We pride ourselves in our coaching and high levels of standards in regards to fitness and knowledge. Our coaches all must go through our certification to coach at our facility.
Coaches
Our Coaches
JAKE SAENZ
Founder
JAKE SAENZ
Jake coaches purely for fun. His real job is working for the city as its sole fashion police officer. If you commit a fashion infraction, you better believe he’ll let you know and issue you a citation.
He founded Atomic in 2009, after getting a business degree (barely) from Texas State University. Being a fiscally responsible adult he convinced the US ARMY that they should pay for his college in exchange for 4 years of shooting guns, roping out of helos, and jumping out of airplanes. They accepted his proposal and sent him to 3rd Ranger Battalion in Fort Benning, Georgia where he spent the next 4 years of his life giving his superiors gray hair and training new Rangers.
He used to be a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) through the National Strength and Conditioning Association but let it expire because, well, the NSCA is a racket and he was tired of them trying to take his money.
Early on in his career Jake spent 2 years as a contract coach for Military Athlete (now MTI) where he was an instructor for their military programming seminars and Range Fitness program. He has coached athletes of all levels from UFC fighters, competitive grapplers, Force Recon Marines, SFOD Candidates, SFAS candidates, Professional Mountain Guides, Special Forces Instructors (SWCS), FBI agents, Professional Triathletes, First Responders, SWAT Officers, Professional Skiers / Snowboarders, and everyday athletes.
Nickname:
Mr. Poopy-butt-hole
Turn-ons:
Fantasy novels, chasing elk in the mountains with a bow, doing Karate, recreating John Wick scenes, drawing dicks on cars.
Quotes:
“I have a knightly sense of honor.”
“I only bet if I know I am going to win, so no I don’t gamble.”
Favorite Cartoon:
He-Man
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TOD MOORE
Owner
TOD MOORE
Ginger, bearded, bald, red, short – a genetic masterpiece. He has his own mathematical rule named after him – the Tod Rule, which states that the truth equals .33 times the story Tod tells. Held together with an abundance of duct tape and dental floss he is still a top performer contrary to his battle dwarf stature.
Coach Moore’s athletic experience runs the gamut: marathons, competitive triathlete, and getting punched in the face repeatedly in Thailand by some of the best kickboxers on the planet.
Tod joined Atomic very soon after its inception and he’s helped grow Atomic Athlete into the pinnacle of strength and conditioning in Austin, Texas and has had the privilege to coach, program and train with Special Forces Soldiers, world champion jiu jitsu practitioners, former Olympians and anyone else willing to walk through the door and commit themselves to their training.
Nickname:
Uncle Tod
Turn-ons:
Saying inappropriate things to shock an awe and audience, groping moms, Rose, excessively fancy meals.
Quotes:
“If you’re not shaking like Michael J. Fox, then you’re doing it wrong.”
“I’m like oil, I’ll keep spreading till I find the crack.”
“Don’t struggle-fuck the bar, it doesn’t feel as good as you think.”
“Does anyone else feel like chicken wings?”
Favorite Cartoon:
Archer
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JORDAN SMOTHERMON
Owner
JORDAN SMOTHERMON
Though no clinician has diagnosed it, Jordan has a tendency towards obsessive compulsion and an uncanny ability to count dropped toothpicks, if you catch our drift. He’s the first guy to let you know a thing or two about a thing or two, and if you don’t put on his Wapner, then bless your soul. We all have crosses to bear.
Jordan spent six years in the Navy as a nuclear operator aboard the USS Charlotte (SSN 766)where he shared a bed with 2 other men. Afterwards, he attended and graduated summa cum laude from the University of Texas at Austin in 2009. He weighed a whopping 150lbs.
During college, he competed as a road cyclist, including Nationals at Fort Collins in 2008. But that really doesn’t matter as road cycling is the golf of endurance sports.
He was a National Strength and Conditioning Association Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist, but, you know, that whole thing’s a total racket, so he let it expire also but not because he disagreed with their capitalist structure but because he is the cheapeast coach at Atomic. He has certifications from Athlete’s Performance and is a Military Athlete (now Mountain Tactical) certified coach and spent 3 years coaching and designing training programs for U.S. military members the world over, many preparing for selections and/or assessments of every kind.
He has coached and instructed certifications for multiple Army and Air Force units. Additionally, he’s worked with multiple law enforcement units including DEA, U.S. Marshals, BORSTAR and BORTAC, and FBI.
Jordan has had the privilege to work with multiple world-class endurance athletes and sports, including coaching one to a U.S. National Ski Mountaineering Championship, and another to a podium. He has coached world champion alpine skiers, professional ultra-runners, top-level professional mountain guides (Exum, JHMG), high-level sport and trad climbers.
Nickname:
Schmoopy
Turn-ons:
Doing South American ground karate with grown men in pajamas, forearm punching, over complicating extremely simple things, and Daniel Day-Lewis.
Quotes:
“I pay for my own Netflix. It’s called integrity.”
“Rock climbing is the golf of mountains sports”
“You’ve got me trapped in a steel cage of logic.”
Favorite cartoon:
Rick and Morty
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Brittan Morris
Gym Manager
BRITTAN MORRIS
Brittan just found out Dunk-a-roos were coming back to stores and he couldn’t be happier. If you don’t see him for a while, it’s because he’s passed out in a pile of cookie crumbs and frosting. Imagine if Joe Dirt, Thor, and an Angel had a 3-way and produced a child: that kid would be Brittan. He’s quite the handsome fellow, but forgot to cut his hair and grew a mullet that won’t budge; we are pretty sure it’s just a wig superglued it to his head, but only time will tell. Although he’s only twelve years old, he’s one of the fittest individuals at the gym, so we ignore the child labor laws and work him to the bone. Brittan played hockey at the collegiate level somewhere near Canada, but who cares, hockey is the golf of winter sports. He also loves to lace up his skates and race down hills made of ice, whilst singing the theme song to Frozen. Red Bull calls this new and totally made up sport “Crashed Ice.”
