Speede Fitness names UFC fighter Michael Chandler as Chief Athletic Officer

Fresh off his win at UFC 274, Chandler expands his role with the strength training startup

CHICAGO, May 11, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Speede Fitness, a Chicago-area strength training startup that is launching a revolutionary fitness machine in summer 2022, announced that UFC fighter Michael Chandler has become the company's Chief Athletic Officer. In this new role, Chandler will lead the company's recruitment of professional athletes and advise on workout programming.

"At Speede, our athlete partners are not just exceptional competitors, but exceptional human beings," said Dan Mooney, co-founder of Speede. "Michael Chandler is a prime example of that, and we've been blown away by his support and enthusiasm for Speede. It's only natural that he's taking on an expanded role in our company as Chief Athletic Officer."

The announcement comes just days after Chandler's devastating knockout of Tony Ferguson at UFC 274. Chandler's performance earned instant praise from celebrities including Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, fellow fighter Conor McGregor, and UFC president Dana White, who called Chandler's front kick "the most vicious knockout I've ever seen."

Chandler first became involved with Speede Fitness in July 2021, after a scheduled short demo of the company's machine turned into a day-long session in which Chandler engaged Speede's engineers and founders in technical discussions. The fighter immediately signed on as a brand ambassador and has since trained on the machine, spoken at Speede's Super Bowl event in Los Angeles, supported the brand on social media, and helped guide the startup as a member of its advisory board.

"From the very first time I trained on Speede, it made a believer out of me," said Chandler. "It caught me off-guard with how challenging it was and how effective it was. To be able to get such extreme muscle fatigue with so few reps—this is going to be a game-changer for athletes and for anyone who wants to get stronger faster."

The company's new machine, the Speede Challenger, is the first connected fitness machine to combine isotonic, isokinetic, and max eccentric training for an intense, efficient workout that leads to faster strength gains. Other high-profile athletes are equity holders in the company including Justin Fields, Cole Kmet and Jaylon Johnson from the Chicago Bears, Justin Simmons from the Denver Broncos, Marquez Valdes-Scantling from the Kansas City Chiefs, and Mason Plumlee from the Charlotte Hornets.

Chandler becomes Speede's Chief Athletic Officer at a pivotal moment for the company, as it begins a new fundraising round and prepares to introduce its Gamma prototype at the IHRSA fitness convention in Miami in late June.

"Our Speede Movement is growing exponentially and we have more momentum than ever," said Greg Tepas, co-founder of Speede. "With Michael Chandler as our Chief Athletic Officer, we'll continue to build our relationships with athletes, professional teams, and fitness experts. We look forward to unveiling our machine's full capabilities at IHRSA and sharing the power of our eccentric and isokinetic training with more people."

To learn more, visit Speede.fit or contact co-founder Dan Mooney at [email protected].

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SOURCE Speede