Get Fit with 6: F3 Cape Fear combines faith, fitness, and fellowship to change lives and bring communities together

WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) - F3 is a men’s workout group that goes beyond exercise to build health habits and much more. F3 stands for Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith.

F3 Cape Fear has been in the Wilmington area for seven years. Brandon Adams, and F3 Cape Fear leader for the last six years explains the meaning behind the group. “The fitness component is what gets us here but you build more time and experiences with others the fellowship piece is how we get to know each other to spend time inside and out from these workouts and then the faith component is just living something that’s bigger than yourself.”

The exercise groups are free, open to all men and are always held outdoors rain or shine. Your social status doesn’t matter here, you’re athletic ability doesn’t matter either, everyone here is family and their main concern isn’t themselves, it’s each other. “I am not the fastest person out here. If I’m the last person in line four guys will come back and they’ll walk or run with me because that’s the mentality we have. There’s no man left behind here,” said Ja Mont Harris, F3 participant.

Harris is a football coach who offers his players an opportunity to join the group. “I needed my young men that I coach to see that we can all unite and we can all work together and we can build each other up even off the football field,” said Harris.

One of those players, middle school student Jose Nieves says F3 helped him lose 30 pounds and it’s changed his outlook on life. “Have better hopes in myself to kind of go on in life and kind of proceed,” said Jose Nieves, F3 participant. “I feel very excited coming. This is the day that I look most forward to in the week. I love the guys they’re so encouraging they make someone feel at home.”

On the surface you see a group of men coming together to push each other physically but there’s so much more going on here.

Jai Jones started two years ago and felt an overwhelming show of support on his first day. “My initial time coming I was on vacation so I came that first day and then a couple guys realized they didn’t see me anymore that week. They reached out to me and was like man we missed you and this is week one. I still don’t know these people and they called and was just like we didn’t see you is everyone okay,” said Jones.

Wilmington city councilman Clifford Barnett see F3 as a way to build relationships and inspire leadership. “The idea of getting into communities that really need help and also the goal of moving the city forward is that you gotta know your neighbor you gotta now people that you work with, you’ve got to build relationships with,” said Barnett.

There are 50 workout locations in Wilmington, Brunswick county, Wrightsville Beach, and Hampstead. Each location is known as “the ruck”. The Saturday morning workout takes place in Maides Park and was developed when one member couldn’t come to a class during the week. “They called me and put together a group aside from this and was like listen we’ll get together on Saturday and Sunday mornings we’ll work out together just to keep you in the loop,” Jones said.

Now two years later, the Maides Park location is now The Combine and Jones is the site Q, the man in charge of organizing workouts.

Each F3 work out ends by gathering together again to embrace and support one another. “It will always end on a circle of trust and it’s just an open opportunity for vulnerability to express, to communicate and we can share a praise and we can also share a burden,” said Adams.

Click here for details on F3 and how to join one of the workout groups.

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