MEMBER FEATURE: Alice Culin-Ellison

Say hello to Alice… whose initials spell ACE! (So yes, we might be one of the few who call her that now 😄)

Alice is a professional violinist who recently moved from Louisville, Kentucky to Estacada, Oregon — a small town just outside of Portland. She started CrossFit back in 2017 and loved it right from the start. Through COVID, she kept it up, but eventually left her gym to explore other active passions like rock climbing, backpacking, and paddleboarding.

“I love all these things and still do them frequently, but I found I was missing daily exercise and the accountability to keep it up. I started developing a knee injury from hiking and knew I had to get back to regular exercise — specifically with weights.”

As a musician, Alice says there’s a lot in her career that feels intangible, so she loves how strength training brings something solid and measurable to her day:

“Being unable to lift a certain weight one day, working towards it, and then making it a reality — I derive so much joy from that.”

Her schedule as a traveling performer makes it tough to attend a physical gym consistently. While searching for something flexible that could travel with her, she found CFCL Virtual — and it was love at first workout.

“Our little virtual community is so wonderful, and I look forward to seeing everyone each morning! I can take bands on my travels or just use bodyweight, and I always get a great workout.”

Even during a month-long visit to the West Coast (before her move), Alice stayed committed to her 5 AM CT workouts — which meant setting her alarm for 4:30 AM local time. Now that’s dedication. These days, settled into her new home in Oregon, she’s still showing up strong—though she admits she’ll probably lean into the afternoon classes a little more than those early mornings 😄

When she’s not working out or performing, Alice is out exploring. A “casual” day hike for her is 18–20 miles, and she regularly does 30+ mile weekend backpacking trips. She’s performed all over the world — including China, Japan, France, the UK — and all across the U.S., especially the Midwest.

Thanks for bringing your natural sunshine personality (and dance moves!) to our virtual crew and classes on a regular basis, Alice. It’s always a pleasure to see you—and we’re lucky to have you as part of the team!