Who We are
CO-FOUNDER
MEET ROY
As a young kid, Roy learned hard work from his mom, who was a single mom of 3. Early on, Roy fell in love with the entirety of sports. Roy played baseball, basketball, and soccer growing up, both for school/park leagues, and AAU. He stood out from other kids his age because of his skills and instincts, most likely a product of the endless hours he spent practicing on his own at the park across the street from where he grew up. Roy noticed early on that there was a big discrepancy between the level of competition and the exposure to opportunities between him and his travel ball teammates. Being from the inner city, he discovered that kids on his traveling teams seemed to have a lot more wealth, resources, and privilege.
Roy attended Minneapolis South High School, where he played baseball, basketball, and soccer. Roy made the varsity baseball team his freshman year and quickly realized that if he wanted to be successful at that level, it wasn’t enough to be skilled anymore. He had to get bigger, stronger, and faster, which naturally led Roy to his local gym.
Roy worked extremely hard on his body and was very disciplined when it came to nutrition. However, Roy worked hard, not smart. His school did not have a strength and conditioning coach, and he couldn’t afford a private trainer. He was left doing what he (a 15-year-old) thought was best, and inevitably, he didn’t get the best return on investment. Although he struggled to gain weight throughout high school, the gym took him far and provided him with the opportunity to play at a high level in High School. He did not get a college athletic scholarship but he was able to achieve captain status for both the baseball and basketball teams, and made the All-City baseball team 2x. These are accomplishments that he is very proud of.
Roy went on to attend the University of St. Thomas, where he studied exercise science and psychology. He was relentless about studying and learning best practices to get results. He did various internships and developed the foundations of the training philosophy he still follows to this day. In 2019, Jen and Roy got certified as personal trainers and founded In-Tension Training, but that was just the beginning. Roy started working with athletes at his local gym and focused his abilities on increasing sports performance for his athletes. In December of 2020, Roy graduated with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and psychology from St. Thomas and passed the exam to become a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS). He was now to the point where he was training athletes in small groups and working with some higher-caliber athletes. In the spring of 2021, one of the athletes Roy worked with was drafted in the 4th round of the NFL draft.
In the summer of 2021, Roy took a job with Twin Cities Orthopedics/Training HAUS, running their new facility in Vadnais Heights, MN. Nearly all of the athletes Roy was working with at the time followed him there. Roy was allowed to work with many professional and collegiate athletes during his time at Training HAUS. After 1 year of working for Training HAUS, Roy gained experience organizing and implementing events and programs, training full teams, helping with NFL combine prep, and operating a full-scale sports performance facility. Despite having “success,” Roy wasn’t happy with his day-to-day life. He felt that being a sports performance coach at Training HAUS wasn’t a good fit for him as a full-time career. He started to explore other career routes. Roy ended up applying to Nursing School.
Roy was accepted to the University of St. Thomas Master of Nursing Program, and went back to his alma mater in the fall of 2022. Roy graduated in 2024 from nursing school and is now a full-time nurse, which he is very happy about. Roy is still very passionate about using health, wellness, and sports performance as a tool to increase accessibility, create opportunities, and help people realize their potential. He is continuing to offer online coaching and sell programs online as he pursues a career in nursing. Roy is hopeful that his new role as a nurse and independent performance coach will bring him joy and allow him to empower as many people as he can, particularly those who need it most.
CO-FOUNDER
MEET JEN
Jen was first introduced to strength and strength sports by her father, in their makeshift basement gym. She loved going down there and watching her dad squat, bench, and deadlift, while she learned basic movements like push-ups and pull-ups.
Growing up, Jen played a handful of sports, from wrestling to soccer. She zeroed in on Volleyball and Track & Field in high school, while still strength training and competing in powerlifting with her dad in the off-seasons. During her senior year of high school, she knew that she wanted to pursue personal training and learn as much about different training philosophies and programming methodologies as possible.
Jen went on to become a certified personal trainer and help hundreds of clients achieve thier goals while she herself was busy competing in powerlifting and olympic weightlifting. After earning her Masters degree and starting a career in tribal law, Jen has taken a step back from coaching to focus on her career and her personal life. She still helps behind the scenes with In-Tension, and will always be Roy’s partner.