Meet our TEAM
Julian LoCasto (Director of Nutrition, Head Coach) (B.S., CPPS, ISSA, PN-1)
- Hometown: Woodland Park, NJ - Director of Nutrition and Head Coach at Challenger Strength. - Challenger Strength's longest tenured coach, working with us since 2018 and has since become a certified nutrition coach serving as the head of Challenger Strength Nutritional Services. - Head coach, helping Gerry oversee the continually growing staff at Challenger. - Certified by industry legends Joe DeFranco and James Smith as a certified Physical Preparation Specialist. - ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, with a background in personal training, general fitness, and hypertrophy/body transformation. - B.S.B in Biology from Caldwell University. - PN Level 1 Certified in Sports Nutrition. - NPC Bodybuilding Federation, placing as high as 2nd overall in his respective classes, as well as competing in both basketball and lacrosse at the high school and collegiate level. Sean Gibney (Strength Coach) (B.A.)
- Hometown Rutherford, NJ - Sean has been a strength coach at Challenger Strength since 2019. - Sean has primarily served at our Kenilworth location and has helped build our team and private training culture. - Sean was an all NJIC baseball player at St. Mary's in 2014 before enjoying a 5 year baseball career at NJCU, serving as team captain in 2018 and 2019. - He received a Bachelors of Arts Degree in History in 2019 while also becoming a NASM certified strength and conditioning coach. - Sean is currently a police officer in Jersey City, NJ while continuing his part time work with Challenger. Katie Kerr (Strength Coach) (B.S.)
- Hometown: Ringwood, NJ - Katie has been a strength coach at Challenger Strength since 2022 and is the leader in facilitating our growing population of strength and conditioning with female athletes. She also is involved in assisting in our hockey team training for all levels. - Katie has her Bachelor of Science in Fitness Development and Kinesiology. - Katie was a competitive figure skater for eight years and also played ice hockey at SUNY Cortland. |