The Ohio Strength - Home of CrossFit Italian Village Coach Team & Story

Learn about our coach team & story – we are here to help you achieve your fitness, nutrition and lifestyle goals!

Our Founder

Ryan McFadyen

Growing up, Ryan participated in many sports-gymnastics, soccer, baseball, football, basketball, wrestling, rowing, and track. He focused on football and track in high school. Then he rowed crew at The Ohio State University. During his undergrad studies, he was also proud to be a part of the three-man team that won the 2008 American College of Sports Medicine Exercise Physiology Quiz Bowl. After college graduation, Ryan was looking for something to fill the void that collegiate sports left behind. He was drawn to the competitive, yet supportive, team-like environment found in the CrossFit gym. He fell in love with the culture and decided to dedicate his life to introducing it to others. “The discovery of CrossFit brought my passion, experience, and education together into what is now Ohio Strength.” “Now that Ohio Strength has been helping clients for over 9 years, we’ve had the opportunity to really figure out who we want to be as coaches and as a gym community. We’ve learned that life is so much bigger than simply being competitive in CrossFit. We’ve seen marriages, births, job changes, and dealt with the loss of loved ones together as a fitness community. We support each other to lead productive and healthy lives through the coaching of balanced and active lifestyles that include great nutrition, fun and effective workouts, and sustainable habits. When someone joins Ohio Strength, we want them to be a member for life, and we keep that in mind every day as we strive to foster deep and meaningful relationships, deliver incredible fitness results and focus on continuous improvement of our offerings. I sincerely hope that we have the opportunity to meet with you to help you navigate your own fitness journey for years to come!”

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS

Bachelor of Science in Education: Exercise Science Education, Nutrition minor

Master of Business Administration

CrossFit Level 1, 2, 3 (CCFT), Judges Course, Scaling Course, Athlete Centered Mental Health Seminar

USA Weightlifting Level 1 Sports Performance Coach

Sports Nutritionist, ISSN (International Society of Sports Nutrition)

Licensed Massage Therapist

RYT 200 (Registered Yoga Teacher)

Prokreate – Pre and Postnatal Strength Seminar

Red Cross CPR and AED.

Our Coaches

Rebecca coach at Ohio Strength - Home of CrossFit Italian Village

Rebecca Nguyen

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
Master of Science in Exercise Science
Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coach
American College of Sports Medicine Clinical Exercise Physiologist
Red Cross First Aid, CPR, and AED

Rebecca’s fitness history starts with eleven years of commitment to dance. She was a bunhead, living, eating, and breathing ballet. The commitment to performance and perfection contributed to an unhealthy relationship with food and a dysmorphic body image. After discovering the disorder, her mother forced her to quit dance in high school. “Ballet was my identity,” Rebecca explains, “Losing it, even though it was for my mental and physical health, left me lost and depressed. I needed another physical activity to fill the void.” Rebecca started going to step aerobics at a local gym. She loved being able to exercise without the excruciating attention to what her body looked like in skintight clothing. Rebecca knew the physical activity was essential to her health and happiness. Now she knew it could take a form other than ballet.

Up until two years ago, Rebecca was resistant to CrossFit believing that it was too high-risk for injury. “I had no interest or intention of doing it. But over the years, I realized my own workouts were trending in that direction.” When owner Ryan McFadyen offered a generous free trial period, Rebecca gave it a shot. After the fundamentals classes, she was hooked and regretted not trying CrossFit sooner. “Any physical activity, if done improperly, puts the participant at risk for injury. CrossFit gets a lot of publicity, both good and bad. In actuality, the comprehensive focus on fitness and activity modifications make it effective for all populations. I’m absolutely in love with it and now know what it feels like to be part of an athletic team.”

Phil Lafleur

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
Bachelors Degree
CrossFit Level 1
CPR & AED

Phil has had a lifelong passion for physical fitness. Starting at a young age, he participated in football, basketball, and baseball. In high school, his involvement shifted to football, lacrosse, and track & field. Opting against playing football in college, Phil still maintained a strict daily physical fitness routine after his high school sports career ended.

