from different backgrounds and everyone is understanding and supportive in different ways such as cheering the last person who’s working out to helping out a person outside of the gym. This is important to me because this community is a community I am proud of being in, that in CrossFit, in general, it doesn’t matter who you are you have your strengths and your weaknesses and people have theirs so you help each other and bring each other up.

Q: How do you balance your love of music with your love of CrossFit and how do you plan to incorporate both into your life after high school or college?

A: With CrossFit, I have a strict schedule of when I go to the gym, also when I do home workouts as well. For music I do that in my free time. I have a station in my house with my equipment and lights for mood. I hope for my future I’m able to incorporate both into my life because they are very dear and close to me and for my future I’m lucky to have the possibility of doing one as a profession and the other as a side hustle or for fun.

Q: “Everything in moderation including moderation”, a quote attributed to Mr. D’Avanzo, is something you spoke about being stuck in your head. What does this quote mean to you and why do you think it resonated so much?

A: This quote was told to our class multiple times and makes you think about what stuff we do exceedingly. Like how much cake you eat or how much you spend on something. We as human beings have the capacity to have self-control and the mentality to control how much we obtain. Mr. D’Avanzo told us this mainly in our nutrition units in Functional Fitness and Nutrition. And it’s stuck to me when I do have foods I occasionally have that I can’t with my lifestyle.

Q: What advice do you have for students who haven’t found their passion/interest yet?

A: It’ll probably be in small progressions. Rome wasn’t built in a day. But when you do find it you’ll have so much fun with it.