The right coach can make all the difference.
Devante Erlandsen
First I want to thank you for taking your time and coming to the site and checking out all we have going on over here at PILLLAR. If there has been one thing I have learned along my journey and keep being reminded of it would have to be to always remember how I have got to where I am.
Growing up I played every sport around at school, until, the magical day came. I finally laid my eyes on a skateboard and everything became clear, THAT is what I wanted, needed to be doing. This happened when I was 8 years old, I am now 25, have two amazing kids, a supporting wife, and a
Well, it was all due to my decision to join the U.S. Army back in 2016. After my grandpa had just passed and I was not on the track in life and knew this was not where I knew I could be. So I signed my name on the dotted line and left to be a combat engineer in Fort Lenord Wood, MO. This is where my fitness journey truly started. After basic, I realized my potential in calisthenics (body weight resistance training (pushups, pull-ups, running, jumping)), and decided I wanted to push myself and see how far I can take being a soldier.
This all lead to me taking part in my company's mandatory course for us to join Air Assault school (repelling out of helicopters), and on our last ruck march, everything changed. It was pitch black, 4 am, in the middle of the woods. No lights, just me, my crew, and my ruck. We were on the train where all the big trucks did driving training, going down this huge hill. Everyone started running, so I wanted so bad to be the first to finish, started running too. Long story short, I stepped into a huge rut letter from one of those trucks, stick straight. All I felt after this was my body tingle and an instant pain running up and down my spine.
Not only did it hurt like crazy, but I also did damage that I wasn’t expecting. The doc told me I compressed my spine and had no SI Joint, now the SI Joint could be from birth but I had significant scar tissue build-up. Well to cut this part short, I was not getting better, PT, acupuncture, and steroid injections (into my spine), none of it was truly helping me in the long run. So, they decided I was no longer deployable and off we went. At that time, my oldest son was not even 1 year old yet, and I had no plan as to what was next. All I knew is I had to get better, and fast.
This is where I am grateful for the way things worked out. I ended up coming home and working with a functional medicine doctor by the name of Rob (last name?), who helped me get better within 6 months. Not just better, but playing with my son, training again, and the best, skateboarding again! This was all from learning to breathe and brace properly, to then working on utilizing a deep core muscle called the Transerve Abdominis. All said, this sparked my interest and I needed to know how I could get more knowledge on this, and then help other who have dealt with what I had to or worse.
From there it all cascaded, from going to Hamline University for a Bachelor's Science Degree in exercise science, training the staff and students at Hamline, the gym closing due to the pandemic, to then opening my own business, Xtreme Strength & Fitness, and taking the Pre-Script Level 1 Cert. This is where the vision of what you see today, and will continue to see from PILLLAR FIT came from. After running that business for almost 3 years, working with a wide variety of clients from grandmas, moms, dads, kids, skaters, hockey players, and more, I knew I could do more but just did not have all the pieces to the puzzle.
Luckily for me, another blessing happened, I ended up meeting Corey Bracken, the dude who started it all! After we met, I ended up getting sponsored by PILLLAR and coming on as the TM, from there Corey and I just kept having great conversations about everything we can do with our companies and the community, shit the world! This is how we got to what you now know as PILLLAR FIT. I train in every walk of life as I said, so just because I love skateboarding doesn’t mean I can’t assist you in your fitness goals and show you why PILLLAR FIT clients have such great success!
Again, thank you for taking your time to come to check out what we got going at PILLLAR, and if you read this whole thing you are the MVP and I am sending much love your way!