About Us

David Austin

  • Born and raised in South Burlington, Vermont
  • Moved to California at age 18 for school
  • Plugged in to the rock climbing community and was all in  
  • First experience as a coach with youth indoor climbing team in Los Angeles
  • Stumbled onto the sport of Diving
  • Athletics provided opportunity to learn, grow, and compete at the University of Arizona
  • Moved to Portland, Oregon as a sales rep in the medical industry
  • During this time, opened a group fitness facility with a close friend
  • Left sales and sold gym to provide personal training services
  • Fell in love, got married, and moved back to Hinesburg, Vermont
  • Opened Peak Potential Fitness to provide the BEST in Fitness to Vermonters 

My fitness story, which is why I am here today, starts as early as I can remember.  I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis (immune system attacks joints) around two years old.  I spent a lot of time listening to the doctors and adults around me deliberate on “what was wrong with me.”  This exposure left me feeling that I faced physical limitations that my peers did not share.  Naturally, I spent a lot of energy exploring these limits as a child and young adult.  Physical movement made my body feel good, while providing me with some kind of influence over these limits that I had in my life. 

Love of movement lead to athletic success.  My journey to develop athleticism took more diligence and perseverance than my peers.  Managing inflammation, while continually adapting to the mechanical stress of sport, requires a more profound implementation of lifestyle and nutrition dedication.  Through sport, I learned what is made possible through dedication and awareness of all the elements that influence performance.  I excelled at using all the tools available, in opposition to as few as got the job done.

After college athletics, sport was not the primary element in my life.  Movement, however, was still a profound piece of my identity.  General fitness strength and conditioning served as my physical outlet during my efforts to adapt to employment after college.  My nature to push limits fostered a dive deep into what is optimal fitness.  I wanted to know what worked, for who, and why.  After completing my path as a competitive athlete, I sought to continue to redefine my physical limits long term.  I knew I would not be as strong and fast at 75 as I was at 25, but I wanted to know how to grow my body and mind with fitness for the rest of my life.

My journey to find my peak potential has always been there; sometimes more pointed than others, but fitness has always been the conduit.  Through walking the path myself, working with individuals in my community to achieve their goals, and tirelessly consulting with the leaders in this industry, I am confident my purpose in life is this:

I am here to use fitness to Redefine Limits for everyone in my community. 

AJ Turrell

  •  Grew up living between a cattle ranch in Northern Arizona and the NYC suburbs in Rye, NY
  • Graduated from Hofstra University with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science
  • Interned with the Strength and Conditioning staff at Hofstra University as well as a professional sports performance facility, Major League Strength
  • Fell in love with a girl from Vermont and moved to Burlington
  • Began working with the Strength and Conditioning staff at the University of Vermont
  • Left the University to pursue a more individualized training approach
  • Spent the last few years as Head Coach at a local CrossFit gym
  • Continued education to learn more about the impacts of lifestyle and nutrition
  • Came to Peak Potential Fitness to share his passion for health and fitness 

After high school I felt lost. Unsure of what I wanted to do with my life my father convinced me to move back to Arizona and enroll at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Flying has always been, and still is, a large part of my life. My father was a pilot and his was before him. As much as I enjoyed the freedom of the skies I quickly learned that it was not the career that I was meant to pursue.  

At this point fitness was not a large part of my life and, unbeknownst to me, my health was suffering. It wasn’t until I developed psoriasis and was diagnosed with an infection in my gut that I began to prioritize my health. I noticed that small improvements in my diet and physical activity had positive effects on my skin, my sleep, and my overall wellbeing. I fell in love with the process and realized that sharing these discoveries with others was what I wanted to do with my life. 

The following year I moved back to NY and enrolled at Hofstra University to study exercise science. Never before had I had such a passion for academia; I loved all my courses and worked to soak up all the knowledge that I could. When offered the opportunity to work with Hofstra’s Strength and Conditioning staff, I jumped at the chance. I spent my senior year interning at Hofstra and, after graduating and moving to Vermont, spent two years as the Strength Coach Assistant at the University of Vermont with their Athletic Performance staff. Although I loved my athletes I became frustrated with having to write templatized workout programs that were developed for the team without the individual’s unique circumstances considered. It did not take long for me to realize that these “group” models did not align with my beliefs.

I wanted to do better. I wanted to make an impact on each individual person. This led me to leave the public sector to start working 1 on 1 with more clients. It was through those experiences that I learned that my passion lies in empowering people to live a larger life through health and fitnes