legacy barbell fitness coaches
Jenn Rotsinger
powerlifting coach & managing partner
Jenn Rotsinger has been a competitive powerlifter since 2004 and has lifted in all divisions of the sport from raw with sleeves to full multi-ply. She was the third woman to ever squat triple bodyweight and the first and only 114lb (52kg) female to total over 1000 pounds. Her best lifts include a sleeved squat of 363lbs (165kg), a wrapped squat of 388lbs (176kg), a 215lb (97.5kg) bench, and an All-Time World Record 440lb (200kg) deadlift. Her passion of the sport is seen in her performances as well as her coaching and passing on her years of experience under the bar. Aside from training and coaching, she is also co-owner of Gorilla Bench Training Center and a Clinical Microbiologist.
Matt Levine is a powerlifting coach, group fitness instructor, personal trainer, and is the managing partner of Gorilla Bench Training Center. With over 15,000 hrs of personal training, and over 5,000 hours of group instruction, he has dedicated his life to helping people become the strongest version of themselves. After more then a decade in the fitness industry, and a extensive background in high level athletics, he has integrated his training philosophy into Impulse Fitness at Gorilla Bench Training Center.
Matt Levine
powerlifting coach & managing partner
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Matt is also a accomplished power lifter posting international elite totals in multiple meets over his career. After nearly 10 years as the Fitness Coordinator at the Port St. Lucie Civic Center, he has made his way to Clearwater Fl. Along with Rich Ficca and Jen Rotsinger, he is committed to providing the best place to strength train possible.
Katrina Curtis
powerlifting coach & general manager
Katrina Curtis is a certified personal trainer who graduated with her B.S. Exercise Science while competing as a D1 athlete. Throughout her athletic career she was an Academic All-American, and was the Women’s Tennis Team’s first and only 3-time, peer-elected team captain. Throughout her years playing tennis she always loved being in the weight room, learning about the human body and helping others reach their goals.
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After missing the competition of being a collegiate athlete, Katrina decided to pursue powerlifting and get a coach to help guide her along that path. In her first year of powerlifting she competed in 4 meets, placing top 3 in all of them, the final one being the IPL Drug Tested World Championships, where she placed 3rd, standing among the existing World Record holders. This also resulted in her holding all the FL state records for the 82.5kg weight class.
Due to the impact that powerlifting and the Gorilla Bench community has had on herself and her husband, Katrina decided to pursue coaching and give back to the community and hopefully add value to others as they have done for her.
She enjoys the beach, spending time with her husband and three dogs, and reading. Her favorite part of being in the gym is celebrating with others when they hit PRs and adding value wherever she can.
Tom Moschner
certified personal trainer
Tom Moschner is one of the strength and fitness coaches at Gorilla Bench. Before becoming a competitive powerlifter and strength coach his first love was playing baseball. He played throughout childhood and in college. His freshman year of college he found himself enjoying training in the gym more than the diamond and chose to pursue powerlifting over baseball. He graduated early with his AA and then finished his Bachelor’s Degree in Leadership & Organizational Management.
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In his first two years of powerlifting he managed to compete seven times. He touched the platform in three different weight classes (81/83kg, 90/93kg and 100kg) and at four national competitions. In 2020 he won his first national competition at USPA Drug Tested Nationals placing first for the Junior 100kg. At nationals he set his first drug tested IPL World Record for the full-power bench press. He has also set 12 different Florida State records in the USPA.Outside of the gym Tom is finishing becoming a fireman and will eventually become a paramedic. His goal is to work for Pasco County Fire Rescue. His other hobbies include cars, photography and traveling.
Petra Bray
certified personal trainer
Petra Bray is a certified personal trainer originally from Ohio. She has been active her entire life and an athlete in multiple sports. As a repetitive team captain she has a knack for leading and motivating people that has now transitioned to the health field.
Nutrition and fitness have always been a vital part of her life but lifting made its appearance during her sophomore year of high school. Gaining muscle allowed her to gain confidence in her body and have a goal of being strong rather than simply skinny.
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Petra has a passion to do everything she can to pass on that confidence to others and share how much joy lifting, and now the GBTC community has brought to her.
She believes that our value as people comes from more than our bodies, but she is excited to help others get closer to a healthy lifestyle where they are confident in the bodies they have been given!
Hudson Osmolinski
certified personal trainer & strongman coach
hudson is a certified trainer and competitive strongman. Since beginning his journey as a strongman athlete in 2016, he’s have been invited to five national stages, and has qualified at the international level through the Official Strongman Games.
This life changing sport has given him the opportunity to demonstrate the true power of the human body. As strongman is the application of strength, he believe this style of strength training is essential to daily life and is the ultimate test of maximum physical ability. Being the grandfather of strength sports, connect to your roots and prove to yourself how strong you can be through strongman training.
Kyla Bailey
certified personal trainer
Kyla Bailey is a certified personal trainer, raised here in Pinellas County. Her entire life as been centered around athletics as she participated in many different sports. It was during her division 1 track career that she found her love for weightlifting. She is excited to help other young athletes take their skills to the next level by preparing them for college athletics. After college, Kyla pursued powerlifting and went undefeated in the 67kg weight class, her first year of competing. Her other hobbies are traveling, any outdoor activity and spending time with her little brother.
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Providing a safe and comfortable environment for beginner lifters is her passion. Starting a new journey can be intimidating. Kyla’s goal is to help ease your worries and help others find joy in physical fitness! Gorilla Bench has helped her find a second home, a place to grow in different ways. She hopes to bring that same experience to you!
