About
John Cleary
Fitness Expert and Owner
Platinum Fitness Equipment – Stuart, Florida
John is a renowned fitness expert and one of the New York metropolitan area’s top personal trainers. Over the course of his 40+ year career, John has worked with thousands of individuals ranging from young children to the elderly (ages 5-87).
Combining his own innovative fitness concepts, which incorporate cardiovascular, flexibility and muscular strength and endurance training, with his passion for helping people improve their overall health and wellness, John has developed a highly motivated, energetic, caring and sensitive style that has delivered exceptional results to a wide array of clientele, including Congressional Medal of Honor and Bronze Star Medal winners, police officers and firefighters, physicians, judges, athletes, martial artists, fitness professionals, nutritionists, high-level executives and entrepreneurs and entertainers.
An elite athlete since childhood, John embarked on his physical fitness journey at the age of twelve as a means of building strength, confidence and self-esteem. Along the way, John developed a champion’s mentality, which proved to be the foundation for a lifetime of success. In high school, John was a standout in football (defensive end; state-wide punt-pass-kick competition champion), track (pole vault and hurdles) and gymnastics (4-year state champion in rings, high bar and vaulting). During that time, John also developed a passion for martial arts (Tae Kwon Do), which he continued to pursue vigorously while attending Western Connecticut State University.
John combines his own innovative fitness concepts with his passion for helping people improve their overall health and wellness, ending in results that are exceptional for a wide variety of clientele. This includes Congressional Medal of Honor and Bronze Star medal winners, police officers and firefighters, physicians, judges, athletes, martial artists, fitness professionals, nutritionists, high-level executives and entrepreneurs, and entertainers.
A successful athlete since childhood, John embarked upon his physical fitness journey at the age of twelve as a means of building strength, confidence and self-esteem. Along the way, John developed a champion’s mentality, which proved to be the foundation for a lifetime of success. In high school, John was a standout in football (defensive end; state-wide punt-pass-kick competition champion), track (pole vault and hurdles) and gymnastics (4-year state champion in rings, high bar and vaulting). During that time, John developed a passion for martial arts (Tae Kwon Do), which he continued to pursue vigorously while attending Western Connecticut State University.
Under the tutelage of 10th Degree Black Belt and Black Beret Master Yong Kil Song, John was mentored in hand-to-hand combat and self-defense and, by the end of his training, was awarded the rank of Master (5th Degree Black Belt). While attending WestConn, John served as a strength and conditioning trainer for the football team (NCAA – Division III) and also ran the university’s Tae Kwon Do program. An accomplished martial artist, John trained members of the National Tae Kwon Do Junior Olympic Team and was certified as official referee by the United States Tae Kwon Do Union.
After earning a Certificate in Sports Medicine, John pursued his love of boxing by training at the legendary Morris Park Boxing Club (Bronx, NY) and Gleason’s Gym (Brooklyn, NY), where he was mentored by some of the most well respected coaches in New York City. John then used his talents and skills to train and manage several prominent fighters, including kickboxing champion Marty “The Kosovo Kid” Vizi. John also trained and served as sparring partner for top heavyweight Andrew Golota (41W-6L-1D-1NC-33KOs) for his 2000 bout with Mike Tyson.
John is also a former weightlifting and arm wrestling champion. During his 20-year career as a competitive powerlifter in the drug free division, John won numerous awards and achieved outstanding feats of strength, some of which were reported in the prestigious POWERLIFTING USA magazine, including 530 lb. Bench Press, 750 lb. Deadlift and 800 lb. Squat. John also used his strength to win the Monster Arm Wrestling Nationals for four consecutive years.
John also owned several gyms in Greenwich, CT and Scarsdale, NY. He also worked at Equinox and NY Sports Club teaching boxing, martial arts and strength training classes. John was hired to train FBI agents out of Westchester, NY after 911 to teach anti-terrorism agents in self defense. John has over 30 years of experience setting up and selling fitness equipment.
Platinum Fitness has a beautiful showroom located in Stuart, Florida serving the entire Treasure Coast and South Florida, including Port St. Lucie, Stuart, Fort Pierce, Vero Beach, Jensen Beach, Palm City, Jupiter, Hobe Sound, Sewalls Point, Melbourne, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Lake Worth, Palm Beach Gardens, Tequesta, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, and Delray Beach.