Meet our Owner & Co-Founder of MCF:
Hi! My name is Mikel and I’m the creator & owner of Mega Corps Fitness… that’s right! MCF is just as unique as you! There is only one Mega Corps Fitness in the entire world! That’s because Lagree studios are not franchises, they are 100% small businesses. So anything you see at MCF was thought up in my head.
A bit about me… I grew up in the small city of Urbana before moving to Fairborn when I started attending college. I’ve always been active, dancing ballet, playing many sports growing up and eventually finding weight training while attending WSU. As my passion for fitness grew I found myself pursuing Power-Building, taking Olympic Lifting seminars, attending workshop after workshop and consuming hundreds of books.
Friends and co-workers would ask for me to train them and I’d find myself in the gym for hours with others, helping them find, not only physical strength, but confidence!
As much as I loved lifting and the strength it brings, a part of me really missed the creative outlet I used to get from dancing. A co-worker invited me to an open house for an Aerial studio and soon I was in love with the Lyra and Silks.
After a few months attending this studio, I found myself in a group practicing for a Lyra showcase. During one of our practice rounds, my hoop dropped several inches causing me to suffer a major traction injury. After an MRI, I was informed that what I thought was a shoulder issue, was in fact a severely herniated C6/C7 disc. I was told that I would need surgery immediately.
Long story short, I denied surgery. I took months off work, I took every supplement I could think of that might benefit me, did PT and took my time getting back into strength training. Miraculously, I was able to get my disc to go back in by about 90%. Even with my success, I knew that this would change my life & the way I trained forever.
Enter Pilates… this low-impact, rehabilitative form of movement came into my life at the right time. Yes, I had already healed myself the best that I could be healed, but Pilates opened up the world of low-impact training to me. While pursuing my comprehensive certification in Pilates, I was introduced to the Pilates Suspension Method by my phenomenal Master Trainer. PSM rocked my world and challenged me in ways that machine based Pilates just couldn’t. I took every PSM training available, becoming an advanced certified PSM Instructor Trainer.
In January of 2020 I stumbled upon the Megaformer while searching for extra-long reformers online. In my ignorance I booked a private with the owner of a studio in Columbus, thinking I was just going to take a Pilates class on a really big reformer. I was sorely mistaken.
Walking out on shaky legs, having left behind a puddle of sweat and a lot of my own pride, I knew without a doubt that Lagree Fitness was what I needed in my life. As much as I loved & was grateful for Pilates, it was just missing some element that I could not put my finger on.
Luckily, Sebastien Lagree had felt the same way in the 1990s and blazed the trail for people like me. In March of 2020 the entire world shutdown and my window of opportunity struck. I came out of the Global Pandemic Level 1 and Level 2 certified in Lagree Fitness. By July, 2021 I had become fully licensed and started teaching privates out of my basement. A year later we opened our brick-and-mortar Mega Corps Fitness.
I am beyond excited and honored to be the first to bring Lagree Fitness & Pilates Suspension Method to the Greater Dayton Area. These are both methods that have changed my life and perspective on fitness as a whole.
With many certifications, countless hours of trainings, and having the honor of working with some of the most intelligent people in the fitness industry, I strive to bring everything that I’ve learned to this studio, its members and my staff.
Through my own journey of a life altering injury and recovery, I hope to bring something to the table that will help like-minded, driven people find their healthiest and strongest selves. Not just physical health and strength, but mental and spiritual health as well. I strive to make sure that MCF is a clean, safe and welcoming environment for all to thrive, whatever your fitness level is, MCF has something to offer you.