Dan Hartley, born in Sylva and raised in Statesville, North Carolina, has been coaching, training and programming in various physical disciplines for over 15 years. Coach Dan was first introduced to fitness just prior to joining the U.S. Navy. As a result of having grown up with poor eating habits (consisting of primarily fast-food for several years) and a lack of physical activity, he was required to lose a considerable amount of body weight in order to attain the basic requirements for entry into the armed services. Through a strict diet and exercise program he went from 220lbs to 150lbs and was able to achieve excellent scores on the physical fitness entry evaluation. From this point on, fitness and nutrition would consume Dan's free time and eventually develop into a full time pursuit.

Throughout his coaching career Dan has had the fortune to work with a broad array of athletes including Olympic Weightlifters, Collegiate Track and Field athletes, Strongmen, Powerlifters, and competitive Crossfitters as well as having instructed thousands of hours of group fitness classes. In his personal pursuits, Dan has competed in Powerlifting, Strongman, and Crossfit. Training for long periods in each discipline in order to better understand how to best coach that specific sport.

While he has devoted a great deal of his time to training athletes who intend to compete, one of Dan's primary passions is working with relatively new clients who might be intimidated by the idea of working out and improving their nutrition. Dan believes strongly that regular, progressive fitness, and quality nutrition is the foundation to overall well-being.