Back in 2024, I organized a trip with a group of CrossFit friends to Portugal — not your typical vacation, but an olive harvest mission. A good friend needed help with her olive trees, and I just threw the idea out there. To my surprise, the response was huge! Folks were pumped to combine some hard work, nature, and camaraderie.

Fast forward to 2025, we flipped the script and headed to Greece with a slightly different crew. Same concept: Crossfit buddies, stronger bonds, and olive picking under the sun. The hosts were thrilled—free extra hands make a huge difference during harvest season. But honestly, the volunteers were just as happy. There’s something special about getting your hands dirty together, powered by nothing but male energy, CrossFit toughness, and a shared love of both nature and community.

And this is when I thought: more people need to have this experience. The feedback I got both from the groups as well as from the hosts was beyond my expectations or even imagination. So, here we are: a new idea, let’s see if we can make this happen!

Here’s how it works

The CrossFit group covers for the travel costs — tickets, car rentals — getting us to the host. The hosts handle the essentials: a place to crash, food, and drinks to keep us fuelled. We commit around 5 days total, with roughly 3 to 3.5 days working about 6 hours a day harvesting olives. Simple, effective, and affordable for everyone. I remember that the cost per person in the first two ‘episodes’ was around €500-600/person. Imagine, for a full 5 day trip, everything included! We even threw in some T-shirts and a CrossFit session ion a local box :-)

What’s really cool is how this became more than just a volunteering trip. It’s a ritual, a bonding experience born from the CrossFit community’s spirit. We’re fit, we’re motivated, and we thrive off the energy of working together with like-minded men, out in the fresh air, contributing to something real. No fluff, just grit, laughter, and plenty of olive oil at the end.

And the real award?

After the hard work and all the fun and bonding that takes place, there’s this magical moment that we bring our freshly harvested olives to a local olive-press. And a few hours later you are dipping a piece of bread in your self-harvested, freshly pressed, truly ‘Extra Virgin’ olive oil! WOW!

This might sound like a humble harvest tale, but to us, it’s a living story of friendship, sweat, and tradition. And honestly, it’s just plain fun—something we’ll keep growing year after year. If you ever get the chance to join, or start your own trip like this, trust me: it’s worth every moment.

I would love to get in touch with you if you are inspired!

Martijn