Julian Kaufman
BA HES/M.ED/NSCA-CSCS
Owner, Fitness Together Frazier Avenue

Julian Kaufman earned his B.A. degree in Health and Exercise Science from Furman University. He went on to earn a master's degree from Covenant College in curriculum and instruction. Julian is certified through the National Strength & Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS). The NSCA (www.nsca.com) is the world's leading authority on strength, conditioning, and fitness. The NSCA distinguishes itself from the hundreds of other certifying organizations because its foundation is rooted in scientifically reliable research. The NSCA bridges the gap between the lab scientist and the fitness practitioner. Julian also holds certification from USA Track and Field.

Julian has worked in several diverse health related fields over the last sixteen years. His technical experience includes working alongside exercise scientists in human performance (vital capacity, stress test, heart rate, blood pressure, body composition, flexibility), exercise physiology (max VO2, O2 deficit, hydrostatic weighing, anaerobic threshold), biomechanics and motor development. Additionally, he has experience working as a wellness teacher, personal trainer, sport specific trainer, strength & conditioning specialist (at the high school & college levels), and coaching varsity high school sports (football, wrestling, track). He enjoys working with individuals of all ages and at all levels of physical fitness.

Julian's personal philosophy is centered on the idea that health is holistic in it's nature. Spiritual, intellectual, emotional, relational and physical health should be viewed in an integrated manner. As an individual deals with the physical aspects of their health, they should also be careful to care for the other, more complex components of their overall health. As the physical is worked on and developed, it must focus on substance versus image. This substance is whole health with the goal of preventing disease, increasing potential for longevity, and improving and maintaining quality of life.

Rachel Burke
Owner, Fitness Together Gunbarrel Road

Rachel Burke was born and raised in Miami, Florida, and has worked in the fitness industry in South Florida for eight years. Within this culture she experienced the vanity that the majority of the fitness industry encourages.  She now understands the importance of motivating clients to focus on their over all health and quality of life, instead of finding their identity in an ideal image.

Rachel's passion for health and fitness was born out of a love for tennis and bodybuilding and grew into a variety of fitness-related opportunities including tennis coach, aerobics coordinator, general manager of L.A. Fitness in South Florida, and nutritional counseling at Physicians Weight Loss Centers. 

Rachel is now excited to join the Fitness Together team in Chattanooga, which is equipping her to encourage, educate, and motivate clients for better quality of life.  Rachel is continuing her education by currently training for NSCA Certification.  She is involved in a local church, and has a passion for coaching and mentoring inner city teens. She currently enjoys a variety of sports, including tennis, running, bodybuilding, and roller blading and is embarking on new local challenges, such as rock climbing and trail running.

Kyle Johnston
Manager

Kyle Johnston, a Chattanooga native, is currently finishing his degree. He holds certifications through NSCA (National Strength and Conditioning Association) and Fitness For Life.

Before assuming management responsibilities at Fitness Together Chattanooga, Kyle worked as a trainer. Kyle has a great deal of experience working with a diverse variety of needs.

Prior to joining the Fitness Together team, Kyle worked at the YMCA in the fitness and wellness
department, where he began personal training. Since then, he has also worked with athletes in Olympic weight-lifting, plyometrics and speed training.

Kyle’s background in health and fitness began as a youth.  Kyle lettered in varsity wrestling and football at Hixson High School, where he excelled as a linebacker and provided leadership for the first region championship in Hixson High School football history. While at Hixson, Kyle himself trained extensively in Olympic weight-lifting, conditioning, and speed and agility work. 

Kyle’s passion is people. He loves to help people fulfill their potential through the setting and achieving of goals. This desire to see others improve their lives in all facets has found a natural outlet in the health and fitness industry; Kyle has excelled because he cares about his clients, seeing them not only as clients but also as friends.  Making their bodies more functional and thus improving their quality of life. Kyle’s affability, energy, and generosity have made him a great trainer and has helped make Frazier Avenue’s studio a leader in the Chattanooga fitness market.

Becky Conrady
B.S. Psychology, Trainer

Becky Conrady attended Mars Hill College in Mars Hill, NC on full tuition scholarship where she graduated with a B.S. in psychology. It was there that she became a certified aerobics instructor through Aerobics and Fitness Association of America (AFFA) and began her part-time career in fitness.

In 1992 Becky married college basketball coach David Conrady, and they now have two children, Andrew (10) and Faith Ann (7). It was after having her first child that Becky began further education in fitness instruction. Over the past ten years she has obtained certifications from the YMCA in group exercise instruction, core body training, circuit training, nutrition and flexibility. She has also attended numerous AFFA and ACE fitness workshops. Becky is currently working toward her ISSA certification in Personal Training.

Becky has always enjoyed being active, and as a wife and mother she understands the demands of life make it important to keep physical fitness a priority. Becky’s personal philosophy is that spiritual, emotional and physical factors contribute to the overall physical fitness of an individual. Our culture may try to compartmentalize, but our bodies will tell us otherwise.

Jonathan McClellan
Trainer

Jonathan graduated from Covenant College in 2006 with a B.S. in psychology. He is a Certified Fitness Trainer (CFT) through the ISSA (International Sports Sciences Association).

Jonathan’s interest in health and fitness began at an early age as he was diagnosed with asthma. Jonathan overcame this adversity and in high school received All-Region Honors in both football and basketball. After high school, Jonathan had the privilege of continuing his athletic career at Covenant College where he received a basketball scholarship. At Covenant, Jonathan lettered four years on top of scoring over 1,000 points in his collegiate career. Jonathan received All-Conference Honors in his freshman and senior seasons as well.

