ABOUT US

OUR BEGINNINGS

The Daddis Academies have produced top athletes, in particular in the sports of MMA, Muay Thai Kick Boxing and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The first Daddis Academy (now called Daddis MMA And Fitness) opened in 2000 in Philadelphia and has since served thousands of highly satisfied members and the Daddis goal is congruent with CrossFit’s over all goal of “Forging Elite Athletes”.

We take great pride in doing so here at Daddis, but, we also consider EVERYONE an athlete. We believe everyone was born an athlete and that our job it is to help bring it out in them. We are also big believers in the concept of Coach Greg Glassman’s (founder of CrossFit), concept of virtuosity…. “Doing the common uncommonly well”.

Hi, my name is Brad Daddis, owner of CrossFit Turbocharged, CrossFit Supercharged and The Daddis MMA And Fitness Academies. I’d love to share my personal story about how I got involved in CrossFit before you read on. Before I begin, I’d like to take a second to thank you very much for visiting our website!

Okay, so I’d been training, fighting and teaching in the martial arts for a LONG time and opened our first martial arts and fitness academy in 2000 not to far away in Center City Philadelphia. All was good. I love to serve. And, being able to get people in great shape while teaching them how to defend themselves was (and still is) amazing. I mean, to me, changing one’s lifestyle for the better is the ultimate. And, I’m proud to say we’ve served thousands of members since 2000 and have hundreds of testimonials and success stories that drive me every day. To say my job is fulfilling would be an understatement.

DISCOVERING CROSSFIT

Let me fast forward to 2006. Now, in the martial arts, we focus on “sports specific” exercises that will help us perform better on the mat, in the cage or in the ring. But, what I didn’t know up until then was that not having a “balanced” strength and conditioning regimen left me with muscle imbalances, pains and spasms. Not to mention the aching joints and discs from the hard martial arts training itself. I didn’t train as safely as one should back in the day. We simply didn’t know any better in the 90’s when I began training Brazilian jiu-Jitsu, Kickboxing and MMA.

I’d heard of CrossFit, but for whatever reason, could not bring myself to believe that it would act as an anti-aging activity for myself as it did since then. It all sounded too good to be true. I was being closed minded. But, after injuring my back and not being able to spar and train in the martial arts for a few weeks, I decided to give it a shot.

WOW!!! Nothing had ever matched the intensity of fighting for me before! The CrossFit WOD I did (called Fran) actually surpassed the intensity that I’d feel in even the most challenging martial arts training sessions. I was hooked.

Fast forward again to 2008 when me and our now CrossFit Program Director, Jackson Galka, decided to take CrossFit’s Kettle Bell Course. There was no denying the results Kettle Bell training gave a combat athlete and my fitness level improved dramatically (and, here I was prior to this thinking I was already fit!).

Since then, CrossFit has done wonders for my injuries and have actually rehabilitated many of them.

I’d have our fighters do CrossFit WOD’s to supplement their martial arts training and it almost gave them an unfair advantage! They have an edge when they walk into the cage or when they step on the mats.

Our fighters are known for winning and we are very proud of that. But, it’s also a testament as to just how dominant it can be for a combat athlete’s conditioning, or any athlete for that matter. And, the constant conquering of challenges and obstacles done in CrossFit helps prepare a fighter (or even one of our regular students in a self-defense situation) because their confidence has sky rocketed to a point where can do what ever needs to be done. They kill fear by facing the fear.

HOW WE GOT HERE

MMA fighters are undoubtedly some of the fittest people in the world. They have to be. After all, there is another man or woman standing across the cage from them wanting to hurt them. They better be in top notch condition!

They must punch, kick, grapple, etc… all against a resisting opponent who has been trained to hurt them back! They need cardio, stamina, power, speed, agility, accuracy, flexibility, strength, balance, coordination and all of the other attributes that CrossFit training provides.

Those very traits I mentioned in the above paragraph are known to CrossFit as GPP or the “General Physical Preparedness”. You see, being “fit” in CrossFit means that you are prepared in each of the above traits mentioned. They are harped on in every CrossFit class and allow you to be “prepared for the unknown and the unknowable”. This is why CrossFit is great for law enforcement, first responders and elite military units, many of which have adopted CrossFit as their “go to” health and fitness regimen.

So, let me do my final fast forward so that you can move on and check out the rest of our site. In 2010, I decided I wanted to open a CrossFit Box (aka CF gym) when I had more time to do so and now here we are!

We are excited to take what was once “exclusive” to our top martial arts students and make it “inclusive”, the way CrossFit was meant to be…for all people regardless of age, gender or fitness level.

Okay, I’ve talked your ear off enough (or wrote your ear off? You know what I mean:). Please know that we are hear for you at any time. There are no “dumb” questions and we love answering questions so it’s a win/win if you’ve got one!

Remember, at CrossFit Turbocharged, nobody is judging you. We don’t care if you can squat 1000lbs or 2lbs. This is a TRUE ego free zone. And, a place I think you are really going to enjoy once you come and visit!

- Brad Daddis - Owner And Coach Of CrossFit Turbocharged & CrossFit Supercharged