Passing the gift of fitness that was given to me as youth onto the next generation.
I started lifting weights at Victory Gym going into the 4th grade. The original owner and the individual who opened Victory Gym in 1990, taught me how to lift weights.
As I fell in love with strength training, spending hours after school and in the summers at Victory Gym, Ralph became a huge positive influence in my life. He was a champion bodybuilder into his later years and was a man that I admired, looked up to, and wanted to be like.
I quickly became a fixture at the gym, I was the "hardworking" little kid that kept showing up. Eventually, I would begin answering the phone at the gym when Ralph wasn't around and would leave notes for Ralph if I was going to miss a workout due to my family traveling over the weekend etc.
Competition
I began competing in powerlifting as a tween/teen after Dave Lawrence taught me how to power lift. Dave was another strong influence in my younger years. He was a champion powerlifter and drove an hour each way to train every Saturday at Victory. Ralph introduced me to Dave and the rest is history.
I competed in my first bodybuilding competition in 2016 and my second competition in 2021 where I earned my IPE Pro Card by winning the bodybuilding overall crown.
Becoming Victory Gym's Owner
Because I loved the gym and training so much, at some point, I decided my life-time goal was to become a personal trainer and own my own gym. I graduated from the University of Sioux Falls in 2010 with my Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science. After graduating from college, life took me in a different direction. But, I always come back to fitness and my love for the weights.
In 2020, the story of Victory Gym became even more impactful in my life, September 1st, 2020, I became the new owner of the gym that had such a profound impact on my life as a young person. Ralph sold the gym in 2013 to Cory & Alyssa Hughes. After 7 years and two kids, Cory & Alyssa were ready to move on from their ownership of Victory. After much prayer and consideration, I knew God wanted me to step into a new season of life by purchasing the gym from Cory & Alyssa.
It's still surreal to me that I own Victory Gym, but the last couple of years have been so exciting as I have had the opportunity to learn so much about business, life, and so much more through being the owner of the gym that has been a part of my life for as far back as I can remember. I like to say and tell people, this is just the beginning!
