Nichole DeHart: Bob Dylan’s Biggest Fan

Nichole DeHart: Bob Dylan’s Biggest Fan
Interview by Sea of Green Member Kendra Madden

Kendra: So you have been doing CrossFit for a while; when did you get introduced to it?

Nichole: Well, it started around 2004 on the internet, I believe, and that’s when I started – right when it came on the website. The gym I started with was the fifth affiliated gym in CrossFit, so I started right when they started affiliating gyms.

Kendra: Oh! Does that make you feel like you’ve got history, investment…?

Nichole: Haha, I guess yes! I have been doing this for 10+ years – I feel old! It is nice, though, seeing people who’ve been doing this for a long time and who know how much it has grown! I mean, the first few years of Games were in Dave Castro’s family’s backyard…my, how it has grown!

Kendra: If you weren’t a coach, what else would you be doing now?

Nichole: Well, I really wanted to be a teacher! I would probably be teaching or in some profession where I felt like I was helping people. I’ve always had a strong desire to help and be of service to people.

Kendra: What grade level do you think you’d teach? 

Nichole: Well, I did try middle school and that was horrible, so I think elementary school would be nice. They love you at that age! And they love school. Middle school was a little challenging, but I was also like, 23 years old at the time, so pretty young to be teaching 13-14 year olds!

Kendra: I know you are a huge music and book lover. Who do we need to be listening to or reading right now?

Nichole: Let me see…let me do books first. If you have not read East of Eden, then you need to. Um, Maya Angelou, obviously. If you haven’t read anything by her then I would recommend starting with her classic, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”. If you’re an adventure type, or like to be captivated by a story, then any Krakauer or Gladwell; I love all of their books.

Kendra: You’re not recommending Capote?

Nichole: (Laughs.) Oh yes, of course Capote! If you haven’t read “In Cold Blood” (I mean, it is THE American classic) then do so immediately but only if you don’t live by yourself because you will be freaked out at night!

Kendra: And then music?

Nichole: That is such a hard one! Any “Shovels and Rope,” they’re a younger married duo- they are a little bit of bluegrass mixed with rock and roll. They’re awesome.

Kendra: You were talking about that guy – was he Arabic? On NPR? 

Nichole: Oh! Asaf Avidan? It is an absolutely beautiful album. His voice is amazing and the lyrics are incredible. That’s super, super relevant. Oh and this is so kitschy but The Head and the Heart. Both of their albums are really great.

Kendra: Who do you think is ‘The One’ music icon for you?

Nichole: Ooo…probably Bob Dylan. His lyrics are amazing; I mean, he is a beautiful poet. Oh, and Neil Young! Helpless is an iconic song – every person should have that on their playlist.

Kendra: What additional talents do you really wish you possessed and why?

Nichole: I wish I possessed a talent to play musical instruments. I took guitar lessons for a long time with my baby but I haven’t played in a long time!

Kendra: How is 28-year-old Nichole most different from 18-year-old Nichole?

Nichole: Oh, I am way more confident, less anxious and am more assured in who I am. Everything use to make me anxious; not being accepted, not being cool (the typical late teens/early twenties stuff) Not being perfect!

Kendra: Where is the next travel destination for pleasure – not business?

Nichole: My goal for 2015 is to see the beautiful waterfalls of the world. The most aspired and travelled to waterfalls of the world. So, I want to go to Toronto in August/September and go to Niagra Falls on the Canadian side. If we go to Brazil again for an Invictus Athletes Camp in the Fall, then I would like to stay for a few extra days and fly to Iguazu Falls on the border of Argentina and Brazil. I really want to make this happen in January 2016, before I’m 30: go to Victoria Falls in South Africa.

Kendra: What is your greatest fear?

Nichole: Not measuring up to my own standards or not being able to help as many people as I want to help. And then a lesser fear is heights.

Kendra: And yet you do these adventurous things? Are you going to stand at the top of these waterfalls?

Nichole: No, no. That’s with guardrails and everything, obviously! I was actually supposed to do this hike down into the Grand Canyon (the word canyon should have tipped me off). There are these trails and paths that aren’t totally maintained and we had a permit for one of them. I made it about a hundred feet and then was in tears, sobbing, and couldn’t move because it’s a canyon and you’re on the edge! You could fall. You’re gonna fall. We had to go back to the top and abandon our three day hike because I was too scared!