Our team

Our Founder

Meghan Ackmann

Hi there!

I’m Meghan-. How did I get started with Top Gun Strength? – by pure accident. But it’s been one of the most beneficial accidents to happen to me.

I’ve actually been with Top Gun Strength since it’s conception in 2010 with Steve, now my husband. Wanting to perfect his coaching skills, Steve started by leading his sister Leslie, Don, and myself in WODs he created out of our garage- just as so many ol’ school CF Boxes originated from. Leslie has always had a natural athleticism since childhood, and Don has since become a numerous Strength competition winner. And then there was me, who never lifted a barbell in my life and had a Marlboro red smoking habit of 20+ years. Describing my performance as less than stellar compared to Leslie and Don’s is such an understatement. However, being dutiful, I wanted to support Steve in his endeavor to open a Box so I knew I had to either do Strength training or smoke, but I could not do both.

We opened Top Gun Strength in a space outside of our garage in Jan 2010. Fast forward to now and I have been smoke-free since Feb. 2010. Despite patches, pills, 3rd party assistance, and after dozens and dozens of attempts to quit, Strength training was the ONLY thing that actually got me to quit. I am living proof that you don’t have to be in shape in order to start Strength. I am also proof that you don’t have to be naturally athletic, as well, since everyone who knows me knows how clumsy I am and my hand-eye-coordination stinks. I’m not competitive, so I Strength train to be able to enjoy life, food, wine, etc and to get a hard workout in! But hands down, our community at Top Gun Strength is the best part of our Box to me. I love supporting and motivating everyone – Strength is the only sport where everyone is cheering the loudest for the last person to finish.

Forward to 2020 and I officially stepped into the Owner role from Manager. My favorite part is helping potential, new, and current members. So feel free to email me with questions, comments, ideas, etc! See you at the Box!

Hobbies: traveling abroad and to tropical locations (favorite trips were Egypt, St. Maarten, Turks & Caicos, Curacao, and Cuba), enjoying good food, wine/bourbon and lover of animals – especially rescuing and fostering shelter dogs with Safe Hands Rescue.

Favorite workouts: The Bear Complex, Chief, Diablo, Bring Sally Up, anything lifting weights.

Least favorite: anything running, rowing, air bikes.

Our Coaches

Hey all,

Hi there – I’m Steve, Head coach at Top Gun Strength. I opened Top Gun Strength in January of 2010 and write all the programming/WODs. Before finding Strength, I did the standard heavy lifting, long slow runs, and would get bored with the same routines pretty quickly. I was looking for something that was different and challenging – and then I found Strength.

Strength is one of the best fitness programs out there. It’s not just about fitness, it’s about changing lives. It’s about getting leaner, stronger, faster – and changing attitudes, not only about fitness but about life in general. Our box is a place where you can accomplish things you never thought possible, do things no one ever told you that you could, and spend time with people dedicated to changing their lives. We are a community family.

Hobbies: travelling on my Harley, building model airplanes, raising my three dogs !!

Favorite workout: any heavy metcon – short and brutal

Least favorite workout: anything involving jump ropes

Hello. I’m Anna and I joined the Top Gun coaching team in 2016. I first tried CrossFit in 2014 and quickly knew it was my kind of workout. For over a decade, I’d been teaching a variety of group fitness classes, Pilates, and personal training. I taught everything from swimming to step aerobics to cycling and weightlifting. But, I always found myself coming back to the basics and developing programs grounded in functional movements and focused on training for life. CrossFit brings together these elements of functional training that have always been the core of my training philosophy, so it was a natural progression for me to take on the new challenge and become a coach.
In addition to the well-grounded training approach, I like the community of CrossFit. You can walk in the door at any box and feel welcome. I love dropping in on a class when traveling. And, the Top Gun family is no exception. It’s great to be part of a community that supports one another not just at the gym, but in all aspects of life. I encourage everyone to take advantage of this unique group of individuals and be active in the community beyond just the barbells.
When I’m not in CrossFit land, I have found another love in aerial classes. My favorite apparatus is the Lyra, or aerial hoop, but trapeze comes in a close second. I also enjoy cooking, gardening, and just generally spending time outdoors. My husband Mike and I live in the neighborhood, just a few blocks from the gym. We like hosting friends for summer BBQs and football game watches, attending concerts and plays, and traveling any chance we can, but we also like lazy Sunday afternoons watching golf and napping on the couch.

