08/31/2026
Meet Fire Captain Jeffrey Hardy, who has been a member for 13-years!
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself (Family - update us on your kids, job, hobbies, etc.).
I am married and have 3 adult children and 2 rescue dogs. Tammie is a FACS teacher at Central; Rollens, 30, is a NWMSU Bearcat with a degree in psychology and is a recruiter for North Kansas City Hospital; Braxton, 25, has a BioChemical Engineering degree from Missouri S&T and works in St. Louis; Reese, 23, is a MO State Bear and has a degree in Political Science. She is starting her 3rd year of law school at Washburn in Topeka.
Rollens and Braxton used to CrossFit back in the day too. Stella and Luna are pit mixes that we adopted from the shelter and are more spoiled than the kids ever were. I’m 58-years-old and was born and raised here and graduated from Central. I’ve been a
firefighter with SJFD for 30+ years and hold the rank of captain. I plan on retiring next year. I’ve also worked at North Kansas City Hospital for 23 years, 18 of those in the ER and the last five in Surgery. Work and kids’ activities, when they were home, take up
most of my time.
2. What brought you to BFIT that first time?
I was a runner in high school but never really worked out in the gym. That wasn’t a thing back in the day for runners. I joined several gyms over the years but never really got into a routine or stuck with it. I started hearing about this thing called CrossFit and found out there was a gym here in town. I’ve known Toby Lawrence, one of the partners at the time, since high school and asked about coming in. I did and have been here ever since.
3. Being a firefighter is very physically demanding! If we created a workout dedicated to our firefighters, what movements would be in it?
Our current programming cycle is beneficial for a firefighter. Firefighting takes strength and endurance. You also need to learn how to control your breathing when you’re working with an SCBA on. If it were a single workout, you would need a movement to strengthen your back/core like deadlifts, some type of squats, and some type of shoulder/arm movement. Thrusters come to mind, but I would never suggest those for anything!!! To make it a bit more realistic, add a weighted vest to the workout to simulate
wearing an SCBA and bunker gear.
4. You have been a member here almost since the beginning. Do you have any advice for anyone just starting out here at BFIT?
My advice would be to have some goals that work for you. Maybe that’s coming to class 3 days a week or losing some weight or preparing for a competition. As long as you leave the gym satisfied with what you accomplished that day. Pre-Covid when I was coming to the gym more often because my son was coming too, I tried to lift heavy when I could. After Covid, my age started to catch-up to me and I wasn’t able to come in as often. My goal now is to lift moderately and finish the WODs under the time cap. Most days I’m fairly successful and the days I’m not, oh well. No one is going to judge you at BFIT for what you can or cannot do.
5. What is one item on your bucket list?
One item on my bucket list is to go to Alaska during the salmon run to see the bears swatting them out of the water. I would also like to go to Denali while I’m there.
6. What is your favorite way to spend an afternoon?
I’m old, so spending an afternoon doing nothing is fantastic!! Lately, we have been going to the Trail Theater downtown and seeing movies from the 80s and 90s.
7. If your pet could talk about you, what do you think they would say?
If Stella and Luna could talk they would tell everyone that they love me most because I get them Chick-fil-a chicken for breakfast and frozen yogurt from Sam’s in the evening
most days when I’m home!!
