Local Club Spotlight: FYR WillPower

FYR WillPower was founded May 2022 in Virginia Beach, VA in honor of William D. Whisenant. We got the opportunity to catch up with FYR WillPower to learn more about their club!

Why did you decide to become a part of FYR and start FYR WillPower?

Back in June of 2021, as my husband Will was looking to transition out of the police force, he had asked me to start looking into a nonprofit youth club that he could start at Compound CrossFit, the gym where he attended/coached and I came across Steve’s Club. In his younger personal life and seeing youth whose parents were convicted or incarcerated, he wanted them to know there is another path they could take through health and wellness.

Before we could go down that path of starting the youth club, Will passed in January 2022. I reached out to the owner of Compound CrossFit stating that I wanted to fulfill Will’s Legacy with the youth club and so we started the search. One that we researched was Forging Youth Resilience. Little did I know at the time, after going through some texts between me and Will, FYR is formerly known as Steve’s Club, so we knew this was meant to be.

What is one recent success at FYR WillPower?

We held the 1st Annual William D. Whisenant “Whiz” Memorial Workout at Compound CrossFit the Saturday after his birthday. A coach from the gym created a Hero Partner Workout based on his end-of-watch date and his badge number. I posted it on Eventbrite selling tickets for the workout, we had vendors there and were selling FYR WillPower t-shirts we designed with all proceeds going to the youth club. It was amazing! The outpouring of support, community, and people who genuinely just wanted to be a part of it. Even after the workout, I had people asking how they could help going forward, stating that Will had impacted their life in some way and wanted to give back. Not just out of duty, but I could see they truly desired to give back and not miss out on this life-changing opportunity.

What do you look forward to in the future of FYR WillPower?

We are excited to see the youth transition from the person they are to the person they want to be. Having the ability to provide them with such an opportunity, without them thinking something is expected in return. Limitless provided resources and opportunities available to the youth. Seeing the impact FYR WillPower will make on the youth in the community, but also the impact that the youth in return will make to the community. Feeling the sense of fulfillment, knowing that Will would be overjoyed, doing everything he could for the youth and that we have been given this opportunity in his place to impact the youth the best way we can, while also honoring his Legacy.