Mark DiSalvo, BA, CSCS, Owner and Head Trainer
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association
Steve Maxwell Certified Kettlebell Instructor (Levels 1 & 2)
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Purple Belt.
Published in Onnit, SELF Magazine.
Graduate of Northeastern University
Mark’s career in fitness has always been with a narrow focus on the individual. Growing up in Pittsburgh, PA in a region of the world where sports are king, he realized the approaches working for his friends and teammates did not always work for him. Because of this, when he was introduced to the weight room (in a lucky chance encounter), he was hooked and endlessly fascinated with how training not only improved sport, but your health and physical/mental well-being.
He went on to start DiSalvo Performance Training in 2015, after a working for years prior as a personal trainer in a gym setting. Mark has also served as an expert contributing source for SELF Magazine, author on Onnit Academy, Get Physical / Fight Camp Conditioning and many other industry leading websites.
Since founding DiSalvo Performance Training, he has gone on to train hundreds of individuals spanning all industries: from healthcare to hedge funds, PhD’s to police, fire, and military special forces. He also regularly trains athletes (professional & amateur) in combat sports, basketball (collegiate and NBA), and board sports (snowboarding and surfing). What he’s most proud of though, is his lasting personal and professional relationships with everyone who has walked through the doors.
After starting the business and spending four years of training in the Financial District of Manhattan in shared space with Reset Physical Therapy, Mark opened DiSalvo Performance Training’s first solo performance studio in June of 2019 in Manhattan’s Chelsea neighborhood. In June of 2023, DiSalvo Performance Training doubled it’s size and footprint in Chelsea, massively upgrading and re-investing in their facilities.
Early Career and Now
Steve Maxwell & Mark in El Salvador. 2015.
Having the privilege to start his solo career under the mentorship of Steve Maxwell, Mark had the unique perspective of traveling around the globe to assist Steve in teaching seminars to fitness professionals, home enthusiasts, athletes, and many others. Training at world class facilities at each stop gave him a unique perspective, and he has since gone on to collaborate and learn from some of the best in the industry, endlessly a student himself. The two of them also shared a passion for jiu jitsu, and Mark had the pleasure of learning jiu jitsu in his early career from an original American jiu jitsu black belt (Steve is famously a member of the “dirty dozen"— the first 12 Americans awarded a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu).
Mark and Jiu Jitsu Black Belts Marcos Tinoco (left) and Matheus Lutes (right), 2020.
He spends much of his time these days training and working closely with his clients, relaxing at his home in Park Slope, Brooklyn and working on a number of current projects.
He currently writes weekly on Substack on all things training. Mark has also previously hosted his own podcast, DiSalvo Performance Hour, and is the former co-host of the early and innovative fitness podcast Functional Meatheads.