Meet The Coach

JUSTIN SAPUTO

B.S. NUTRITION

It all started when…

I was 8 weeks out from my first show… I passed out in my kitchen after mowing my lawn for only 20 minutes. I woke up on the floor, stuffed half of my pantry in my face and relaxed for a bit. I took some time to reflect and came to the conclusion I was being severely underfed and that I was falling apart. At the time I worked manual labor 8 to 14 hours per day, while training, doing my cardio and consuming practically nothing other than chicken and asparagus. My coach was not listening to my feedback, and kept pushing harder, leading to this. I knew at this point, I had to be the change I wanted to see. I’m here to bring both care and results. With me, you are not a number, a paycheck, or just an athlete.

Prior to coaching I spent all of my adult life in the Army. I enlisted in 2012 at the age of 17 fresh out of high school. I spent my first two years after basic training in Fort Drum, NY where I learned what cold really was. If you think you get cold during prep… try going for a run outside when its -15 degrees. In 2015 I was selected by the Army to go through the selection process for the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, the most elite aviation unit in the military. After completion of selection was SERE school, which is a 3 week course on Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape in austere environments. This course includes a 3 to 4 day simulated Prisoner of War camp where you are forced to work manual labor, starved, sleep deprived, interrogated, and ‘punished physically’. SERE school was a requirement to deploy as a Crew Chief with the 160th, to ensure that you would not crack under pressure if you were captured. I would deploy 3 times from 2016 to 2020 when I got out. To say that I am no stranger to suffering would be an understatement, however through this suffering I learned resilience, grit, determination and sacrifice. These are the qualities I wish to instill in my athletes through leadership and guidance.