3 Questions with Andrew CharlesworthUpdated 25 days ago

Andrew has worked on the crossfit HQ staff for seven years and has done over 200 seminars. He co-founded the fitness brand Thundrbro, is the author of Thundrbro’s 100 Bro Hacks to Crush Life, and owns his own gym in Fenton, Michigan.

How did you get started with Thundrbro, and fitness in general?

My business partner and I both worked for Crossfit and saw this gap from the hardcore bodybuilding culture, who knew nothing about Crossfit, and Crossfit athletes. The bodybuilders had a ton of muscle, but not a ton of capacity. The Crossfit athletes had huge capacity, but didn’t look like they had a ton of muscle. We wanted to bridge the gap, and help people build solid, functional muscle. I’ve since sold my half of Thundrbro to my co-founder Dave, but I still work on content for them, like 100 Hacks.

How did you learn about Intake?

I’ve always known about nasal breathing and working the aerobic system through nasal breathing. I was putting together some sleeping hacks for Thundrbro, and one of them was “well, you have to wear a nose strip to bed.” I had always used the shitty ones, and knew that even those made a difference. One of my members told me about Intake, which was on Kickstarter at the time, and I was like, this is so much better. It doesn’t move when you sleep, you can wear to bed and keep it on through your morning workout, and it doesn’t pull the skin off the top of your nose like nasal strips do. I still have residual sensitive skin there from all the years of using standard nasal strips. Intake makes such a difference.

What sparked your interest in nasal breathing?

I was a college basketball player, and when I got into Crossfit in 2010 I was right out of college basketball. I competed right away. I’m a big guy, 6’4 and 230 pounds, I’m a giant compared to other people in the sport. I noticed that I was excelling at the 10-15 minute competitions, but redlining in the others, and started to wonder why that was.

During my first round at regionals, I recognized the similarities between high-adrenaline breathing, like how I would breathe while playing basketball, versus the longer, more aerobic-paced breathing (in through the nose, out through the mouth). This was a huge tool for me in these 10-15 minute workouts. I excelled here because I was able to push the pace while maintaining nasal breathing. I know now that if I can breathe through my nose, I’m in control.

Now, when I’m working with people, I always recommend to keep your mouth shut, or to at least breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. That way, you’re still in control. Once you start to breathe through your mouth, you’re no longer in control.