Fon

HerStory

The Fighter Who Changed the Standard

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I met Fon and her husband Jess in 2019. Most clients I train, I ease into things — slow the pace, perfect the form, build trust. But Fon wasn’t built for slow. She was built for go.

I threw everything I had at her — push-ups, sled drags, pull-ups, farmer carries, bear crawls, jumps, tempo reps. Every high-intensity method I’d ever learned. Nothing phased her. She didn’t just do the workouts. She crushed them. And I started digging for more ways to challenge her. Because she was the kind of person who didn’t need to be convinced to fight. She showed up ready.

Then came the diagnosis — pancreatic cancer. Same kind that took Alex Trebek. But Fon wasn’t interested in sympathy. She outlived every timeline they gave her. She kept moving, kept living. She and Jess traveled, showed up at rodeos, lived on their terms. Even during chemo and setbacks, she found a way to keep going.

When she passed away in November 2022, it broke something open in me. Jess and I stayed close — he became part of this movement. Not by force. By presence. We trained, talked, built something deeper.

Fon’s story isn’t just about a diagnosis. It’s about defiance. Discipline. Dignity. And legacy.

She didn’t ask for pity. She asked for one more round. And she taught me that true strength is showing up when no one else can see the pain — and doing the damn thing anyway.

Her story lives in everything we do. Jess is a reminder. Her spirit is a standard. And what we build — the system, the strength, the future — is made to carry people like Fon.