Today we’d like to introduce you to Jake and Skip Ray.
Hi Jake and Skip, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
We are a family-owned and operated business. Consisting of Skip (owner), Jake (head coach), and Marshall (coach). Skip is a former Division 1 baseball athlete and has over 30 years of sports coaching, personal training, and strength/conditioning under his belt. And is a Power Athlete Block One Coach. Jake is a former Division 1 rugby player and has his bachelor’s in Exercise Science. He is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS), National Acadamy of Sports Medicine Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT), and also a Power Athlete Block One Coach. Marshall is also a Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT), a former basketball player, and is soon to receive a bachelors in science at UNT.
We started this business as our previous name, The Truck Shop Strength and Speed, right in the heat of Covid-19. We offered online workouts for clients to perform at home or at the gym, but knew we wanted to open our own facility as soon as possible. We eventually opened our doors to our facility in January of 2022, and since then have changed our name to Dynamis Sports Performance.
We are all ex-athletes who have seen first-hand how necessary proper performance training is for an athlete. We truly love what we do, and we all share the same dream and goal: to mold athletes into the fastest/strongest/best version of themselves they can be.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
We know any business owner will agree that start-up is never a smooth road, but we’ve just tried to stay positive, learn from mistakes, then progress forward.
Our biggest struggle has definitely been educating parents on the fact that it doesn’t matter if their sons/daughters are in-season or off-season; they will still gain a huge benefit from training in our sports performance classes, contrary to the belief that they will be “overtrained” or “overworked.” The amount of training volume that athletes undergo these days is unreal. With weight training 1-2 times a day, sports practice, and conditioning/running, we totally understand those fears. What we do at DSP will never conflict with the training that athletes are performing with their school and sport. Our speed/agility and strength/conditioning classes work synergistically with the athletes’ training regimen, and every class is altered to fit the athletes’ needs according to their sport, season, and training volume.
Our goal is never to simply get athletes “fitter” or “wear them out.” We improve athlete’s sprint biomechanics, neuromuscular control, rate of force production, change of direction, and injury prevention. All things that can and WILL improve total athleticism and benefit any athlete wherever they are in their sports journey.
As you know, we’re big fans of Dynamis Sports Performance. For our readers who might not be as familiar, what can you tell them about the brand?
Dynamis Sports Performance, or DSP, is an athletic performance gym locating in Argyle, TX. Dynamis is a Greek word for someone’s “will to fight” or “will to win.” The Webster dictionary definition is “the state of that which is not yet fully realized: power potentially.” Both meanings greatly illustrate who we are and what we do at our facility.
We offer speed/agility and strength/conditioning classes for teams and individuals ages 8+. We also offer one-on-one personal training and soon will offer adult fitness classes as well.
Our training classes consist of professionally coached drills and exercises to enhance speed, agility, strength, and power, all while having some fun at the same time!
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you, and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Starting our business right in the midst of Covid was definitely a struggle that we learned a lot from. The main thing we learned coming out of that time is this: put yourself in the client’s shoes and find what they need and what will benefit them the most, then program your training to cater to those needs.
When we started our business gyms were obviously shut down and we had not yet found and opened our facility, so all of our work was remote coaching and programming. When we started getting our first clients and creating the workout programs, we found out fast that most people had little to no gym equipment at their homes. So, to adapt to that, we created an 8-week program that only required one piece of equipment: a cinder block that one could buy at any regular department store. The program was a hit. Then as Covid loosened and gyms opened up, we adapted our programming to each client’s equipment availability.
Even with our own amazing facility (and thankfully no more remote coaching), we utilize that same mindset and tactics we learned during Covid. Is an athlete in the middle of their sports season? Are they recovering from injury? Do they struggle with confidence or finding motivation? All things that need to be taken into account so we can alter their programming and training in order to suit their needs so we can overcome those obstacles together.
Pricing:
- Bronze – one class/week -$125/month
- Silver – two classes/week -$165/month
- Gold – unlimited classes – $200/month
- Personal training – dependent on number of sessions
- We offer sibling, referral, and team discounts
Contact Info:
- Website: www.dynamissportsperformance.com
- Instagram: @dynamis_sp
- Facebook: @DynamisSP
- Twitter: @Dynamis_SP
