Kelly Marshall is a Masters athlete who’s really started to turn heads in the CrossFit world. This year, she’s had dominant performances at numerous competitions and has walked away with a world championship title to her name. If that’s not enough, she also runs a successful business with her wife, and has an impressive back-story in playing and coaching hockey for England.

“A client actually introduced me to CrossFit. I’d done loads of functional training like survival of the fittest, but a client said to me, ‘have you heard of CrossFit? I think you might like it. On her suggestion, I went to the one down the road for an introduction session. The first time I walked into a CrossFit gym, there was chalk and sweat everywhere, everyone was pumped, and we were greeted by the owner who is an ex-marine. My wife turned and said to me: ‘I think this is going to affect our life’, we laugh about that now because it’s not just affected our lives — it’s taken over our lives.”

Despite CrossFit being a relatively new addition for Kelly, sport has always been a cornerstone in her life, “when I was at school, I was really into sport because I was bullied. I’d grown up in New Zealand then moved to the outskirts of Norwich. When I got back to the UK, I was really tanned and had an American accent, plus — if I wasn’t already enough of a target — I was quiet, reserved, and internally dealing with my sexuality.”

“To build my confidence, I started going to the gym and playing all sorts of sports. I started the girls’ football team, then ended up in goal in hockey because I could kick a ball. At the time, I was really insular and had a lot of issues but when I put the helmet on, I felt like a different person. My PE teacher sent me to a Norfolk hockey trail, I got in. Then I went to regionals, got in, and before I knew it I was playing for England. I played hockey all the way to uni, then started coaching England hockey — it was great, I got to travel and get paid, rather than standing in goal getting really cold or really hot and feeling like I needed to do a workout after.”

“I stopped coaching hockey just before the millennium Olympics. At the time, my business was really taking off and was building traction and that’s what I was really focused on. When England won gold, I knew everyone on the team — I’d either trained with them or worked with them. But, that didn’t make me wish I’d stuck with it. It would have never been me because I just didn’t care enough about hockey. I was really lucky to have the opportunities that I did, but I didn’t want it enough. You’ve got to have enough passion and drive to get to that level. I think I had the passion for the fitness element and a bit of luck.”

Today, Kelly’s business is still thriving. “I own a business with my wife called The Body Project. It’s sports massage therapy, medical acupuncture, cupping, personal training. I did an MSc in sports medicine in 2009, so I do a lot of rehab work.” The Body Project has two clinics and a small team working alongside her and Nina — plus fur baby, Socks.

“I love working with really complicated cases, the ones where someone comes in with a real list of things that you have to unpick. People think they’re never going to get better but you can show them that there’s light at the end of the tunnel and they will be able to get to a point of no pain. There might be a lot to deal with but it’s a journey. I’m usually the last port of call — they’ve been everywhere: physios, doctors, osteopaths, and someone will say ‘go and see Kelly’. Often when they come in, the first thing they do is cry. As you work with them, you get to know them and you see that person be reborn. Oh my god I can run again, I can play with my kids without pain. It’s a miracle… it’s not a miracle, we’ve just been able to work it out properly. It’s very rewarding, and I feel very grateful that with our business, that’s the kind of service we provide, and you can change someone’s life.”

Kelly’s work with mechanics is the thing that eventually drew her to Red Pill, “I did an assessment with James and Cyril a couple of years ago — I get the mechanics thing because I do it, but I just can’t apply it to myself. Their knowledge of it all is incredible, and I knew the way they looked at the body were the missing links that I needed to step up my game as an athlete.”

“When I joined Red Pill 6 months ago, I made the decision that I have 2 years. Nina and I agreed that we’d give all we could to reach my potential and get to the games.” Getting to the games is the goal that Kelly is working day and night to achieve. “I always knew it was hard, but now I work with Red Pill I know what it really takes to get there and I’m focused on it.”

Kelly has made the decision to work her life around achieving her goal and now juggles her business with the training needed to be a CrossFit Games athlete. “We made the decision that I would work less — when I say ‘work less’, most people would say it’s a normal job but for me it’s less. I’ll work like 6-11, then for the rest of the day I’ll train, those hours vary every day. On Fridays I'll work like 8-2 then train all evenings. I’ll get a nocco, coffee, banana and just go. It’s a real balancing act. Nina’s working really hard, and the other girls who work at the business. It’s a challenge some days, but I’m very lucky to be in a position where I can reduce my hours.”

The change in lifestyle paid off almost immediately. “This year was the first year that I’ve really felt like a pro athlete and it’s been a huge change in mindset since joining Red Pill. At SID, I won, which was amazing but I won every event. I won 7 events! The workouts were reasonable workouts but the full setup, having coach Cyril there, I didn’t have to think about anything except being optimum and it showed. In Norway, I came 2nd and was feeling great after SID but also feeling the pressure. Confidence is a big challenge for me, I’m my own worst enemy for putting myself down and over analysing. Phil managed me perfectly, not just pep talks but warm ups and strategy. The role of the coach at comp is something that I’ve only just started to experience but it’s a game changer.”

As well as her wins in CrossFit, Kelly also picked up the title of Functional Fitness World Champion in October 2019. “It feels surreal to me that I’m a world champion. At the time, it was amazing, I cried my eyes out, the national anthem, everything — the best thing I’ve done so far. When I came back from Aus, it didn’t feel real and I quickly felt quite numb. Nina organised a surprise party for me at our house and when I walked in and everyone said ‘surprise!’ with a banner that said ‘welcome back world champion’ and i was like ‘eh, what for?’ I spoke to Phil about how I was feeling and he said: ‘you feel this because it’s part of the process, it’s not your goal — that’s why.’ Don’t get me wrong, it was amazing, I’ll never forget and it’s amazing to have that title but, for me, going to the games is a very different path than the world championships and that is my ultimate goal. When I get to the Games, then I’ll celebrate.”

By finding CrossFit, Kelly has found the sport that resonates with her in a way that sports in the past never have — but the community around the sport is a place where she feels she truly belongs.

“I probably knew I was gay from about 12, but always thought it was wrong. I’m from Norwich, so I’d never even heard the word ‘lesbian’. When I was at Loughborough University playing hockey, I was surrounded by lesbians and thought ‘this is great!’ But I was still too scared to come out and deal with my sexuality. A coach eventually said to me, ‘you do know you’re gay don’t you?’ and I absolutely denied it at the time. But I was like, ‘shit — I am”. It took me another 18 months to come out to my parents. Coming out is scary, and I was terrified even though I was in a safe environment at Loughborough surrounded by gays.”

“Now, I’m not going to say I forget that I’m gay — but it’s not really an identity for me, and I think that’s because I’m in the CrossFit world, it doesn’t exist there. Females can be masculine, have muscles, tattoos, what you look like and who you date is irrelevant. Actually, when I go to CrossFit competitions, my main thought is that I don’t have enough tattoos. It’s a comfortable place for me.”

So, even with the world in lockdown, Kelly is training as hard as ever and still has her goal in sight. She’s already started to pave an impressive path and she’s definitely an athlete well worth watching in the future. We can’t wait to see where her hard work, determination, and drive will take her.

Kelly Marshall: "I'm a world champion, but that's not the goal"