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Drake Kuno
ISSA-CPT
My introduction into the world of fitness started about 8 years ago, when I first stepped into the Watertown high school weight room, in the 7th grade. I was never really known to be the best athlete or to be in the best shape at the time, and that continued all the way up to the end of my sophomore year of high school. I decided enough was enough. I didn’t like how I looked, and I didn’t feel the best about myself or my performance capabilities on the football field. I started going to the gym 6 times a week with limited knowledge of what I should be doing, because I didn’t like the way the football coaches would run workouts. After school I would sit at home and watch numerous videos to increase my knowledge on certain methods of training and the “best” ways to train for the best possible results. I fell in love with both bodybuilding and powerlifting. The passion of building the best version of yourself and/or being as strong as possible made me so excited to learn more about fitness. Becoming the best possible version of myself, while helping others along the way is what I truly wanted to do.
For the last 2-3 years, I have always thought that it would be a dream come true, to become a certified personal trainer and help people on their fitness journeys, all while doing what I love! As of recently, I have become even more determined to make my lifestyle into a career. In 2022, when I graduated from high school, I decided I wanted to try my hand at working in the fitness industry. I joined the crew here at The Gym Inc. at the beginning of 2023 with the intent of working towards my personal trainer certification. Becoming a certified personal trainer in the beginning of 2024 and knowing that I will be able to help a lot of people reach their fitness goals, is the best feeling in the world. I am certified through ISSA (International Sports Sciences Association), and my certification is ISSA-CPT (Certified Personal Trainer). Between all of the knowledge I have gained over the years, and my personal training certification, I am confident that I can help people achieve the goals they didn’t think were possible. I specialize in general nutritional health and fitness, which gives me the ability to train a wide variety of clients, including general fitness and weight loss, athletes, bodybuilders, and powerlifters. If you are looking to become the best version of yourself with fitness, I am confident that I have the knowledge and skills to guide you along your fitness journey.
When I’m not at the gym, my other hobbies include playing football and baseball, hanging out with friends and family, fishing, and biking to name a few.
One of my favorite sayings: Everything that you want to accomplish, must start with changing your mindset. If you can transform a bad, unhealthy mindset into a positive, healthy mindset, I believe you can accomplish anything in life. Putting yourself out there and going after what you want, is the best way to approach any goal in life. Doing it with the best possible mindset will allow you to achieve something that not many people are able to do.
Carla Kauffman
Carla has always enjoyed being active. As Carla explains: “I was a 4-sport athlete in high school and continued playing sports into my adult years in park and rec. I participated in both rec leagues and competitive leagues until injuries forced me into retirement. As a female athlete “back in the day” (I know I’m aging myself) we weren’t allowed in the weight room because we didn’t have enough muscle and would hurt ourselves if we were to lift weights. I carried that belief for a long time until at the encouragement of a friend I joined a gym. As a female that has always struggled with my weight, I was very self-conscious about going. I didn’t know where to even start and didn’t want to look foolish. I tried to figure it out on my own but it wasn’t until I hired a personal trainer that I started to see progress. That is where I learned about the benefits of lifting and stress release that the gym and fitness offers a person.”
I graduated from SDSU with a Bachelor's Degree in Nursing. I have worked on Peds/Surg unit, at a local hospital Emergency Department and I presently work in the Surgery Department. Through my career I have cared for people with problems due to lack of exercise and poor nutrition. I know from my training that regular exercise has many health benefits; such as helping control blood pressure, helping control blood sugars, helping to slow down osteoporosis and increasing your immunity.”
“Becoming a personal trainer gives me the opportunity to help people improve their health before they need a nurse.”
As a late comer to weight training and the fitness arena, I would like to encourage everyone to begin. “Start where you are at today. There’s no competition except within you.”
Carla is a certified personal trainer through NASM and is also certified on two other specialties; Nutrition and Weight Loss Specialization through NASM as well. Contact her at The Gym Inc. if you would like to get started on reaching your goals.
Carla’s other hobbies besides fitness is music, reading and spending anytime with friends and family, especially with her much loved grand-kids.
