‘CrossFit has definitely changed the equation’: Filmmaker dives into sport’s rise across Asia
- Amit Tripuraneni, an Indian immigrant to New Zealand, has been chronicling CrossFit’s rise in cities like Tokyo, Hyderabad and Bangkok
- With an episode on Hong Kong and a recently released episode on Shanghai, the filmmaker is shining a light on fitness trends all over the region
While volunteering at the 2016 CrossFit Pacific Regionals in Wollongong near Sydney, Amit Tripuraneni noticed something. The photographer and filmmaker’s interest was peaked by a competitor just out of reach of the top athletes.
“One of the things that struck me was how much the coverage was focused on Australian and Kiwi athletes while there were no stories of Asian athletes,” said the 41-year-old.
He was particularly fascinated by Yuko Sakuyama, a 1.52-metre Japanese athlete who at times was pacing herself with the best in the region.
Tripuraneni, an Indian who immigrated to New Zealand in 2003 to pursue film studies and has since set up shop in the country, had an idea: travel Asia and profile CrossFit communities still very much in their infancy. He stewed on the idea for a year before pitching it to CrossFit. The branded fitness company, based out of Washington, DC, didn’t bite, but Tripuraneni was undeterred and put his money where his mouth was, literally. Using his own funds from freelance work in the broadcasting and corporate video realm, the director scraped enough cash together to eek out a few days in each place – calling the series Out of the Box.