“Aesthetics are the gateway to efficient movement! Every movement or skill should minimize unnecessary angles and look clean and effortless. I am thrilled to team up with my coach again and teach others the i99 system which was the foundation of my gymnastics training!”
In 2016, Duke moved on from i99 and among other things, opened CrossFit Rising Wave. As his former coach, partner, and life long friend the door will always be open for Duke at i99 and his bio will forever be highlighted on this site. His contribution to the i99 Fit community was profound. Who knows maybe someday he and I will host another seminar together and blow it up like old times! – DB
Duke was a competitive gymnast for 23 years. During that time, he was a 2-time US National Team Member. Later, Duke was fortunate enough to earn an athletic scholarship to the Pennsylvania State University. At Penn State, he was a member of the 2000 NCAA Championship Team and captain of the 2004 NCAA Championship Team.
After graduating from Penn State, he became the assistant coach for the women’s gymnastics team. While coaching the women’s team, Cirque du Soleil invited Duke to audition in Las Vegas and that was the beginning of an 8 year long career. Seven of those years were spent on tour with Cirque du Soleil’s Corteo as a Tournik artist, as well as the strength & conditioning coach. He became a NASM certified personal trainer while on Corteo.
While on tour in Hamburg, Germany in January of 2013, he was introduced to CrossFit and quickly fell in love with the sport. Shortly after starting his CrossFit journey, Duke took the Level I Certification course. After retiring from Cirque du Soleil, Duke took the CrossFit Gymnastics Trainer Certification, as well as the USAW Sports Performance Certification Courses.
