MY STORY

I’m Maximus Lewin. Born in 1966. Elder Gen X, with the attitude to match.

I come from a time when nobody held your hand. You figured things out on your own, took responsibility, and adapted. If you’re here, chances are you recognize that mindset in yourself. That’s who I work with.

In 2017, I got very sick. Slowly, over years, my body broke down. By 2022 I was close to 300 pounds. Inflamed, exhausted, and living in a body that no longer worked. I wasn’t ignorant about training. I knew exactly what to do. The problem was I couldn’t do it.

My hands and feet were useless. Walking was hard. I used mobility scooters. Lifting was completely out of the question. I sat on the couch eating ice cream and fried chicken and drinking barrels of beer. I’m not proud of it, but it was what it was. My body simply stopped cooperating.

One day I had had enough. I decided I was going to climb back. At first, the goal was blunt and simple: lose 100 pounds. I also knew I needed a new narrative. I settled on pure vanity. I wanted to look good again. I wanted to feel desirable again. That was honest for me, and it worked.
I started that climb using everything I knew, combined with medical treatment that resolved roughly 80 percent of my symptoms. Not perfect. Not a miracle. But enough. Enough to rebuild deliberately. I stopped eating like an asshole and started walking. The first 40 pounds melted right off.

Then I had my testosterone checked. It was literally that of a ninety-year-old man, or a reasonably healthy woman. Ignoring that would have been delusional. In 2023, I started Testosterone Replacement Therapy under medical supervision. Later, under that same supervision, I added GLP-1 medications. Over time, that helped me lose an additional 100 pounds of body fat.

Eighteen months ago, I finally started lifting again. Since then, I’ve added roughly 25 pounds of muscle while continuing to get leaner and lighter. Today I sit around 185. I’m not chasing shredded Instagram abs. I’m strong, capable, and performing well at almost 60. More importantly, I know exactly how I got here, because I rebuilt myself step by step, with intent.

Your narrative will be your own if you work with me. Vanity is honest and it works for many men, but it’s not the only story. Narrative matters more than people think. I can teach you what to do. You still have to decide why you’re willing to do it, and I can help you figure that out. If the why is fake, the plan collapses. If the why is real, the work gets done.

That rebuilding didn’t start in 2022. It started decades earlier.

I trained directly under Greg Glassman, the founder of CrossFit, earning my Level One and Level Two certifications nearly twenty years ago, back when CrossFit was still small and serious. I also trained directly under Mark Rippetoe, the founder of Starting Strength, as part of his first cohort. I was one of the first few dozen CrossFit affiliates, long before it became a mass-market brand.

In my late forties, at under 200 pounds bodyweight, I was an accomplished lifter. I pressed 200 pounds overhead, cleaned 225, benched 300, squatted over 400, and deadlifted over 500. I could run the 400 meter in 1:09 and the 800 in 2:38, and once, somehow, in my early forties, I ran a 5:18 mile pace for 1.58 miles around the Central Park Reservoir.

I’ve been a rock climber, a mountain and urban cyclist, a serious rollerblader, a distance runner, a solo back-country hiker and a mediocre CrossFit competitor and martial artist. I’m not elite, but I’ve lived inside serious training for most of my adult life.

More importantly, I’ve coached.

I’ve taught over 20,000 hours of group and individual instruction in strength and conditioning. I’ve helped hundreds of people lose tens of thousands of pounds of body fat collectively. I’ve coached the blind, people with physical disabilities, complete beginners, average men and women, and elite athletes. Different people. Same fundamentals.

What I learned over all those years is simple: methods matter, but narrative matters more. Most people don’t fail only because they don’t know what to do. They fail because they never choose a reason strong enough to carry them through discomfort and time once they do know what to do.

I don’t believe that’s inevitable.

Today, my work is private, focused, and personal. I train men who want their strength, presence, and edge back. Men who know they’re capable of more and are done pretending otherwise. No crowds. No hype. I won’t blow smoke up your ass. I will provide proven training, a clear nutrition plan, and a long-term approach that fits real life.

I’m here because I’ve been on both sides of this, and I know the way back. I’m here to help. I have 15 hours a week to give to those who really want it. No more. No less.