Jared Kuka
Jared is the founder and President of goPerformance Franchising, LLC. He opened the original goPerformance® facility in fall of 2006 after 12 years of operating traditional style health clubs. His love of fitness and strength training began early and were a result of training for sports in high school and college. After college, Jared turned to bodybuilding to fuel his passion and need to train "for a goal". His love of the gym atmosphere soon led to a career in health club management. Jared has been involved with many health club chain and franchise club openings, and has held management roles in a number of typical big box fitness centers. He has worked as a consultant, providing services to a number of club chains and independent club owners in the fitness business. During his many years of operating clubs, consulting, and running a personal training & nutritional coaching business, Jared maintaining his passion for fitness by continually studying new training and nutritional techniques to better his own personal fitness level, as well as working with other fitness enthusiasts to further their physique and performance goals. It wasn't until Jared began to re-incorporate more of his athletic training regimen, and was introduced to a style of training emphasizing movement rather than the isolation of muscle groups, did he realize what this industry was missing - a multi-dimensional training style which offered a style of movement used for sports, but integrated exercises which engaged more muscle groups, increased core strength, and improved endurance. Jared's desire to learn more about this type of training led him to a career with a commercial fitness equipment manufacturer whose business was founded on the philosophies of functional strength training and exercising in a manner which mimics real life movement patterns. This new career path allowed him to meet many professionals in the fitness industry and helped to clarify his vision for a new, untraditional fitness facility: A concept club that integrated the latest in fitness and performance training techniques, yet was scalable for any individual, whether seasoned athlete or beginner; training performed in a clean, convenient, and intimate atmosphere under the guidance of fitness professionals... and goPerformance@ was born.
Mark Vance, DPT
Mark is the owner of goPerformance® & Fitness in Paducah,KY. He is also owner of Rehab Associates Physical Therapy, consisting of four clinics in western Kentucky. Mark became interested in therapy due to his own affinity to exercise; he has run over 20 marathons and competed in full Iron Man events. Mark has been a physical therapist for 30 years and received his Doctorate in Physical Therapy in 2007. Mark wanted to bring together his experience with therapy and exercise when developing his most recent clinic. He decided to incorporate a goPerformance facility which would allow him to provide personalized fitness and performance training to his patients as well as the local community. "While I have been in private physical therapy practice for several years, there is not a one to one correlation with the fitness business. My affiliation with goPerformance is making the addition of a fitness facility much easier and more efficient than it could have been independently. I highly recommend goPerformance as a fitness center franchise and I have found it to be extremely helpful in all aspects of development." Mark is a great spokesperson for goPerformance®, while his integrated approach to fitness and therapy makes him a valuable resource for both franchise owners and medical professionals looking to integrate their own goPerformance® as part of a complete wellness facility.
Matt Rhea, PhD, CSCS*D, CES,PES
President/Director of Research
RACE Rx, LLC
www.race-rx.com
Dr. Rhea completed a PhD at Arizona State University in exercise science. He has completed over 50 studies on a variety of exercise and sport science topics. He has presented at national and international conferences, including at the National Strength and Conditioning Association conferences, the International Olympic Committee's World Congress on Sport Sciences, and the International Conference on Strength Training. He was awarded the Outstanding Young Investigator award by the NSCA in 2008. His research has been highlighted in Mens Health, Muscle Media, Athletic Management, PFP Magazine, Shape, and Flex Magazine. Dr. Rhea has served as a consultant to some of the leading exercise and sport science organizations including the Phoenix Suns, Athletes Performance, San Francisco Giants, Arizona State University football, the U.S. Olympic Training Center, National Academy of Sports Medicine, and Phoenix Fire Department. He is on the editorial staff for the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research, Strength and Conditioning Journal, and the NSCA Performance Training Journal. He is an avid runner and mountain bike enthusiast and enjoys coaching youth athletes.
Mark Ladd
Mark is a founder and Principal of Lee & Associates of St. Louis, a full service commercial real estate company and a member of the Lee & Associates group of companies. Prior to helping found the Lee & Associates of St. Louis office, Mark was a founding member of the Tenant Advisory Services team at CB Richard Ellis, where he previously worked for 5 years. Mark has been involved with several hundred transactions since coming into the business in 1997, while completing transactions in over 30 states throughout the country. He handles all facets of tenant representation; including site selection, lease negotiation, demographic analysis, financing, construction oversight, as well as move management.
Mark brings a valuable recourse for our franchisees in advising on real estate, site location, and lease negotiations for business start-up, an important aspect of starting a new business that is often over looked by many. We look forward to utilizing his knowledge and expertise in this area in order to provide professional insight for our new franchise owners.