Jason Crowley and Thomas Howard had big plans, so many in fact that their ideas had to be organized in file folders.
There was the app they launched in 2012 during the SEC Championship that would match football ticket-seekers with ticket-sellers, as well as some other endeavors that they planned to explore after they "made it big," Howard said. But the duo's biggest success was the creation of CrossFit 404, a gym on Miami Circle which opened in June.
“We started the crossfit file in mid-2010,” Howard said. “And our goal was to add our own ideas to the concept.”
Crowley, a former Abercrombie & Fitch model, and Howard, a self-described average Joe, worked out together several times a week over a three-year period. Bored of that routine, Crowley convinced his buddy to give the strength and conditioning program known as crossfit a try.
After a couple of months, they were both hooked and became so inspired, they decided to open their own gym. When CrossFit 404 opened last month, the space not only featured room for the exercise programs, but also included a community area, where people could relax before and after workouts.
“We wanted to put our own touches on it,” Howard said. “We wanted to create a family.”
On July 24, the CrossFit 404 family, which had grown to nearly 70 people strong, had its first potluck dinner. Crowley, known for snapping pictures to put on the cork board near the door, was clicking away with his camera that night. The next day, while preparing to travel to an international crossfit event in California, Jason Richard Crowley, of Atlanta, went into medical distress at his home and died. He was 30.
A memorial service was held Sunday at H.M. Patterson & Son, Oglethorpe Hill, which was also in charge of cremation arrangements.
Born in Columbus and raised in Orlando, Fla., Crowley was a finance major at Auburn University. After graduation he went to New York, where he’d spent a couple of summers, with the hope of making it his home.
“He’d lived in New York when he was modeling,” said Rick Crowley, his father, who lives in Auburn, Ala. “And that is where he really wanted to be.”
He worked at the Bank of New York for two years before relocating to Atlanta for another job opportunity. At the time of his death, Crowley was the managing director at Moolah Payments, which provides non-profit organizations with payment processing options.
When Crowley wasn’t working his primary job, he could often be found at CrossFit 404, or trying to convert another family member to take up the program. He was ultimately able to convince his mother and brother to give the high-impact workout a try. The only one he couldn’t win over was his father.
“Jason was very persuasive,” said his mother, Patricia Crowley, of Auburn. “He even got his girlfriend Hailey (Quick) into crossfit and she didn’t work out before either, like his brother Michael. But he got them and me. He only had one more to go: his dad.”
“We’ll have to see,” replied Rick Crowley, when asked if he was now ready to give it a try.
In addition to his parents, Crowley is survived by his brother, Michael Crowley of Atlanta, and sister, Kelley Crowley of Montevallo, Ala.
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