Co-Owners: Jared Veldheer and Mark Ehnis
We opened PowerStrength Training Systems with the intent of becoming the only place in West Michigan to cater to the needs of the serious athlete. Both of us knew what it was like to try and get results training in a health club, on our own and without the necessary equipment. We have been friends and teammates since the 4th grade and have built a friendship based on loyalty, teamwork, and trust. We instilled these same values into PSTS. We chose to keep PSTS small so we can get to know each one of our athletes and create a like-minded family. We will protect this family from any outsiders who try to distract us from reaching our goal of maximizing our clients' full athletic potential. Our method is effective but it's not easy. Hopefully it's time for you to GET SERIOUS
Mark Ehnis
I grew up in Ada, MI and have lived in Grand Rapids for my entire life. I’m proud to call this city my home. I also grew up with my twin brother Derek and played tons of sports. Both of these, as you can imagine, instilled a strong competitive streak inside of me. We competed in everything from push-ups to videogames. 1 on 1 basketball games in the driveway often turned into wrestling matches/fist fights. The constant competition led us to the weights. Home exercise equipment, college weight room (my dad was a professor and had access to it), bodyweight exercises, and manual labor on the family farm, were mainstays by the age of 11. We kept at the weights all through high school, not only because it helped us prepare for our sports, but because if one of us stopped, the other one might gain an edge- this just wasn’t an option.
Halfway through my junior year of college I realized my love for training went beyond just training myself. I enjoyed helping others reach their goals and being a part of positive changes in their lives. Being an athlete my whole life, I was naturally drawn to coaching athletes. I did internships in a performance facility and with the university strength and conditioning department. I attended clinics and seminars and heard speakers of many different backgrounds. The more I learned and researched, the more I realized that training 1-on-1 in a health club wasn’t for me. I wanted to affect multiple people at a time, listen to loud music, and have the freedom to be a little crazy while I did it J.
Around this time I also began coaching high school football and doing strength and conditioning work with the team as well. This is when I knew I wanted my own facility and the freedom to coach who I wanted to in the weight room. I coached and volunteered as the strength coach for three years as I continued to learn and prepare for my own facility one day. To make ends meet, I worked some pretty stressful jobs so I could pay my bills and have the time to be in the weight room after school coaching. I used all my money to continue my education by buying training books, training and business products, and travelling to seminars. I also spent money on creating my own home gym in my garage so my friends and I could have a place to train the way we wanted to. I loved the community and the hardcore feeling of pushing yourself beyond your limits while training in a hot (and cold) and dirty garage.
Now that PSTS is up and running I have the freedom to train how I want and who I want. I will only train serious, highly-motivated individuals. You cannot achieve fast and effective results with slackers. An athlete has to be coachable and disciplined to follow through with the training and nutritional guidelines. I’ve trained whiners and sissies before and I’ll be poor before I sell-out and allow them into my program.
Jared and I have big plans for what PSTS will become. I look forward to working with quality individuals who are willing to make sacrifices to develop into the best person and athlete they can be. When you mix together a bunch of like-minded, motivated athletes, with a proper program and coaching the results will be straight up scary! Let the real work begin!
