From Injury to Innovation: My Journey in Fitness My passion for fitness started early. As a high school athlete, I was thrown into the weight room without any real guidance. Our coaches didn’t teach us how to lift properly—we were told to watch the older students and copy what they did. Most of our “education” came from watching athletes and bodybuilders on TV, not from structured instruction. That environment led to numerous injuries. And that’s what ignited my journey: I wanted to fix what was broken from the start. I saw a need to help young athletes avoid the same mistakes we made—by teaching them the fundamentals: proper form, safe technique, and effective training from the very beginning. Decades later, I still see the same pattern—middle and high school athletes being taught how to play but not how to train. That’s exactly why this app was created: to equip young people with the tools and knowledge to train the right way from the beginning—so they can grow into strong, injury-free adults who know what they’re doing in the gym. My journey in the fitness industry spans over three decades, starting in 1988. I became a certified personal trainer in 1990, and between 1990 and 1995, I earned degrees in architecture, exercise science, and a master’s in kinesiology. This solid foundation enabled me to work with a diverse range of clients—from beginners focused on weight loss to elite athletes seeking peak performance. Early in my career, I interned in medical clinics and, based on the standards at the time, was grandfathered in as a physical therapist. This allowed me to begin treating patients directly in the late ’90s. As more injured athletes sought me out, I expanded my skill set to include manual therapy, massage, cupping, friction work, and certification in Active Release Techniques (ART). These tools helped me build a thriving client base. I got my start training clients in gyms across Jersey City and Manhattan—places like Downtown Health & Fitness, Steel Gym, and NYHRC. My clients included stockbrokers, professional dancers, high-level athletes, and even a few actors. After relocating to North Carolina, I worked in nearly every training facility in the area, including the YMCA and several private gyms. I eventually landed at Fitness 2000, where I did most of my training, and began partnering with local high schools to support their wrestling, football, baseball, basketball, and track & field programs. In 2006, a close friend and I opened our own facility: KORE Training Studios. KORE stands for Kinesiology Optimizing Resistance Exercise. Our mission was simple—train every client like an athlete—a philosophy now known as functional or sports performance training. Back then, we were ahead of the curve. Today, KORE remains strong. In 2005, I also explored the digital fitness space. A partner and I launched a fitness website, but without the resources for proper marketing, it eventually shut down. Nearly two decades later, I knew it was time to revisit that vision—this time with the experience, insight, and tools to bring it to life. I developed an algorithm that generates personalized workouts tailored to a user’s fitness level, available equipment, and goals. It’s based on a simple truth: no two bodies are the same, so no two workouts should be either. Real results come from proper form, expert guidance, and customization. In November 2024, I embarked on a new chapter in my fitness journey. I launched JKORETECH LLC and began development on our app, KORE OTG (On The Go). Since then, I’ve been working tirelessly—fueled by excitement and anticipation—to turn this vision into reality. I can’t wait to bring smarter, safer training to the next generation of athletes.