A Little Bit About Us
Thanks to COVID-19, we had to shut our doors in the middle of March 2020. That’s not news. What is news is that we may be able to open soon. As we prepare to reopen our wonderful brick and mortar facility that we all miss so much, we are working hard on what exactly reopening will look like. As part of that process, we find ourselves reflecting a lot on how and why we started Industrial Athletics in the beginning.
How We Were Born
Coach Matt has been involved in fitness in some way since college. He started as a personal trainer working with elderly members of a local community center here in Pittsburgh. While in college, he continued working as a personal trainer at a small local gym. This is where he started designing workout programs. At the time we are drafting this, that was over fifteen years ago!!!
While in law school, Coach Matt’s brother introduced him to CrossFit. At the time, he was a typical lifter (chest, bi’s, tri’s, maybe legs). CrossFit changed him life. He became stronger, faster, more flexible, and fitter than ever before. Thus started the path leading to Industrial Athletics.
IA’s Birth
After law school, Coach Matt moved to Pittsburgh and joined his first CrossFit gym after the YMCA said, “No Chalk.” He eventually attended the CrossFit Level 1 training program and started coaching part time at that gym. The more he coached, the more he saw a need for more education, better programming, and more attention to movement quality. When this CrossFit gym started showing issues with its business model, he saw his chance to fix these issues he was seeing.
IA Opens
After an exhaustive two year search, Coach Matt found his first location in 2013. It was on the third story of an industrial building just north of Downtown Pittsburgh. It wasn’t ideal, but he made it work. Finally, his chance to bring CrossFit to Pittsburgh in an intelligent and sustainable way. He was now in control of programming. He could spend as much time as he wanted making sure his members were getting tons of attention. And, he could build the community that is famous in CrossFit boxes.
Coach Matt’s goal was to show Pittsburgh that CrossFit isn’t something intimidating. On the contrary, when done properly, he could use it to improve the health and quality of life of anyone who was willing to give it a chance. People have to be ready for anything physically or mentally that life throws at them. What better way to prepare for that than by using a fitness program designed to prepare you for anything?
IA Today
The purpose of Industrial Athletics has always been, and continues to be, building better people. Coach Matt never wanted a huge gym. After all, more people means less attention. IA’s model has always been focused around the individual as the priority. When COVID-19 forced us to close, our staff worked tirelessly to continue to focus on the individual. When we reopen, we are looking forward to the unique opportunities available to us. One thing is for sure, the IA Community will continue to be strong and our coaches will continue to provide the greatest opportunity to build you into the best person you can be.
