CLAY BURWELL      
“ One of the top 100 trainers in America”- Men’s Journal

see Clay's testimonials

Clay has been a personal trainer since June 1999 when he completed service in the U.S. Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division. His celebrity clientele list and numerous magazine and TV spots are no accident. Clay works his people hard and he gets results. As a trainer for a large gym chain here in Manhattan, Clay was promoted to Director of Personal Training for the company’s largest location.  After three years as one of the best and most respected managers in the company and eight years total experience as a trainer, Clay decided to found High Performance as a place where he could refocus all his attention to his first love: changing people’s lives through fitness.  Celebrity clients as well as world class atheletes continue to seek his services.

A gift for his thirteenth birthday was to change his life--a bench press and a set of weights coupled with a bodybuilding routine laid out for him by his stepfather. A scrappy sixteen year-old, Clay was taken by a friend to the Police Athletic League boxing gym, and it was there that he truly found himself. Boxing taught the value of hard work, determination and toughness.  It was boxing that shaped Clay and his philosophy towards fitness. Swearing in to the army weeks after graduation turned out to be the greatest experience of his life. The esprit de corps of the paratroopers and the rigorous physical training turned out to be the perfect anvil to shape his leadership skills. As one of the fittest soldiers in his unit, he was tasked with heading up first his company’s physical training program, and then his battalion’s. While serving, Clay was promoted to corporal, was twice selected as Trooper of the Month and was a junior leadership course honor graduate. He also received an unprecedented six Army Achievement Medals and an Army Commendation Medal. Boxing returned to the forefront of his leisure time once he was released from the Army, and since then he has sparred with some of the world’s best fighters, including former Heavyweight Champ Gerry Cooney and IBO Middleweight Champion Raymond Joval. Twice a New York City Golden Gloves contender, Clay now intends to step into the Mixed Martial Arts arena in March of next year. Clay cites his trainer Terry Southerland as one of his most respected mentors and continues to use his guidance both in the ring and out.

Clay is certified by the National Association of Sports Medicine and the International Fitness Professionals Association. His instructor certifications include: USA Boxing Coach (level 2), WKA Muay Thai Kickboxing (level 2) and Russian Kettlebell by Kettlebell Concepts. Education stays a priority in our ever evolving profession and he has recently attended seminars led by renowned coaches and trainers Anthony Carey, Annette Lang, JC Santana and Mark Verstegen.

contact: clay@highperformancenyc.com



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