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In 2013, Brooke Wells started CrossFit to aid her training for Track and Field. A decade later, the Podium athlete is a household name in the sport of functional fitness, with eight CrossFit Games appearances under her belt. And most recently, she can add “author” and “product developer” to her list of accomplishments. We caught up with Wells to see what she’s been up to this past summer and dive into her new ventures.  

“Resilient”, the authentic behind-the-scenes narrative of Wells’ competition-ending injury (an elbow dislocation under a 190 lb barbell) during the 2021 Games, followed by her incredible comeback the following season, hits shelves January 16, 2024.  

“Honestly, I'm just really excited for people to hear the full story because as an athlete…you kind of try to keep your training life confidential because you don't want your competitors to know what you're up to. You never want them to think that you're hurt or something because then you kind of feel like they count you out a little bit. So I went through really a roller coaster of mostly physical stuff. I mean, it was definitely mental, which I share in the book, but I had a flare up right before the MACC (Mid Atlantic CrossFit Challenge, a Semifinal) and people don't know this stuff,” Wells said. “I’m just really excited for people to kind of hear my story and then also kind of learn more about me as a person because there's a lot about my life, my family, and then also just get to know my mental toughness side.”  

The 28-year-old never planned on being an author, but couldn’t turn down the opportunity when sports writer Christine Bald offered to help her pen the story that has already inspired many. Wells said that it was a “fun process” of journaling, detailing, fact-checking and adding personal flair to the honest account, resulting in 224 pages of courage, grit and passion.  

The comeback to high-level fitness following her setback is a physical and mental feat beyond what most can imagine. Doing so and earning the title of the 5th Fittest Woman in the World the next year — nearly impossible, without a whole lot of resilience.  

Wells narrates the audio version as well, and you can pre-order your copy from all booksellers here. 

After narrowly missing qualifying for the 2023 CrossFit Games, Wells has found other ways to stay busy in the off-season. Aside from slinging pre-orders and training, she’s been enjoying time with friends, hitting local coffee shops, hanging out with her dog Oliver, and traveling more than ever before. 

“I went to Miami, then I went to Vermont. I went to Springfield, Missouri for Baylee Rayl’s wedding, (then) I went to Maui and Kauai,” she recounts. “Hawaii was honestly number one (on my bucket list), but I still want to go to Iceland. And, I want to go on a safari in Cape Town, that looks amazing. I want to explore more outside of the United States, because I feel like I've been to most places that I wanted to go to.”  

There’s no shortage of time to reflect and relax when you’re on sandy beaches and long airplane rides, and Wells is feeling confident about her personal growth heading into the end of the calendar year. 

“I feel like I grew a lot with my elbow injury, just kind of learning more to trust myself and trust my gut; I had to learn to re-trust my body through that whole process after my elbow kind of gave out on me,” she said.  

And as for the upcoming season, you likely won’t see Wells on the competition floor until the Open kicks off. 

“That's been a really difficult decision, because I do really want to compete (and) I'm excited to get back out on my competition floor,” she notes. “But, given me being injured the last couple of seasons, I think I'm going to just wait until the Open and focus on going into the season really healthy and fresh.” 

When she does throwdown again under the bright lights, it’ll be sporting a new coach and team in her corner. Wells is separating from her twin sister and fellow competitor, Sydney, announcing September 18, 2023 on Instagram that she’s joined Mat Fraser’s HWPO Training. 

“I think I really learned that I need to make sure that I'm in a fun environment and enjoying training. And it's not something that I'm not looking forward to every single day because there's definitely been years where I thrive and love training, and it shows. And I think this last season, even despite my injury and stuff, I just was not enjoying training or having fun. And so going into this next season, I think my number one priority is to stay healthy, but number two is to just enjoy training again because that's when I do my best.”  

And, one key ingredient for keeping joints healthy and strong is collagen protein — one of Brooke’s favorite supplements. So naturally, she and Podium teamed up to create a collagen protein product, launching this October.  

“Collagen is something that I actually truly do put in my coffee every single morning. It's really helped my joints and stuff, so I'm just really excited to launch that because there are so many benefits to collagen,” she said. “I'm so excited to have my own flavor. I've never gone through that process with any other company; I'm excited and proud for that to come out.” 

As for the flavor? The bar is high for Podium products when it comes to taste, and just keeps getting higher. 

“We tried all these different flavors, and once we tried cinnamon roll, it was like — okay, this is it,” Wells said laughing. “We don't need to try any of the other ones, this one is far beyond better than all the other flavors.”  

Make sure you’re signed up for Podium Loyalty to get the scoop on product launches and re-stocks, and keep up with Wells' journey on Instagram.