Who Am I?

Hi - My name is John Gunn, and I'm the founder of Forward Strength & Fitness. 

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I grew up here in Wisconsin, but I spent most of the past 10 years in San Diego and started Forward Strength & Fitness in southern California at the beginning of COVID. It started with small outdoor group classes and a few private clients and continued to grow to a full-time business and something I woke up excited for every morning; establishing that small community and watching my friends and neighbors thrive and connect in such a strange time was incredibly rewarding.

 

I've since moved back to Wisconsin to be closer to family, and with it I am looking forward (no pun intended) to creating that same communal feeling in Milwaukee.

 

As someone that has always been involved in athletics, whether it was peewee football or baseball, college rugby, cycling, yoga, ultra-running, boxing, and even a few amateur MMA fights, I understand how important it is to not only maintain an active lifestyle, but to also surround yourself with a positive and supportive community, and that's something I've found time and time again in athletics and the gym. And in my lifetime of athletic pursuits I've also learned a lot about what makes us want to move, what makes us want to quit, what it feels like to be burnt out, how to find your second, third, or maybe fourth wind, and when to take it easy for a minute and let the body catch up.

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As for more formal education, I studied Kinesiology and Human Performance at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, attended StrongFirst kettlebell clinics, and have been certified through ACE and NASM, and most recently ACSM, as a Personal Trainer.

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If you have any questions about my experience or programming, I'd love to talk to you - you can drop me a line here.