About Richard Kunkel:
The story behind Success is your Proof.

Almost thirty years in the aluminum industry. The kind of work that doesn't leave anything for later. I kept honeybees in my off hours. I farmed a little. I've been a swordsmith long enough that I know the difference between metal that wants to bend and metal that wants to break. None of this is irrelevant — every one of those crafts taught me something about patience under load.

I was at work in 140-degree ambient temperature, watching my coworkers get older, get less fit, watching friends who just couldn't get back to the version of physical health they truly wanted. I had already done that climb personally. I had overcome my own limitations — the MS, the diabetes, the joints — and I had a body that worked. I looked around and I realized: I wanted to help people get back to being the best version of themselves. That was the moment.

Seventy-two years old. Couldn't stand up from kneeling. On mountains of blood pressure medication. Three months in, his physician took him off three-quarters of his BP meds and told him he was in the shape of a man twenty years younger. He lost thirty pounds. He stood up from kneeling without his hands. He looked at me and laughed. That's when I knew I wasn't moonlighting anymore — this was the work.

No shame. No restrictions for the sake of restrictions. No pushing past your actual physical capability. I will not be the coach who guilts you. I will not be the coach who pretends your medical reality doesn't exist. I will not be the coach who tells you to "push through" things that should not be pushed through.

Fake countdown timers. Coaches who were once young professional athletes and have never been anything else. Gym bros vanity-flexing. If you've been turned off by the fitness industry, I understand. So am I.