Matthew Glynn, who lives in Unadilla, traded technique for practice.
Glynn, 33, and his wife, Lauren, started DragonHawk Fitness, a Crossfit-inspired gym on the Southside Mall in Oneonta in February. The 5006 State Highway 23 location is the latest iteration, said Glynn, a similarly named but Crossfit-affiliated gym that the couple opened in 2017.
“I moved to the area thirteen years ago when I took an engineering position at Amphenol (Aerospace in Sydney) after graduating from RIT,” said Glynn. “I didn’t know anyone in the area, but one of the things I always wanted to do was martial arts. So I found Oneonta Tai Kwon Do … and got my black belt and started training for competition. I wanted to get better at sparring, but I needed good, high-intensity endurance. I met my wife doing Tai Kwon Do … and around that time (she) started doing sports again. She was one of the OG Crossfitters – she went to school in California so she was there when it started – and she was here at a Crossfit gym and said, ‘Hey, you’d be really good.’ ”
Glynn said that skepticism quickly gave way to enthusiasm.
“I said, ‘Ah, that seems like a bunch of Malarky’ so I didn’t do it for a couple of months, then she became a (Crossfit) trainer,” he said. “I said, ‘Let me see what it’s about,’ and one guy took me through a workout that was very short, but very humiliating … and I thought, ‘I want to be able to do this and still have energy.’
“We were there for two years and I learned the methodology (from Crossfit) and its purpose,” Glynn continued. “I realized there was a whole thing going on here and a lot. I had probably learned how to train incorrectly three times, but when I actually started learning about human anatomy and physiology with what I learned about Crossfit, it made the most sense. It has the lowest injury rate and has proven time and again to be the most effective. “
Glynn said while he and Lauren tried to buy this gym, plans failed and resulted in the first DragonHawk.
“We looked at it and said, ‘We could do this,’” he said. “So we looked for a place and made a decision. We realized that we can actually do this for our community and help improve people’s lives in meaningful ways, and that goes very well with our values. We decided that I would quit my job and be the full-time worker in the gym. “
Glynn said the COVID-19 pandemic drove the gym’s move from the renovated service bay of the flagpole Nissan building in Oneonta to its Southside location.
“We did a lot of work (at Flagpole) and briefly expanded it into a Tai Kwon school there, then the pandemic came and we closed,” he said. “Luisa (Montanti) is the manager of Southside Mall and was a member at the time, so she said, ‘You could keep your things with me,’ so we moved in… and renovated the former Radio Shack. It’s more floor space than we had, higher ceilings and the floors are actually level, so it’s a huge improvement on our training space and it was great. “
Also during that transition, Glynn said he ended the gym’s affiliation with Crossfit in order to gain business autonomy and became DragonHawk Fitness.
As DragonHawk Fitness, Glynn said, he can better serve his mission.
“Our primary service is group fitness classes, which are more like face-to-face group training where you have a trainer whose only job is to make sure you get your movements right,” he said. “It’s a workout that is tailored to your goals. There is a saying at Crossfit: People’s fitness needs vary in degree, not in time. A grandmother and an Olympian need the same level of fitness, but they need different levels. Everyone goes (to the gym) for a reason – to get stronger, lose weight, prepare for competition – and in our group classes (people) do the same workouts at the same time but with variations so everyone gets that, what you need.
“We run four of these group classes a day, starting at 5:30 am, and they last about an hour,” Glynn continued. “What is really important to me now as the person responsible is the educational aspect. I want people to know how to do it right. You go to the gym to be healthy and injuries are the opposite of being healthy, so we have a dedicated team of coaches and they do. “
Glynn said DragonHawk also offers personal training and the Barbell Club, a U.S. Olympic weightlifting group associated with weightlifting.
DragonHawk’s clientele is diverse and growing, he said.
“For our core group, it’s Cooperstown, Delhi and Sidney,” he said. “The highest percentage of people in the same group are 30-40 year old women, but there are also older men and women and younger men and women.”
As membership increases, Glynn hopes to deepen his connections with the community.
“Our goal is to do more public relations,” he said. “Like park workouts and nutrition and fitness presentations, not just to give people an idea of what to do … As we get more successful, I can make more things available for free to help the community, healthier to be.”
Glynn said he also plans to add more general fitness classes and a Silver Sneakers-inspired class for seniors.
He said DragonHawk offers a free, “sweaty intro,” including a gym tour, mini workout, and consultation.
For more information, including updates on a weightlifting open house in late October, visit dragonhawkfitness.com, email dragonhawkfitness@gmail.com, or call or text 607-431-8135.
