Nantan – Gates aka Pat Pickren
Pat, aka Gates, lives near the Terminus AO (Virginia Highland) with his wife of 21 years, Tessa, and their three children (ages 19, 17, and 15).
Pat was initially introduced to F3 via Mike Fields, aka Minnie, in 2018 with a post to Shadow AO where he was welcomed as Gates due to his career in software. He regularly joined F3 Atlanta in March of 2019 with the launch of Terminus AO while trying to figure out some kind of fitness routine after struggling to do it on his own. He got a lot more than just fitness opportunities as he now has a growing band of brothers that help him accelerate in all areas of life.
Pat is motivated to see people learn and grow, not just in fitness, but also in leadership and in purpose. He is honored to serve the men of F3 Atlanta as one of the 3rdF Qs for the region. In addition to F3 Atlanta, Pat actively serves as an elder at his church and on the board of an affordable housing non-profit.
1st F Q – Open
2nd F Q – Open
3rd F Q – Reggie aka Mark Hammond
Mark was EH’d by his neighbor (Nougat – Eric Odessey) in August of 2013 in Atlanta, GA. “I thought, hey I can handle a little boot camp. I play pickup basketball, and I run…no problem. 20 minutes into my first workout, I thought I was going to puke.” He was named “Reggie” from the character “Reggie Hammond” in Eddie Murphy’s first movie “48 Hours.”
Looking back, Mark considers joining F3 and consistently posting one of the most important decisions he ever made. “Getting married, having kids, and getting baptized, F3 is up there somewhere with those things.”
Mark likes to post downrange with his work travel. As for work, Mark runs a sales team in the mortgage banking industry. Mark received a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from The University of Georgia and later a Master’s degree in Finance from Georgia State University.
Mark has been married to Mary Ann for 27 years and considers this to be his greatest accomplishment. Mark and Mary Ann have 3 children (Jackson – 22, Caroline – 20, and Anna – 16) in addition to their family’s super-hero rescue lab mix Lylah.
Expansion Q – Matlock aka Griffin Ingraham
Born in Piedmont Hospital and raised in East Cobb, Griffin Ingraham, aka “Matlock,” has spent his entire life in Metro Atlanta aside from a short four year stint in Athens. He was EH’d by his friend Cutco and found the AO “Pulpit” via the F3 Atlanta website. Griffin first posted at The Pulpit on January 31, 2023, where he was named “Matlock” due to his budding career as an attorney. Originally, Matlock attended beatdowns sparsely. However, he quickly learned that the 5 Core Principles and the camaraderie of the F3 community vastly exceeded anything the gym had to offer. Matlock has since fully committed to F3 Atlanta and regularly posts at The Pulpit, Terminus, and Hot Tin Roof AO’s. Taking the reigns of Expansion Q from his good friend “Credit” (formerly Atlanta, now Birmingham), Matlock is motivated to expand the mission of F3 throughout Metro Atlanta, providing all men the opportunity to join a community where “iron sharpens iron.”
Comms Q – Manhole aka Mike Schulman
Mike moved to the ATL from a 15 year stint in the upper Midwest (Chicago and Detroit). Mike (FKA The Commish, named for his role in youth soccer in Dunwoody) posted to his 1st F3 BD after being EH’d by Montross at Shadow AO in Dunwoody in August 2015. At the time, 45 years young, and struggling to find like minded men, Montross suggested to Manhole that he had just what I needed. As they say, it’s only strange the 1st time and that was all that it took for Manhole to get out of his headspace and ditch the gym and embrace this group of men. As time marched on Manhole assumed a bit of a leadership rule among the Dunwoody and Sandy Springs faithful, though it was not until Smalls laid out his plan, the Manhole expanded beyond the OTP AOs to help Smalls spread the F3 gospel throughout the Metro as the 1st, 1st F Q F3 ATL.
Manhole is a 13 year resident of Dunwoody, husband to his M of over 25 years, and father of a college freshman and high school sophomore. Manhole is an IT veteran of over 25 years. In his spare time Manhole hikes, camps, and travels with his family.
Weasel Shaker – Smokey aka Don Eaddy
Smokey is also known sometimes by his dark side alter ego “Don Eaddy”. Like the bears in Yosemite, he just wandered into #warningtrack looking for snacks.
Smokey joined F3 in July of 2021. He wasn’t EH’d directly but had heard of F3 through Linkedin posts by LTDan at F3 Spartanburg #Stonehenge. He looked around Smyrna for a F3 location (maybe 2017) but did not find anything close-by, at that time. In the summer of 2020, Smokey felt called to be intentional about fellowship. He was fortunate enough to find out he was within 2.5 miles of #warningtrack and showed up on the following Tuesday. Of course, no one avoids being EH’d. Weber took advantage of Smokey after a particularly hard beatdown and coerced him into taking on the Weasel-shaker position for F3 Atlanta.
The alter-ego Don Eaddy has been a forester for 43 years, but more focused on forestland real estate sales for the last 27 years. He is currently employed with Domain Capital Group, an alternative investment group located in mid-town Atlanta. He is fortunate enough to be married to his beautiful and tolerant wife who is willing to “love him for Jesus.” His oldest son Trey, is a naval aviation rescue swimmer with the HSC-5 Nightdippers squadron out of Norfolk, VA. His youngest son Logan, an amazingly creative soul, is currently majoring in Mass Communications at Toccoa Falls College.