More than 15 years of training and coaching experience. Founder of Gryffon Performance in the Dallas Design District. Your first appointment is free.
I grew up playing basketball and ran track in high school. Football is what got me into the weight room, and I never really left. I didn’t play in college. I lived in the weight room anyway.
I was the skinny kid. Today I’m about 250 pounds, and I’m bigger, stronger, and healthier than I’ve ever been. None of that happened fast, and none of it happened by accident.
Training and coaching experience, starting with coworkers at every job I had.
Pulled after coming back from a serious back injury.
Studied mechanical engineering. Coaches the body as a system.
I studied mechanical engineering at Georgia Southern University, then spent years in manufacturing. I started as a welder and worked my way up to production manager.
That’s where I learned to look at systems. Where the load goes. What’s limiting the output. What fails first, and why. A body works the same way. When someone stops progressing, there’s almost always one thing holding the rest back, and more effort won’t fix it until that thing gets found.
I trained the whole time. And I was coaching people long before anyone paid me to, from classmates to coworkers at every job I had.
“David identified that I had been lifting with improper form for years.”
Andre B., Google review
Then I hurt my back. Badly.
Working my way back taught me more about how the body actually works than anything before it. I learned what it costs to train around a problem instead of dealing with it, and what happens when you ignore what your body’s telling you. I’ve since deadlifted 600 pounds.
That’s why pain gets priority here over whatever you came in asking for. I’d rather fix what’s stopping you than sell you what you asked for.
One honest line: I’m a coach, not a medical provider. If something needs a doctor or a physical therapist, go get it looked at. Coaching works alongside that care, not instead of it.
“He told me the truth. Weight loss wasn’t the first priority.”
Briana M., Google review
I earned my ACE personal trainer certification in 2019 and coached at Life Time before building Gryffon Performance. Everything I’ve learned is built into how it works: a comprehensive assessment for every client, nutrition coaching included for everyone, and a private studio built for coaching and nothing else.
I’ve built things for a living, and I’ve had to rebuild myself. So when I say “Get Strong. Stay Capable.” I mean it.
What keeps me coaching is simple. Watching someone do something they couldn’t do three months ago. It doesn’t get old.
I work best with men and women who are motivated by structure, results, and getting better. You don’t need to be in shape. You need to want a plan, show up for it, and care whether it’s working.
A lot of the people I train are professionals and business owners whose bodies slipped while they were building everything else. I know that one well. I trained around a demanding job for years. Some are former athletes who miss what their body used to do. Some have never trained seriously at all. I’ve trained women through pregnancy and helped moms, including my wife, get back in shape after having kids. Starting point isn’t a filter. If you’re cleared to train, we can work with where you are.
“You don’t have to be an athlete or a bodybuilder to commit to self improvement.”
Kai R., Google review
Two people with the same goal often need different training, because the thing limiting them is different. Finding that is what the first appointment is for.
It’s a 60-minute in-person appointment with me, and it’s free. We walk the studio, talk through your goals, training history, schedule, and anything that hurts, and do a physical assessment. We talk nutrition and set goals you can actually measure. You leave with a clear starting point and a training schedule built around your week.
If you’ve got a diagnosed condition that needs medical care or medical nutrition therapy, start there. If you’re a competitive athlete who needs sport-specific programming built around a team’s season, a dedicated sports-performance facility will serve you better. And if you want a workout app, this isn’t that.
How it plays out over months, and the private studio behind it.
40+ five-star Google reviews. Fifteen thousand square feet, private, built for coaching and nothing else.