Phil found CrossFit in late 2018 and was immediately hooked. The challenges, growth, and positive community atmosphere experienced on a daily basis at Ohio Strength was something he had been searching for since graduating from the University of Dayton in 2017. After a few years in the corporate world, Phil decided to take a sabbatical from his job as a technology consultant in late 2020 to explore a career in the fitness industry. He felt helping people improve their physical and mental health would be a more fulfilling venture, specifically through the methodologies of CrossFit and functional fitness.

Greg Friedberg

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
Bachelors in Neuroscience
Current M.D. Candidate
CrossFit Level 1
AHA BLS (CPR + AED)

Greg started CrossFit back in July 2018 on the same day he began his first “real-world job” post-undergrad. No better wake-up call to the real world, right? He credits CrossFit for being his saving grace at the time, as the stress of adjusting to a whole new life was weighing pretty heavily back then. The Ohio Strength family was everything he needed – and has helped him maintain a sound mind, sound body and healthy lifestyle ever since.

To him, joining a CrossFit gym wasn’t a matter of “if” but “when.” His passion for fitness is admittedly wide-spread. He attributes his love for weight training to years of experience in sports such as football, baseball and track + field. Also, after a short stint in gymnastics, he says he developed an appreciation for the human body’s power and potential. This led him to pursue a career in sports medicine, for which he is currently studying at Ohio State. Additionally, his involvement in a student-led fitness group during college inspired a love for HIIT-style workouts – and he also avidly enjoys yoga and cycling. “CrossFit offers the perfect combination of everything I could ever ask for: community, fitness, empowerment and support.”

Shelby Cavazos

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology and Health Promotion
Current student in The Ohio State’s Doctorate of Occupational Therapy Program
Graduate Enrichment Fellow
USA Weightlifting Level 1

Adaptive and Inclusive Trainer
Red Cross CPR and AED

Growing up, Shelby participated in multiple sports and found CrossFit to fill the void after graduating high school and leaving team sports. CrossFit fulfilled her need for a highly intense workout with a motivating, supportive community. What she loves about CrossFit is that the workouts are constantly varied, functional, and adaptable. In undergrad, she was a teaching assistant for adaptive sports skills, which further fueled her passion that fitness should be accessible to people of all abilities, and is proud that the CrossFit community wholeheartedly believes that as well. After joining the Army in 2017, Shelby had even more of a reason to continue on in CrossFit to stay fit and prepared for her role as a Medical Service Officer. She moved to Columbus in May of 2020 to start her doctoral program, and found her home here at Ohio Strength. Shelby has a goal to obtain her CrossFit L1 and L2, and has a specific interest adaptive training in order to support accessible and inclusive fitness for all.

Lindsay Romaniw

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
Bachelors Degree

CrossFit Level 1
Red Cross CPR and AED

Lindsay has been a dedicated member of Ohio Strength since February 2016. After one drop in class she knew this was the fitness program for her. Her favorite thing about CrossFit is that everyone gets to do their own version of “hard” and everyone always has something to work on. It’s less about comparing yourself to others and more about being the best athlete YOU can be (although a little friendly competition is fun, too). Prior to CrossFit, Lindsay was an avid runner and has raced 4 half marathons and more 5ks than she can count. Despite major life changes and mental health struggles over the last six years, Lindsay has found consistency and community at Ohio Strength. She is excited to bring her years of experience and passion for CrossFit to members and to help them achieve their goals!

Ellen Onders

EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
Bachelors Degree

Crossfit Level 1
CPR and AED certified

Ellen grew up in a family of runners, which is where her fitness journey began. From a young age she was attending road races, cross country meets, and marathons, to watch her mom and sisters race. Naturally, she followed suit and became a distance runner herself, running her first full marathon in 2014. Since then, Ellen has completed 5 full marathons and numerous halves, but says she had always been secretly curious about CrossFit. In 2019 Ellen joined Ohio Strength after being encouraged by her boyfriend who wanted her to meet his “gym friends.”

After a couple months, Ellen was hooked and realized that almost all her preconceived notions about CrossFit were wrong, “I wish I hadn’t been intimidated for so long, everyone is just there to have fun and get better, whatever that means for them.” Ellen has seen huge improvement in her athletic ability in her 2 years as a member, which she credits to the variety in the programming and the community. “I finally found a community of like-minded people who want to get better and want to see me get better too. It’s really motivating to be surrounded by that. I’m excited to be a part of the coaching staff and create an even better experience for the next member.”

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