“In F3 lingo, the 1st F is what brings us together (the Magnet) and the 2nd F is what holds us together (the Glue).”
It’s not always easy to get someone out for a free workout. But for more than 90% of F3 guys, the reason they keep coming back, setting their alarm for 4:45 or 5 a.m. three, four or five days a week is the friendships that are built in what we call “the Gloom.”
There’s something special about pushing through a brutal smokefest with another guy. We encourage those bonds by closing every workout with what we call the “CoT” (Circle of Trust). Every guy gives his birth name, his F3 nickname and his age. Even if you’re brand-new (what we call an FNG, or Friendly New Guy), we’ll slap you with an F3 nickname — the stupider and more insulting, the better — so we can remember who you are the next time you post.
We reinforce the Second F through organized F3 participation in physical challenges like obstacle races, mud runs, distance relay races, GORUCK events and other adventures (we’ve found that, in general, the more Completely Stupid And Utterly Pointless — or “CSAUP” — an event is, the more enthusiastic F3 guys are about it).
In F3 New Bern, the PAX have several other pportunities to find fellowship. After each Saturday workout, we gather at Carolina Bagel for #Coffeteria. After our Friday workouts, we meet for breakfast at Ghent Sandwich Shop. And on the second Wednesday of the month we meet for Happy Hour.