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Carl Hardwick

Carl grew up with a love and passion for sports playing baseball, basketball and football throughout his childhood and focusing on baseball and football through his high school and college years. At 14 years old, Carl was introduced to strength training as a way to “get better” at sports. From this day he was a gym rat training 2x per day as a high school freshman.

Carl studied Kinesiology and played football at Saint Mary’s University where he found success as a 3-time All-Conference receiver. He was introduced to Charles Poliquin by his strength and conditioning coach, took his PICP and began his journey to find the higher order in fitness. With hopes of becoming a collegiate strength and conditioning coach, Carl acquired his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist before realizing the tight ropes of the NCAA was not for him.

After his stint playing Canadian football, Carl joined the US Army in the medical field, while in the Army, he spent a tour in Afghanistan, ran the physical fitness program for his Battalion and was introduced to OPT and James Fitzgerald. While in the Army, Carl made fitness a business by opening multiple gyms and eventually multiple OPEX gyms.

It was an easy decision when the opportunity arose to work for OPEX full-time. His experiences as an athlete, coach, soldier, father, husband and business owner helps him in being a part of the engine that allows OPEX to continually move forward.