It is with profound sorrow that the Athletic Republic HQ office shares the following news...
This past weekend the Athletic Republic family and the entire sports industry lost a legend. John Frappier passed away, March 26, 2022 near his home in Fargo, North Dakota. John founded Frappier Acceleration Sports Training in 1990 and the company changed its name to Athletic Republic in 2007. John was the brilliance behind the creation of our sports training protocols and proprietary equipment. John influenced the lives of athletes, trainers, and operators with his groundbreaking training principles, passion, and dedication for improving athlete performance. We honor him and remember his legacy.
Charlie Graves, CEO of Athletic Republic, shares a statement “John Frappier was a pioneer in sports performance training. He brought science to sport decades before data-driven decisions reshaped professional athletics. He introduced treadmill training as an optimum learning environment for teaching speed. He developed the methodology to scale individualized training and bring mass customization to athlete development. He was a man who had a vision for helping every athlete achieve their goals and created a legacy of nearly 2 million athletes who have benefited from his ideas and innovations.”
John was a man who would create the opportunity for athletes to chase and achieve their dreams. Today, our team honors John’s legacy by continuing what we do every day, by believing there IS a better way to train athletes. The Athletic Republic Network is committed to continuing to change the trajectory of sports science, and we all extend our thanks and appreciation to John Frappier and his family.
Learn More about the Legacy of John Frappier:
Athletic Republic: The Leader in Performance Sports Training from Athletic Republic on Vimeo.
The Origins:
In 1986, exercise physiologist John Frappier traveled with the U.S. National Team to the Soviet Union as part of the Goodwill Games gymnastics delegation. During his visit, he participated in a sports science conference and was introduced to several physiological and training concepts the Soviets were using to push the thresholds of human performance. Upon his return, he began work on applying these concepts of neuromuscular training through careful research and input from a team of sports medicine professionals, athletic trainers, and elite coaches. Frappier’s methods started to become known, attracting pro athletes to North Dakota in their off-seasons.
Development:
In 1990, Frappier was confident enough in his innovative approach to an athlete's development that he and several local orthopedic doctors formed Acceleration Products. He began fielding inquiries from other athletic performance centers interested in incorporating similar training methodology. He and his early collaborators began developing specialized equipment to achieve their goals, protocol development continued as more athlete outcomes contributed to the evolution of the training programs. In the early 2000s, the company released its Athlete Information Management System to both manage and organize athlete test data but to apply this data to the creation of new training protocols and the ACL Bridge Program.
Growth:
In 2007, former professional triathlete and entrepreneur, Charlie Graves, stepped in as CEO and rebranded the company as Athletic Republic and updated the business model to franchising. New programs, such as Endurance Training and AR-FIT, new marketing campaigns and operations were introduced to improve each training center’s performance. In August of 2020 the company celebrated its 30 year anniversary and has grown to include over 80 training centers across the U.S.. Australia, Japan and South Korea.
Read more about John Frappier and his history with Athletic Republic HERE >