Akilah Phillips
MS, RD, ld
Akilah Phillips is a Registered Dietitian with an M.S. in Exercise Science and Sports Nutrition. Born and raised in Texas, Akilah unexpectedly developed a love for fitness and weightlifting while in college at the University of Houston. Despite initially wanting to be a medical doctor, Akilah decided to pursue a career in nutrition after she began realizing how important it is to live and follow a healthy lifestyle.
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Shortly after to switching majors to dietetics, Akilah began working for UH athletics. Here, she found her true passion of working with athletes and continued to pursue this career path. Over the last 5 years, Akilah has worked in a variety of collegiate and private athletics settings such as EXOS, Texas Christian University and the University of Oklahoma.
Currently, Akilah works with minor league baseball players here in Florida and the Dominican Republic. Outside of her professional career, Akilah enjoys helping athletes and active individuals alike reach their goals and become their best version of themselves. Her philosophy on nutrition is that all foods can fit into a healthy lifestyle no matter what your goals are!
Jake Montalvo
certified personal trainer
Jake Montalvo is a certified personal trainer with over 30 years of experience. He is originally from Texas and fitness has always been his passion. In High School he was very competitive in both football and baseball and declined college scholarships to instead pursue a 21 year career in the US Navy. His passion for fitness followed him throughout his career where he trained both military personnel and civilians in highly recognized gyms around the world. He has competed in both CrossFit and Powerlifting, while also completing several marathons.
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He is excited to be a part of the Legacy Barbell staff and looks forward to doing his part in training those trying to accomplish their personal fitness goals. Giving back and helping people regain confidence in themselves, thru fitness, is what he truly loves being a part of.
Emmalee Miller
CPT. CES. PES
Emmalee is a dynamic coach with a passion for fitness and a wealth of experience. As a certified personal trainer, specializing in athletic advancement training and corrective exercise, Emmalee brings a unique blend of expertise to her clients. With a bachelor's degree in science from USF and five years of experience as a public educator, she knows how to effectively communicate and motivate individuals towards their fitness goals.
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Emmalee's love for sports has been lifelong, participating in cheerleading, flag football, soccer but had a particular affinity for extreme sports like BMX and skateboarding. Her competitive spirit led her to excel in these arenas, earning her a second-place title in the state of Florida & sponsorship in her division during her six years of racing.
Before 2020, Emmalee's focus was on functional strength for her clients and bodybuilding for herself. However, during the quarantine period with such a limited availability of equipment, she discovered a newfound passion for powerlifting. Not only for herself, but the positive impact training every client like an athlete had on their overall health created her niche. Since then, she has been dedicated to lifting and competing, even setting three state records along the way. Her coaching philosophy centers around empowering individuals who never envisioned themselves under a barbell to step onto the platform and achieve their personal best
.As a Florida native, Emmalee loves being outdoors. She spends most of her time with her son skating, swimming, or at local parks. With Emmalee as your coach, you'll not only transform your body but also cultivate a deep appreciation for the journey towards health and wellness.
Richard Ficca
owner & founder
Our founder Richard Ficca has been destined to move iron and steel since the day he was born in Tampa, Florida. As the picture to the left shows, his family put weights in the crib before he could do well… anything.
Always a big kid, Richard was always stronger than the friends he hung with, even those older than him. His genetics were going to allow him to be big and fat or big and strong. There was no swimming career or gymnastics in his young life or future and he was given his first weight bench at 12 years of age for Christmas.
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Quickly, Richard was able to press over 200 pounds on a bench within months, pressed 315 in 9th grade, and pressed 405 between sophomore and junior years of high school, all raw of course. He was in the 1400 club at Chamberlain Senior High and was a member of the varsity football and wrestling teams, garnering honors in both. He went on to play football at Newberry College for a brief stint, but the Army soon called.
Richard’s family has a proud military tradition and one that he always wanted to follow. Richard served as a paratrooper in various airborne units during his time in the Army, mostly in Anchorage, Alaska. Also it was great learning an actual education in physical fitness which helped Richard to know more than just strength training. Airborne units have been running, cross training and using various fitness techniques such as plyometrics long before they became the rage today. Living in Alaska did not hurt the amount of time Richard spent lifting. A Florida boy could find solace in the warm gym, lifting for hours and hours in his free time. This is where Richard first competed on a small level, and learned to love the sport. When Richard left the Army, life as it can and will do got in the way and he quit lifting, becoming obese in the process.
Realizing that big and fat was not an option; Richard started lifting and dieting, learning as much as he could along the way. This led him to compete again in 2004/2005 where he placed in some contests and won a couple as well. After an injury Richard gave up the sport again until his best coach, friend, and training partner Christie his wife motivated him to compete again in 2010. This brings us till today and Richard is currently competing at a high level. He is currently the Florida State Chair for the USPA. He owns and operates Gorilla Bench Training Center for strength athletes. He currently has one of the top 10 benches of the year at 606, and is ranked #1 in Master’s with a 2066 total. He has also set records for various federations at both the 308 and super heavy weight classes. Richard is hoping to really take a lifelong love of lifting and apply it to the record books over the next couple of years, hoping to take Gorilla Bench and it’s troop not only along for the ride, but one day handing over that title of Silverback, (but not anytime soon!)
experience gym culture & community like none other and become a part of the legacy barbell family!
whether you want to lose weight, gain strength, compete in powerlifting, or improve your overall fitness, Our experienced personal trainers and coaches are ready to help you achieve your fitness and strength goals.