Ohio Strength - Home of CrossFit Italian Village - Team & Story
Learn about our team & story – we are here to help you achieve your fitness, nutrition and lifestyle goals!
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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 helping people of all ages and backgrounds find a fun and sustainable way to improve their health & fitness via proven methods of fitness, nutrition and lifestyle optimization . “The discovery of CrossFit brought my passion, experience, and education together into what is now Ohio Strength.” “Ohio Strength has been helping clients for over 10 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 outside of the gym, as well. 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!” When Ryan is not working or working out at Ohio Strength, he mentors other gym owners all over the world as a certified business coach and mentor for Two Brain Business, helps people buy and sell real estate in Central Ohio as a licensed realtor, and invests in his own short-term and long-term rental properties. He enjoys spending his free time relaxing, adventuring, traveling, eating and reading with his loving wife Lacey, his twin sons Maverick & Cooper and his rescue pitbulls Murph & Grace.
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
Bachelor of Science in Education: Exercise Science Education, Nutrition minor
Master of Business Administration
Two Brain Business Certified Business Coach & Mentor
CrossFit Level 1, 2, 3 (CCFT), Judges Course, Scaling Course, Athlete Centered Mental Health Seminar
The Gymnastic Course Level 1 Trainer Certification
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 Team & Story
Rebecca Nguyen
Master of Science in Exercise Science
Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coach
Red Cross First Aid, CPR, and AED
Rebecca’s early athletic journey was defined by dance. She was a bunhead, living, eating, and breathing ballet. The commitment to performance and perfection contributed to an unhealthy relationship with food and body dysmorphia. After being forced to quit for health reasons, she felt lost. “Ballet was my identity,” Rebecca explains, “Losing it left me depressed, and I needed something to fill the void.” Rebecca started going to step aerobics at a local gym. Because step aerobics had choreography, it felt a little like dance. This was her gateway to the gym and blossomed into other types of training.
Lindsay Romaniw
Bachelors Degree
Red Cross CPR and AED
Ellen Onders
Bachelors Degree
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.”
Nicholas Hagerman
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
Bachelor of Emergency Management and Homeland Security
CrossFit Level 1
USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coach
The Gymnastic Course Level 1 Trainer Certification
CPR & AED
Nicholas has had a lifelong passion for physical fitness and helping people in all stages of their lives. He grew up playing Ice Hockey and Soccer, which would continue to be his passions as he got older. Nicholas played soccer at Columbus State, and would eventually dedicate most of his time to Hockey as he progressed through his early 20’s.
HIs passion for helping people would lead him to a career as an Army Medic in which he proudly served from 2011 – 2019 before being Medically Separated as a Staff Sergeant with a diagnosis of Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS). While serving, Nicholas was a starting defenseman for the U.S. Army Alaska hockey team for 5 years, beating the Air Force 3 times for the Commanders Cup.
Nicholas graduated from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in 2019 with a Bachelor of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. Also in 2019, he accepted a job in Columbus and entered the business world in sales following his separation. Realizing something was still missing and battling with Mental Health struggles of readjusting to the civilian world, he reached out to an old friend who introduced him to the local Adult Hockey League where Nicholas has been playing since late 2019 and attributes that moment as a healing point. Some of his greatest friends have been made through that community and those connections have helped him and his partner tremendously in their lives.
After seeing the power of years of training weightlifting and powerlifting to help with his Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS), Nicholas decided that he wanted to begin coaching other people on healthy lifestyles and fitness. He and his partner are married, residing in
Columbus with two dogs and a cat!
Brandon Main
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
Bachelor of Exercise Science
CrossFit Level 1
The Gymnastic Course Level 1 Trainer Certification
CPR / AED
Brandon grew up participating in a variety of sports–everything from karate to golf. In high school he chose to focus on golf while picking up track & field during his last two years. Golf has always played a significant role in his life and he would go on to be a part of the Mount Vernon Nazarene University golf team for all four years. His time in track & field is where his interest in fitness expanded to become his eventual major in Exercise Science at MVNU. During his time at MVNU he expanded the golf team’s normal off-season training program to improve the athleticism of the whole team. CrossFit became so appealing to Brandon because of the similarities to his career in golf–the love of competing against others, while realizing that the true challenge is not really against everyone else–it’s with yourself and the workout (or course in golf).
David DiLustro
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
Doctor of Pharmacy
Registered Pharmacist
CrossFit Level 1
Red Cross Basic Life Support for Healthcare Providers Certified
David’s CrossFit journey began back in 2014 when he moved to Washington, DC after graduating from pharmacy school. Walking by the local CrossFit box every day on his way to the globo gym, he was intrigued by the energy and comradery on display. After a one week trial he was hooked. Nothing had matched the atmosphere, intensity and community of the hockey and lacrosse teams he grew up playing on until then. David moved to Columbus in 2022 and immediately joined Ohio Strength after reading the positive member reviews. In addition to functional fitness, David has a penchant for endurance sports like long distance running and triathlons. As a pharmacist, he is incredibly passionate about wellness. He strives to unlock better health through nutrition, supplementation and self improvement tools.
Phil Lafleur
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.