NEWTON

Birth Name: Jerry Darling

Age: 56

F3 Start Date: August 15, 2015

Main AO Posts: Greyhound, Jaguarundi, Robin’s Hood, Mettle of Honor

What led you to F3, and how did your first post challenge you or inspire you in unexpected ways? and how did you get your F3 nickname?

Some fitness group wanted to use the church parking lot where I attended.  I overheard the initial ask from the Nantan: The Fonz who had moved to NW Indiana from NC and brought F3 with him.  He planted the flag and they started working out a few days a week.  When I first heard him talking about it, I had no idea what he was talking about.  “We want to workout in the parking lot.”  Me:  umm.   Why??  I posted almost a year later and was hooked. (What took me so long!?!)  My second post we did the Murph…I kept going back.  That one AO for the region grew very slowly..but the consistency paid off…the region is now very large and continues to expand.  It is called The Hub today and many of the OG PAX are still going strong.   It followed a very similar growth curve that we saw here with F3 Austin.  The Fonz gave me my nickname when he found out that I worked at Apple and the Newton was one of the products we launched when I started back in ’92.

What impact has F3 had on your life, and what lessons or moments stand out as defining your journey? 

F3 really scratched an itch that I was missing…typical sad clown story.  Middle aged with 4 kids and really missing the male camaraderie and fitness aspect that I enjoyed in college.  

What’s been the hardest challenge you’ve faced—either in life or in F3—and what did it teach you about perseverance?

One of my favorites was the Grow Ruck 20 at the Alamo.  It was even more epic having Dredd as our platoon leader for the night of adventure. It took all of us to finish and was a legit challenge for all who participated.

What is next for Newton and where do you see that next 43 feet taking you on your H.I.M journey?

I’ve really been enjoying seeing F3 Austin continue to grow across the region.  The SLT and PAX are doing great things and I look forward to seeing that continue in 2025.  We have the TIR and the Freedom Ops GTE Austin this fall….those are two events on my radar.