Brittan realized there was probably more to life than being really, really, really ridiculously good looking, so he left his modeling career in Milan to focus on his studies. While completing his degree in business, he applied as an intern to Atomic Athlete where he fetched food and coffee for the senior coaches, giving out back rubs when summoned. He attended our first SOFFIC course alongside Special Forces cadre from Fort Bragg and passed the Atomic Athlete Coaching Assessment with flying colors. In 2017 he came on full-time and he now manages Atomic Outpost. Coach Brittan doesn’t drink coffee because humming birds need sugar; Capri Sun is his food of choice. He also eats pizza, tacos, and cake every three hours to stay in optimal shape and keep the Mullet growing strong (pizza grease is a great alternative to hair conditioner).
Nickname: Juice-box, The Mullet
Turn-ons: Micro-managing his bosses, racing down dangerous hills on ice skates, anything that involves putting his hands on Coach Turner, Oreo Milkshakes.
Quotes: “On Wednesdays we wear pink!”
Favorite cartoon: DragonBall Z
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RAUL SALDIVAR
Coach
RAUL SALDIVAR
Raul graduated from the University of Texas at Austin in 2002 with a degree in business. Instead of becoming a door-to-door salesman i.e. Willy Loman style, Raul chose to step it up a notch and work as a software engineer. Raul is also a glorified yo-yo master, but his true skills are unveiled when he laces up his lifters and gets under the bar. He’s a wizard when it comes to Olympic weightlifting, his snatch so powerful it will bring you to your knees. Rather than hoard his weightlifting knowledge for the Rapture, he decided to share it with the world and became a coach in 2012. When Raul is not calculating a function point or coaching a class, you can find him leading heroes on quests for treasure, battling with pernicious adversaries, engaging in valiant rescues, gallant intrigue, and maneuvering the seven mystical shapes which will ultimately determine his fate in the world. Coach Raul is as friendly as a teddy bear, but don’t let those puppy dog eyes fool you: he can dominate grown men on the mats, taking names one cross face at a time.
Nickname: Two Scoops, Battle Dwarf
Turn-ons: His wife, Haley
Quotes: Live life one rep at a time
Favorite Cartoon: Played Video games…still does.
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BILLY TRIPLETT
Coach
BILLY TRIPLETT
Sir William (Billy) “The Kingslayer” Triplett was born in the backwoods of Mississippi. As soon as he entered the world, the air was fresher, whiskey tasted better, and the Soviet Union began to crumble. As a young boy, Billy conquered the uncharted forests of the red hills and wrestled wild animals into submission, wearing only a loincloth. Every Summer he played little league baseball, crushing enemies right and left. In middle school he began playing football, a passion he continued through high school with great success (4 championship rings to prove it). Billy attended Mississippi State University where he continued to play sports, this time picking up Rugby. Although he would have preferred to play sports and frolic through the woods all day, Billy knew he needed to stop dicking around. He soon set his career sights on the magnificent world of production. It was during this time he would meet and fall madly in love with the beautiful and radiant Lady Mary Katherine Wasson of Bourbon Country. With flowing locks of hair, golden like the sun, and a smile so bright it could light up the night sky, Billy knew he had found his queen. They soon married and started a kingdom of their own, consisting of three Direwolves, a fiery beast of a young daughter named Princess Zoë, and their newly born son, Young Master Henry Boone.
Billy began training at Atomic in July of 2013 and quickly learned he was not as manly as he once thought himself to be. Atomic would help him tap into his true potential, one sweaty session after the next. His love for the gym and its community grew so large, solely training with his fellow athletes was not enough. Billy set his eyes on becoming a coach and in the Spring of 2015, that dream came true. If you are an early birdie, you just might catch sight of Coach Billy in a 6:00am session. Just don’t bring him any oatmeal raisin cookies; he knows fool’s chocolate when he sees it, and will pulverize said cookies with his bare hands.
Nickname: The Kingslayer
Turn-ons: Deep squats, sandbag getups, and big smiles.
Quotes: “There’s nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self.” –Ernest Hemingway
Favorite cartoon: He-Man & The Masters of the Universe
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SETH LIST
Coach
SETH LIST
IN THE WORKS…
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ALEX GOLD
Coach
ALEX GOLD
IN THE WORKS…
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ERIC TURNER
Coach
ERIC TURNER
Eric is a Vermont native who grew tired of eating cheese topped with maple syrup every day. Looking for a better life filled with tacos, he ended up on the east side of Austin. He is a graduate of The United States Military Academy of West Point and served over ten years in the Army flying helicopters and airplanes, also embarking on multiple combat deployments. Currently, he serves in the Texas National Guard in a Special Operations unit. Oh, and on the side, he’s earning his MBA at the University of Texas McCombs School of Business. Eric is quite the ladies’ man and lives with four female roommates: A Labradoodle named Camille and three chickens named Penny, Rose, and Violet. What can we say, he has a fetish for fur and feathers. He has no qualms about putting all his eggs in one basket, as he lives with chicks who replenish them on the regular. Eric is a BAMF, but he’s also got a green thumb and can whip up the best omelet east of the river, made with fresh eggs and vegetables straight from his backyard. Skilled with a background in collegiate wrestling, a certified Close Quarters Combat Instructor (CQCI), experience in Jiu Jitsu, and poultryman extraordinaire, Coach Turner couldn’t be any dreamier through the eyes of his fellow coaches. Step back ladies, Jordan has first dibs.
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ZACH HENDRIX
Coach
ZACH HENDRIX
IN THE WORKS…
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