We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Kalil recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Lauren thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Who is your hero and why? What lessons have you learned from them and how have they influenced your journey?

I want to reframe the question slightly, but I think the idea of this question will give insight into my approach as a journalist. Instead of “who is my hero,” “who influenced me?” Before getting on the bus for school, I watched the Today Show while many of my friends watched MTV music videos (serious throwback there). Katie Couric drew me in, and I would think, “I want to be a journalist like her.” On 9/11, as she informed viewers of this tragic event happening right down the street, she never lost her composure. She was a calming voice when I’m sure every instinct in her body wanted to express the opposite. While I have never reported on an event to that extent, it’s Katie’s demeanor that I try to embody in my reporting. Whether covering the pandemic, a fatal shooting, or now, CrossFit, I try to be a reliable voice and trusted even when the topic is far from positive. If the audience can trust that I won’t be emotional about the content, I can be a trusted source to keep them informed.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Before breaking into the CrossFit space, I was a local reporter and television anchor. I went to school specifically for sports broadcasting, but upon applying for more than 200 jobs, only four open positions were in sports, and the rest were in news. So there I was, traveling across the country to report the local stories. From agriculture to the economy, breaking news to politics, and even some of my favorite sports stories, I have a plethora of topics I’ve been exposed to over the years. But then, in 2016, when I started CrossFit, a buddy at my affiliate told me about Morning Chalk Up. So in my inbox every day I would have a nice 10-minute update of everything I need to know about CrossFit. Fast forward to 2021, I reached out to the company’s CEO, Justin LoFranco, and convinced him why he needed me on his team. From there, I wrote part-time while working full-time at my TV station, hoping to turn Morning Chalk Up into a full-time gig eventually. In May of 2021, I left the TV biz and took a job coaching and running my CrossFit affiliate’s social media while still writing part-time. But then…I started to “get the itch” of wanting to have deeper conversations, more than I could tell on paper. I began interviewing athletes on Morning Chalk Up’s YouTube page and eventually rebirthed the CrossFit debate show, The Bottom Line. After a few months, I knew this was what I needed to be doing. Even with the long hours trying to juggle my job at the gym with now recording and uploading YouTube videos into the wee hours of the night, it didn’t feel like work. I had a true passion for the job and the topic (not something I could say about local TV).
What sets me apart is my experience and the raw fire in my belly for what I do. While I don’t have the most experience, specifically in the CrossFit space, I have a decade of experience as a journalist. I know how to ask tough questions in a way that’s respectful but inquisitive. I make it my job to make those I interview feel like we’re just two friends hanging out. My experience in TV news presented me with challenges and deadlines that, at the moment, I thought were impossible. If there’s a problem, I may not know the solution right off the bat, but you can bet your life that I’m going to figure it out.
No problem I’ve faced working in CrossFit has felt like a problem, rather, an inconvenience. Imagine being responsible for conducting a LIVE report on a double homicide in rural Illinois with little to no cell service at 5:00 am and going door to door looking for neighbors to talk to on camera. Or having a teleprompter go down in the studio during the 6:00 pm news, and I have to recite the following story from memory while an engineer reboots the system. There is no problem I can’t handle.
As for the fire in my belly, man, it burns bright. I’m constantly looking for ways to up my game or further develop my craft. I recently covered the Madrid CrossFit Championship and produced daily recap videos in a unique way that we haven’t yet seen in CrossFit. It had an ESPN/sports show feel where I highlighted the main moments of the competition each day. Because of my background in local TV, I shot my video, recorded myself on camera, scripted and voiced the highlights, built graphics and leaderboards, and edited the entire piece myself. Seeing this idea come to life and knowing I could pull it off was incredibly rewarding. In that same breath, I already have new ideas and ways to make it even better for the next in-person competition.

Can you talk to us about how your side-hustle turned into something more.

Treat your side hustle as if it is your main hustle. I understand that we need to make money and that there are only so many hours in a day, but if you want to make your side job the number one, you have to treat it that way. Go the extra mile, do the extra work, invest in equipment or supplies, or whatever you need to succeed. When I took over Morning Chalk Up’s YouTube page, I never thought of it as a side job. Right from the get-go, I gave myself specific benchmarks and metrics to hit and wrote out a game plan. I immediately invested in podcasting equipment and got to work. I knew I wanted to produce at least five videos a week; with weeks with competitions on the weekend or breaking news, there would be more. Once I set this standard, it was essential to uphold it because viewers now expect it. Once they expect something, you can gain a consistent following. From there, I worked at improving topic and guest selection to prove to the viewers we’re a resource they need if they want to “be in the know” about CrossFit news and sports coverage. Eventually, my consistency and quality work did prove worthy in the CrossFit space, and enough so that it’s not my full-time job!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

Professionalize the broadcast coverage and content of CrossFit

Contact Info:

• Website: https://morningchalkup.com/author/lauren-kalil/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurenkalil/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/MorningChalkUp

Image Credits
Ethan Magram