MEGAN AND CHRIS DAVIS Megan Davis (NS, 2011), Chris Davis (DPT, 2014) Co-Founders/Owners, TriForce CrossFit
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hris and Megan Davis own TriForce CrossFit in St. Augustine, Florida. A non-traditional move for a couple who admit they “hated” CrossFit, or at least their perception of CrossFit – the random workouts, the constant Facebook posts, and the injury reputation. But that was before they looked closely at the program. And before they realized, that with their educational backgrounds, they could change CrossFit misperceptions by opening their own gym. Megan is an alumna of our M.S. in Nutrition Sciences – Clinical Track and Chris is an alumnus of our Doctor of Physical Therapy program. Together, their blended knowledge – the muscle power of physical therapy and the healing power of a proper diet – led them to create TriForce, a workout space that stands out from other CrossFit gyms because of all the Davis’ offer. “We’re the most expensive CrossFit gym in the area because we have the credentials from UAB behind us,” said Megan. “We tell everyone in our fields – ‘don’t undervalue your service to people; value your specialized degree and value your training – your education and your experience prepares you better than others to succeed.’” After graduation, Chris and Megan took a traditional route with their degrees. Chris worked as a Physical Therapist and a Clinic Director for several PT organizations. Megan worked as a Registered Dietitian at UAB EatRight where she was part of a multidisciplinary team providing customized strategies empowering people to change their lifestyle to achieve their personal health goals. They each enjoyed what they were doing. They thought often of their past clients – how successful they had been with the personalized guidance – and the fulfillment they received from seeing them thrive and live their best life. But ultimately, they wanted to
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have a greater impact on people’s lives and they knew they could do that with their UAB degrees. “We didn’t want to limit ourselves, or our ability to help others, just by what was considered the traditional options for our industries,” said Chris. “We asked ourselves, ‘Why are we waiting to do our dream job?’ We knew we liked working together, working with people in our community, and working in a gym environment so we spent a couple years conducting research, meeting with people, and dreaming big.” In November 2017, they formed TriForce CrossFit to serve the Northern St. Augustine, Nocatee and World Golf Village area. Unlike the majority of clubs, all memberships begin with a body scan, a nutrition consultation with Megan, a two-week foundation course, and assignment of an accountability coach. The extra effort and the add-on value are all benefits they received and learned at UAB.
“UAB is a great learning environment – the quality of your instructors, the leadership that you work with and the access to really amazing people as a student make you excited about learning and applying all of your skills in the real world.” We believe in what we are doing so much, that we put all of our eggs in this basket. We’ve used all our savings and been to zero dollars multiple times but it is worth the effort because we truly believe we can change lives.”