Favorite WOD: Probably a chipper style workout with lots of components that I know is going to kick my ass – kettlebells, heavy weights, box jumps, push-ups…
Least favorite: Wall balls and double unders kill me every time (which means I should be doing more of them. Never avoid the movements you hate, tackle them head on! I promise they will get better).

I rarely engaged in physical activities until I was an adult, because I had uncontrolled asthma. Even once modern asthma medicines were developed, I exercised only moderately, mainly rock climbing, ice climbing, and mountaineering starting in about 1987. I never joined a gym or followed any exercise regimen, relying on moderate activities and commuting by bicycle to keep me in reasonable shape. I lacked the motivation to exercise on my own, quitting as soon as things became tough. I work a sedentary office job, and once I hit my mid 40’s my health and physique were noticeably declining.

My wife was going to Crossfit and every day telling me about the WOD and what skills she was working on—at her urging I gave it a shot. With Top Gun Crossfit I was challenged and entertained by the workouts that changed every day, and working out with our great community of members gave me the motivation to stay engaged and to complete the daily workouts. Now at 50 I feel as fit and strong as at my peak in my 20s.

Hobbies:

mountaineering, hiking, gaming (Role-playing games and Euro-style boardgames), raising 2 sons.
Favorite workouts:

weighted lunges or weighted box-steps
Least favorite:

anything that requires flexibility

Hey all,

My name is Brett, and I’m one of the coaches here at Top Gun Crossfit. I was a traditional three sport athlete in high school and enjoyed the weight room just as much as the sports themselves. Pushing your body to its limits was something that resonated well with me and I’ve tried my best to continue doing so to this day. I was really immersing myself in Crossfit before college and schoolwork took up the majority of my free time.

Now I devote most of my time to training and helping others to better themselves. One thing that I love about this type of fitness is that there is always something that you can work on and accomplish, regardless of skill level. The Top Gun Community is very supportive of each other. If you have any questions or would like to know more, feel free to reach out and ask.

Hobbies: Watching sports, reading books, and spending time with puppies.

Favorite Workouts: Anything that’s truly a grind (~45 minutes, pick a pace and stick to it)

Least Favorite Workouts: Gymnastic oriented sprints

My name is Jon, and I’m one of the coaches here at Top Gun Strength gym I fell in love with fitness early on in high school when we would train in the weightroom during football offseason. I built consistency throughout my senior year that ended up helping me alot when I arrived at Marine Corps boot camp two weeks after graduating high school. Throughout my five years in the Marine Corps infantry, I was exposed to alot of training styles from calisthenics and endurance to strength training and weight lifting. On deployment in 2014 I found some videos online of people doing CF and was hooked from day one! Since then I have trained using a hybrid of strength, CF and endurance running (specifically half and full marathons). I love what working out does in each of us. It inspires us and helps us to live happier, healthier and longer lives.

Hobbies: Fishing, Camping, Travel, Reading
Favorite workout: Grinders, anything long and painful. Long slow runs. Anything with pull ups or deadlifts
Least favorite workout: Grinders, anything long and painful. Short sprints, lots of squats or lunges

Hi! My name is Karina, and I’m one of the coaches here at Top Gun Strength gym. I found CF after years of dabbling in rock climbing, aerial arts, and teaching pilates full time in NYC. As someone who used to cross-country ski competitively, the “frothing at the mouth” workouts combined with a sense of community was all it took to get me hooked! I specialize in Olympic Weightlifting and have worked with coaches from all over the world. I’m always happy to answer questions or just stop to chat!

Hobbies: Ceramics, glassblowing, playing banjo, traveling.
Favorite workout: I like long chippers with wall balls and some dumbbell snatches. I love/hate a 2k erg test!
Least favorite workout: Anything with gymnastic elements.

Our team

Our Founder

Our Coaches

Steve aka "Maverick"

Coach Anna

Coach David aka "Cheeks"

Coach Brett

Coach Jon

Coach Karina aka "Karini"

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