Craig Schake
Certified - NSCA-CPT
My fitness journey all started, about 10 years ago, when I went off to college at SDSU. All throughout high school and leading up to college, I was overweight, unhealthy, and just didn’t have any energy. But worst of all, I didn’t like what I saw in the mirror and the way it made me feel about myself. I decided it was time to make a change, and started lifting weights, my freshman year of college. What started as a journey to become healthier and lose weight, turned into a full on lifestyle and healthy obsession. I quickly fell in love with fitness and everything about it, including the workouts, nutrition, and supplements. I would spend hours researching various scientific journal articles, reading forums, watching YouTube videos, and doing anything I could to learn more about the nuts and bolts of fitness and nutrition. After 2 years, I particularly became interested in bodybuilding and the style of fitness training that came along with it. I was amazed at how we can sculpt the body, by building muscle, and how the body will get progressively stronger over time.
It wasn’t until recently though, that I decided to build my career in fitness and become a personal trainer. I graduated from SDSU, in 2016, with my bachelor’s degree in wildlife and fisheries sciences. I worked in that career field for a few years, but I just wasn’t fully satisfied with that career choice and the job outlook. That’s when I decided to take a leap of faith and turn my biggest passion in life, into my long term career, and I couldn’t be happier with that decision. I decided I wanted to become a personal trainer, and share my knowledge with other people, to help them achieve their fitness goals. I am certified through the NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association), with the certification of NSCA-CPT. (Certified Personal Trainer) Between my personal experience and attaining certification, I look forward to helping people attain their dream physique or just simply to help get them on track towards a healthier lifestyle. The areas of fitness I specialize in are bodybuilding, power lifting, and athletic performance, along with the nutrition and supplementation that goes with it. If your goal is to gain muscle, increase strength, or improve athletic performance, I’ve got the knowledge and tools to help get you there.
Outside of the gym, my other hobbies include fishing, hunting, hiking, mountain biking, camping, and spending time with family and friends. I grew up in Clear Lake, SD, a small rural community, near Watertown, SD.
I believe that with the proper mindset, hard work, and determination, you can accomplish anything in life. Never settle for anything less than what you desire and always strive to make improvements, day after day, to build a better you.
One of my favorite quotes is “For me. life is continuously being hungry, The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger
Rex Gerber
Rex has been a member of the Gym Inc. since he started his fitness journey 14 years ago. He walked into The Gym Inc. when he was 35 years old, overweight and in need of physical improvement. Lacking knowledge on nutrition, eating habits and training technique, he made a lot of the common mistakes that most people encounter when just starting out. These mistakes led to slow progress, injuries and a poor body composition. He did lose weight, but became “skinny fat”. Meaning that his muscle tone needed lots of improvement in spite of having lost 62 pounds.
Rex then hired a personal trainer at The Gym Inc. to get started training smarter. After much hard work and learning proper training techniques, Rex has excelled at his fitness goals, and now wants to share his knowledge with others.
Since Rex has experienced first-hand what a poorly planned or no training program can result in, he will help you achieve your goals without making the same mistakes he made himself when starting out. Rex knows that proper nutrition, personalized direction and creating a well-planned out training program with a personal trainer can get you the best start in fitness possible.
He understands that walking into the gym for the first time not knowing where or how to start can be very intimidating and overwhelming for some people. Rex would like to help you get past that and make fitness an enjoyable and important part of your life. Truly caring about others, Rex freely admits he can look intimidating to some people, with his on and off again beard and biker fashion style, but once you talk with him, you will understand his genuinely helpful and friendly characteristics.
“You just can’t help but like Rex.” (Quote from a Rex Gerber fan)
Rex is certified by NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine) and is currently working on his ACE (American Council on Exercise) Personal Training Certification also. In addition, he is certified in CPR/AED.
Born and raised in the Watertown area and he has lived here his entire life. Hunting, fishing and riding motorcycle are hobbies in his free time.
Rex believes that no matter what your age, weight, body type or training experience, your goals can be achieved with the right training and knowledge. It is never too late or early to start working on those goals. Call him anytime at The Gym Inc. to get started on fitness.