Jonathan’s approach to fitness and health, like that of Fitness Together, centers on improving one’s ability to function thus improving one’s quality of life. While at Fitness Together, Jonathan has worked with a wide variety of individuals ranging in age from 9 to 90. Jonathan loves people and enjoys encouraging others. This paired with his hard work and attention to detail has brought him and his clients great success.

Jonathan feels that the Lord has blessed him with a unique ability to relate and encourage individuals in relation to health and wellness. He feels honored to work at Fitness Together.

Jonathan has hopes of one day working with college athletes possibly as a strength and conditioning coach. He has plans to earn his Masters in Exercise Science in the near future.

Adam Parson
Trainer

Adam Parson attended both the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and Dalton State College with studies in Psychology.  Adam played baseball and basketball his freshman and sophomore year in high school.  He has 15 years experience playing the difficult game of golf through which he taught himself how to play with proper technique, drills, and stretching.  He received his FT certification in late January, 2007.

In 2001, Adam struggled with being 40 lbs overweight and through discipline and his own research he conquered his goal by losing 45 lbs, dropping from 220lbs to 175lbs through proper diet and exercise.  Upon reaching his goal Adam set new goals of gaining back 45 lbs in strength and muscle.  With years of his own research he was able to improve his strength and muscular mass safely through proper diet and exercise.  He understands greatly the struggles of eating properly and making exercise a form of habit. 

Adam worked with CBS News 12 for 6 years prior to working at Fitness Together.  As a hobby he trained himself and others throughout those 6 years.  He has a desire to see help people form better habits for improvements in health and quality of life.  With Adam's great knowledge of literally hundreds upon hundreds of different exercises and several exercises has developed on his own, Adam brings a whole new ballgame to creativity and exercise intensity with more focus on making the workouts an enjoyable but yet effective experience.

Ricky Akridge
Trainer

Ricky Akridge is proud to have been born and raised in Chattanooga,TN. He has a great love for the Lord and always enjoys wholesome competition. While going through the local school systems of Hamilton County he excelled in many sports. Through playing football, wrestling, and running track in high school he learned the importance of keeping a healthy mind and body. Through those experiences and the opportunities which have led to befriending many other people with the same interest; he attended and graduated from the University of Tennessee Chattanooga with a B.S. degree in Health and Human Performance. While attending UTC he worked with the metropolitan YMCA with various roles in aquatics. Ricky is a current member of the Chattanooga Track Club, and The American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. He knows the importance of education and plans to return to UTC, but likes to stay active and is also planning to backpack the AT in the near future.

Sarah Bass
Trainer

Sarah Bass was raised in Baton Rouge, Louisiana where she graduated from high school and played year round volleyball in addition to competing in basketball, softball, and track. From there she went on to be recruited to play Division I volleyball at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where she actively competed through all four NCAA years of volleyball and spent one year competing for the university’s track team. In May of 2009 she received her degree in Exercise Science and Health from UTC.  Sarah’s passion for health and wellness stems directly from her upbringing and involvement in the fitness arena and personal training field.

“ I have always believed that the true core of fitness and wellness have so much more to do with the combining and balancing of spiritual, emotional, and physical wellbeing, rather than basing wellness solely on pop-culture’s concept of a perfect physical appearance. I believe that every individual is beautiful and deserves to be able to love themselves for all that they are, in every aspect, just as they deserve to be loved by others. When we learn to love ourselves, we tend to want to take care of ourselves. Therefore, change in physical appearance as well as emotional and spiritual wellbeing cannot help but to make a notable change. Life is too short and too beautiful to not learn to live and love to the very best of our ability.”

Sarah feels that the Lord has blessed and graced her in being able to take the knowledge, experience, and lessons learned over the years and relate them to fitness and wellness of all individuals. Sarah’s love and passion for people of all ages, shapes and sizes serves as a motivation for her.

“ I believe that we are gifts to one another, and in believing so, I feel that it is important to display the love we have for one another through our talents. One of my talents happens to be fitness and wellness, and I feel beyond blessed to be able to give back a gift that has been given in order to aid in bettering physical well-being, while incorporating care for their emotional and spiritual well-being through the unique advantages offered at Fitness Together.”

Pamela Kelle, RD,CDE, LDN
Registered Dietitian/Nutrition Coach

Pam is well known for her enthusiasm for nutrition and believes in purposeful healthy eating to meet whatever her client’s goals are for the best health. In private practice for over 15 years, she works individually with clients to help inspire them towards the healthy vibrate lifestyle they desire. Everyone needs support! Between Fitness together and Pam’s nutrition coaching you have everything you need.

Heidi Fary

Heidi was born and raised in Atlanta, GA. She was home schooled, but knew that she wanted to participate in college athletics. She trained on her own, working toward this goal. She was recruited to play soccer at Kennesaw State University. It was a brand new program at the time. They went undefeated for two years and in their third year, won the national championship. She graduated with a BS in Health and Exercise. During her time at KSU, she also participated in several studies in kinesiology with the athletic department, taught fitness classes for the elderly, coached soccer clinics for kids, participated in Campus Crusade and helped to coordinate the FCA program.

After college she began working as an account representative for a healthcare company in Atlanta. Her love for physical activity and working face to face with people made this a very short lived occupation.

Heidi has been interested in health and wellness her entire life and has always enjoyed challenging herself with sports and outdoor activities. She believes that there are avenues for every individual to enjoy an active lifestyle.

Heidi considers herself blessed to have found Fitness Together. She is continuously impressed by her fellow trainers who always show a genuine concern and excitement for their clients. She feels deeply rewarded by the achievements of her clients and the friendships she has made.