RYAN GILLIHAN

I grew up playing all kinds of sports (and found my niche in lacrosse and snowboarding). I started lifting during my sophomore year of high school, but my fitness journey truly began after I had back surgery at the age of 20. 

I had herniated three vertebral discs in my lumbar spine which were pressing on a few of my major nerves. The surgery didn’t help, and I continued to be in constant pain. I was afraid to exercise outside of short walks and stayed inactive for a long time. 

A little over two years after my surgery, I was connected with a chiropractor named Mauro. Mauro was a full-blooded Italian and fervently believed he could help me with my back pain. The only problem was that Mauro lived in Italy.

Next thing I knew, I was living with Mauro in Italy for the summer as he worked on my back. We spent a lot time at a bodybuilding gym, and there my passion for fitness was rekindled. At one point Mauro said to me “you have a lot more in you than you give yourself credit for” and said that I should look into changing my college major to something medical-related (he was obviously biased).

I came back home and coincidentally reconnected with my high school friend Alex, who had put on over 50 pounds of muscle since I’d seen him last. He invited me to start working out with him, and before the summer was over I changed my major from business and graduated two years later with a bachelors in Kinesiology. Since then I have worked in physical therapy clinics as well as a variety of gym environments.

My passion as a coach is to help others realize the simple truth I learned in a small Italian coastal town: that we are far more capable than we give ourselves credit for and that with a clear vision and the discipline to pursue it, the “impossible” can become inevitable."