Building a stronger island: Chasing waves and workouts in Siargao
Thoughts of Siargao naturally drift to the legendary barrels of Cloud 9, endless groves of coconut trees, and a laid-back culture where the tide chart is the only schedule that matters. For decades, this island was a sanctuary reserved exclusively for surfers and transient backpackers.
Eight years ago, Dutch coach Mike Breuger looked at a map from behind a desk in the Netherlands and decided to build the island’s very first official CrossFit affiliate from scratch. At the time, functional fitness was entirely uncharted territory here.
“We were pretty much the ‘aliens’ that landed,” Mike recalls. “Most locals had never even heard of this type of training. It was our job to educate people.”
CrossFit Siargao is remarkable not only for surviving a pandemic—opening in July 2020—but also for completely rebuilding over nine grueling months after being flattened by Super Typhoon Odette. Beyond its story of resilience, it stands out for the gym’s driving ethos: #buildingastrongerisland.
For Mike and his world-class team of coaches, it is about using functional movement to elevate the physical, mental and emotional resilience of an entire ecosystem. Here are his insights on wellness from the island.
THE PHILIPPINE STAR: Why build a CrossFit box in Siargao? How has the island evolved from a pure surf destination into a thriving health hub?
MIKE BREUGER: Eight years ago, the Philippines was very up-and-coming. After coaching for years in the Netherlands, I knew my next step had to be opening my own gym. From a young age, I knew I wanted to settle somewhere where I could be “the first”—to create a market rather than follow it. My business partner and I researched potential locations from behind our desks. We found a tiny island called Siargao in the middle of the Pacific, and our gut told us right away that this could work.
We researched for months, wrote a business plan, and visited the island. From day one, it was a match. We started construction in late 2019, but right before opening, COVID-19 happened. Opening in July 2020 was definitely a leap of faith, but we became a great success.
Then, right at the tail end of the pandemic, Super Typhoon Odette completely wiped us out. We had to rebuild for nine months, but we simply couldn’t walk away from the community we had created. Since then, I’ve watched the island evolve immensely. People now come here not only for the waves, but also for fitness. We paved the way for a health and wellness market that many other gyms have joined over the last two years. It’s amazing to see Siargao become a place where people improve both their physical and mental health in one of the most beautiful environments in the world.
You run immersive multi-day fitness and surf retreats. Are modern travelers shifting toward active, high-intensity vacations?
Absolutely. Modern travelers want experiences, not just holidays. More people are looking for trips that leave them feeling better when they return home, rather than needing a “vacation from their vacation.”
What makes Siargao unique is that you can combine adventure, fitness, surfing, recovery, nature, healthy food and community all in one place. Our retreats attract people who want to challenge themselves physically while enjoying everything the island has to offer. It is all about finding the balance between performance, exploration, and recovery from hectic daily lives.
Your box caters to locals, expats, backpackers, and elite athletes. How do you cultivate a cohesive community when your roster changes weekly with the tourist tide?
Our focus has always been community first, fitness second. Every person who walks through the door is welcomed the same way, whether they’re a first-time gym-goer or a professional athlete. CrossFit naturally creates connection. Even if someone is only here for a week, they become part of the family immediately. Many arrive as strangers and leave as friends.
We have a great mix of transient visitors balanced by a large group of regulars who have been with us for years. This creates a vibrant dynamic you don’t typically find in commercial city gyms.
Your motto is #buildingastrongerisland. How has introducing functional fitness directly empowered this community?
The slogan isn’t just about physical strength; it’s about helping people become stronger in every aspect of life. One of the most rewarding things has been seeing local members who started with zero training experience completely transform their confidence.
People who were initially intimidated to step into the gym have become role models in the community, participating in competitions and inspiring their families to live healthier lives. Watching those ripple effects spread is exactly what the motto means to us.
From day one, we have also worked closely with the Philippine National Surf Team, training and preparing them for competitions over the past three years. We also run a program for local surf kids to help them build discipline and routine into their lives.
How do you adapt the classic high-intensity CrossFit methodology to fit the laid-back, recovery-focused lifestyle of an island? Have you introduced Hyrox training?
One of the biggest misconceptions about CrossFit is that it has to be maximal intensity every day. Good coaching is about balance, progression, and sustainability.
Island living naturally encourages recovery—people surf, walk, spend time outdoors, sleep well, and experience less stress. We incorporate that mindset into our programming by focusing on longevity and helping members train consistently rather than simply training harder.
We have also been offering Hyrox-specific classes for a long time, well before it became a major global trend. We’ve always believed in aerobic-capacity training. Following that success, we organized several editions of our own Siargao Fitness Race—inspired by Hyrox—which will return to the island at the end of this year.
What is the core advocacy that you share with the community?
For us, we always strive to focus on three things in every class: education, connection, and fun. All our coaches are aware of this and do everything they can to deliver these three elements in every group setting, as we believe they are the foundation of every great gym.
Another big part of our message is actually very simple: fitness should improve your life, not consume it. It should promote longevity and not create injuries due to ego or overtraining. A fit body creates a fit mind.
We’re passionate about helping people build strength, confidence, resilience, and healthy habits that carry over into everyday life. Whether someone’s goal is to become a better athlete, improve their health, keep up with their children, or simply feel better in their own skin, we believe fitness can be a powerful tool for positive change.
At the end of the day, we’re not just building stronger athletes; we’re building stronger people, stronger relationships, and ultimately, a stronger island.
