Alper Kaynarkan

I was 22 when I started disappearing.

Until then, my body worked. Born in Ankara, 1981. Maritime High School. Then, Istanbul Technical University, associate in applied science, machine engineering. Then a bachelor's in labor and industrial relations. Three jobs while studying. On my feet all day. Fit. Healthy. Awake.

Then a bank job in Istanbul. Sitting all day. Long hours. Late dinners. Drinks every night. Four hours of sleep. I stopped moving. I thought that was just life. My body knew differently.

I gained weight. I felt heavy. Not just physically. Everything felt heavy.

I was also choosing the wrong people. Relationships that made everything harder. I didn't have words for it then. Patterns I grew up with.

So I tried to fix it the way everyone tries. One piece at a time. A dietician. Swimming. The gym. Forty-five minutes on a treadmill staring at a wall. Halfway through, I'd forget why I was there. Nothing held.

In 2011, at thirty, I walked into a CrossFit box in Istanbul. My body woke up like it had been asleep my whole life. I found the methodology I'd been looking for. I still use it today.

But the gym alone was never going to fix everything. Ten more years on and off. Still drinking six days a week. Still eating like I hated myself. Still in the wrong relationships. No single thing can.

I moved to the States. Kept the workout routine. Kept the drinking. Kept eating like I hated myself.

I met my wife. I didn't know yet that she was my wife. She looked at my face one day and said, "You might have allergies."

I took the test. Half of what I was eating was inflaming me from the inside. Years of it. Nobody had caught it.

New bloodwork. A therapist I trust. CrossFit was already there.

For the first time, all the pieces talked to each other. I started naming what I'd been carrying.

Slowly, the alcohol went from six days a week to three. Then one. Then barely. The food changed. The sleep changed. The labs got better every year. My body got younger while I got older.

It took me over a decade. Alone. Piece by piece. No one seeing the whole picture.

Life still hits me every day, like everyone else. This time I'm prepared.

I'm here to make the way shorter for you. You're closer than you think.

May 2025, San Francisco.

Born in Ankara, 1981. Twenty years in tech, the last fifteen in sales. Now, BeyondYou is the work.

CrossFit Level 2 certified, with additional certifications in nutrition, movement, and training fundamentals. Adult and pediatric first aid, CPR, and AED through the American Red Cross. Six years of building this practice in its current form.

Training four to five days a week. Building Zone 2 base. Still learning new skills.

Living in San Francisco with my wife, Rachel, and our dog, Peaches.