Dr. Tony Chappie, D.C., A.T.S.C.I.
Dr. Tony Chappie, D.C., (aka…”CHAPPIE”), is the founder of Pittsburgh Kettlebell & Performance. He is a USAKL Certified Kettlebell Instructor, has a Level 1 Certification from Onnit Academy in Unconventional Training, and has completed Level 1 of the Selective Functional Movement Assessment Program. He has a no-holds-barred approach to fitness and will push you beyond your limits, all while making you believe in yourself. When you complete one of his grueling workouts, you feel as if you can conquer the world.
Chappie has been an athlete his entire life…he has played Rugby for 25 years. He started playing Rugby, while attending Indiana University of Pennsylvania. While at IUP, he played rugby until he seriously injured his back. His coach was a Chiropractor whose treatment modalities brought him back to competitive health. With such an impressive outcome, Chappie dramatically altered his future professions & decided to become a Chiropractor. He attended Palmer College of Chiropractic in Davenport, Iowa on a full rugby scholarship where he received his Doctorate in Chiropractic in 1997. He was an elite level rugby player, helping to lead Palmer College to a fourth place finish in the Rugby National Championship in 1995-96 season. He represented the United States, for the U.S. Cougars vs. The North Hampton Saints, at top English side in 1997. After graduating Palmer College, Chappie played top level rugby in the U.S. Super league for New York, Old Blue. He continued to play and coach for many years in Pittsburgh for the Pittsburgh Rugby Football Club.
Chappie is the current head coach, strength & conditioning coach, of the Pittsburgh Women’s “Angels” Rugby Team. The Angels are an elite level Rugby Team winning back-to-back national championships in 2012-2014 and finishing in the top 4 of the country for 5 years in a row.
“Chappie’s approach provides a fun & supportive atmosphere where our successes can be measure in seeing large gains, including winning back-to-back National Championships. In our 2014 National Championship, we were credited by the announcers as having the “fitness & finesse” to overcome our much larger opponents. I would highly recommend this type of training to any team or individual who is looking to see big changes! “
– Jamie “Boo” Filipek
Captain – Pittsburgh “Angels” Rugby
Chappie began his interest in kettlebell training after sustaining several major injuries throughout his rugby career, including 2 ruptured ACL’s and multiple shoulder injuries, he was not able to continue training in a traditional manner. Chappie began his journey into unconventional training, like many, by reading Pavel Tsatsoulive’s book, “Enter the Kettlebell”. This lead him to continue to seek out like-minded experts in this type of training. Chappie then completed a Kettlebell workshop with Anthony Dilugilo, owner and founder of Art of Strength & Punch Gym. He left the workshop with more knowledge but felt that he had only touched the tip of the iceberg. While researching the internet for information on kettlebells/unconventional training, he discovered MyMadMethods Magazine/Website and found an article about a trainer named, Nico Rithner, out of Golden, Colorado, who is using kettlebells to train the Glendale Raptors Rugby Team. So, off to Colorado he went and completed his training & became a USAKL Certified Kettlebell Instructor. Years later he found out that Mark De Grasse, the former owner, of MyMadMethods had assembled an elite group of unconventional trainers at Onnit Academy in Austin, Texas, so, off to Texas Chappie went to achieve his Level 1 Certification from Onnit Academy.
Over the years, Chappie has acquired a wealth of knowledge in unconventional training and tools such as Kettlebells, Sandbags, Suspension Trainers, Indian Clubs, Mace Clubs, BattleRopes, Prowler/Sleds & body-weight exercises. He and his lovely wife Gina fulfilled their dreams by opening Pittsburgh Kettlebell & Performance in 2012.
Chappie continues to use unconventional tools like Kettlebells, Indian Clubs & a Suspension trainer daily in his practice, Greentree Chiropractic & Rehab, to rehabilitate injured patients and return them to normal function.
Chappie is an expert in using kettlebells & other non-conditional tools to train athletes including Rugby, Soccer, Lacrosse, Football, Wrestling & Mixed Martial Arts. He is also an expert in using these tools to help injured athletes to restore proper function & get them back onto the field.
