I first met today’s guest several years ago, in the way that we seem to meet people these days – by email. Scott McGee is a well-known police officer in CrossFit and is definitely one of the O.G.s in getting CrossFit adopted by law enforcement agencies. Scott is a member of the Santa Monica PD SWAT team and he was instrumental in getting CrossFit adopted as their team’s methodology. In fact, the qualifier for the team is a full Murph WOD.
Scott is featured in a few CrossFit videos (links below) and I reached out to him when I first made attempts to bring an organized CrossFit gym to my agency. I failed miserably but Scott’s help was invaluable and he was incredibly enthusiastic and supportive.
When I discovered podcasts, one of the first ones I found was the Wodcast Podcast. A funny, informative podcast about all things CrossFit. The show is hosted by comedian Eddie Ifft, CrossFit blogger and box owner Armen Hammer, and one Scott McGee. Hmmm….a cop with a podcast huh?
When I got up and running with the show, I reached out to Scott who quickly accepted my interview request. However, having kids and summer breaks being as hectic as they are, well it took us a little time to finally connect up. Scott has an even better explanation for how he spent his summer but I’ll leave that to him to tell in the show. It’s pretty mind blowing.
Scott is one of those guys that is just absolutely “alive” with energy. I don’t mean he’s spastic and full of ADHD, I just mean that he has such a presence and character that is undeniable. Greg Amundson, our guest on episode 3 and a good friend of Scott’s was the same way to me. Both literally glow from the inside out. It’s awesome.
We get into Scott’s work, habits and philosophy on the show so I won’t rehash it all here but here are some major points we hit on in the show.
- The power of optimism and how he stays positive in a tough job
- How personal responsibility is his freedom, not his burden
- How physical fitness and the capacity for work are his blessings.
- The importance of SISU
It’s a great conversation and it might be my favorite episode yet.
Here’s Christmas Abbott working with the same sandbags we talked about on the show.
Scott’s CrossFit Journal video of the Santa Monica SWAT team doing Murph.
CrossFit Journal – SWAT Team Goes CrossFit
CrossFit Journal – Adopting CrossFit for Police Training
Pat Croce is one of Scott’s favorite authors.
Find Scott on Instagram at @1ScottMcGee
This episode of The Squad Room is brought to you by SB Tactical and the iCombat Active Shooter training system. I got to experience this system in my department’s quarterly training long before I got to know the guys over at SB Tactical and I have to tell you it is the BEST training system for law enforcement in active-shooter scenario training.
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This is not a simulation system, it’s a replication system. Because of this, you can take it anywhere. There’s no site preparation, no ammo costs, and none of the safety issues that come with live-fire or SIMS training. Check out the videos of their training at Burbank airport to see the iCombat Active Shooter training system in action.
If you’re part of your department’s training cadre or are just bored of standing on a static line and shooting 5 rounds into a paper target as part of your firearms quals, check out the system at sbtactical.com
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