The
Ironclad Performance team

Benjamin Tipton

Founder

Ironclad Performance was a dream for my wife Alycia, and I, for years before it became a reality. I fell in love with lifting weights as a kid, starting to lift at 14 and making and pursuing knowledge about increasing performance ever since. My love of lifting drew me to strength sports. I’ve been competing in Strongman since 2009, and haven’t looked back since. As an athlete I’ve qualified for Nationals numerous times as both a lightweight and heavyweight competitor, competing entirely as a drug-free athlete. I studied sport science at Purdue University for my Bachelors and at Texas A&M University for a Masters degree. In graduate school I truly developed as a coach, thanks in large part to the mentorship of Coach Raychelle Ellsworth who taught me what it means to be a great coach. As a graduate student I had the honor of coaching Texas A&M’s Powerlifting team. I finished graduate school with an internship at Northwestern University where I worked with numerous sports. Although much of my life has been influenced by lifting, my background in construction has had a huge impact on me. After high school and throughout college I worked in construction as an Ironworker. Construction work is a tremendous educator! I’ve learned a lot about what hard work means, how to problem solve, work effectively as a team, because it’s what it takes to put a building together. Although construction work may not seem relevant to the story of a coach, my ironworking background is a vital part of who I am and it influences how my wife and I built our company. The most valuable lesson I learned from construction is that every movement needs to be purposeful. Everything should be done as efficiently as possible with the end goal in mind. I’ve taken this lesson to heart and applied it to what we do at Ironclad Performance, which is provide the coaching that allows our athletes’ physical performance to grow as efficiently possible. Every movement has a purpose. For as long as I can remember I’ve loved showing people how to lift. I love sharing something I’m passionate about with everyone. I think movement is one of the greatest blessings we have been given; there is something innately joyful about running full speed or straining successfully against a heavy weight. It’s an honor to help athletes develop to their greatest potential and what inspired me to start Ironclad Performance.