Over the past four years, you have probably seen JJ around the center. She has been behind the scenes for most of it. She has worn many hats at Athletic Republic—from AR athlete to Business Development intern, to part-time team member. Today, we’re excited to officially announce that she has joined us full-time as our Business Development and Marketing Coordinator!

And yes… she wrote this herself. Hi! I’m JJ—the one usually behind the camera, creating the content you see across our platforms.

I first came to Athletic Republic before the Malleks took over because I loved the training. It was unlike anything I’d experienced. With both of my parents being physical therapists, I grew up with them always telling me to focus on proper form, injury prevention, and performance, all of which aligned perfectly with what AR teaches. After my mom and I came in for a trial session, she turned to me and said, “I think this is going to be really good for you.” We didn’t know she was also foreshadowing my future career.

I trained at AR leading up to my senior year softball season at Regina High School, where we were coming off a State Championship. Unfortunately, due to COVID-19, my senior season and high school career were cut short. But I wasn’t done. I continued my softball career at Albion College, a tiny DIII liberal arts school in the middle of Michigan.

After my freshman year, I saw that AR was hiring business development interns. I jumped at the opportunity since I loved the training atmosphere as an athlete. This time, it was behind the scenes. That first summer, I learned so much about how a business runs: social media, consumer outreach, event planning, and more. I also continued training up to 5x a week. I still remember the moment all of the training clicked. During a fall ball scrimmage, I made my debut in right field and caught a tough fly ball. I was so shocked, I thought to myself “Woah! How did I just run to catch that?… It had to be all that training at AR.”

The following summer, I returned to AR Shelby, and some of the projects I worked on caught the attention of our corporate office in Park City, Utah. Soon after, I found myself in Utah, learning how AR operates at the highest level. I had the incredible opportunity to shadow various team members, especially our Chief Marketing Officer, who mentored me in ways that continue to shape my work. Even after my time in Utah, I continued supporting the HQ team remotely with marketing projects and social media management.

After graduating from Albion in 2024 with a B.A. in Integrated Marketing Communication, I transitioned into a part-time role as Social Media and Marketing Coordinator. While I started working full-time elsewhere, I found myself wanting to dedicate more time and energy to AR. After some conversations about my career goals, I was thrilled to be offered—and accept—a full-time position with AR.

I’m beyond excited to keep growing with Athletic Republic and help expand our impact in the worlds of performance training and youth development.

We’re always looking for passionate and driven interns and staff members in both Business Development and Sports Performance. Check out our internship and career opportunities and see how you can be a part of the AR Family!