Meet Christopher Reed of THP (Tatum Human Performance) in Scottsdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christopher Reed.

Christopher, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My love of movement started with sport. At a young age, my parents got me to try a whole slew of different sports to see which ones I liked the best. I settled on soccer, golf, baseball, swimming, and basketball. I guess you can’t truly call it settling as I was doing 1-2 sports throughout the entire year. This eventually grew into a love for movement and how the body works.

I attended the University of Illinois and studied Kinesiology after high school which introduced me to all the biological process(es) of the body and gave me a great insight to how the body actually works. I wasn’t sure what to do with all this information but I knew I wanted to help people. So I began volunteering for the Illinois Football Team as an Athletic Training Aide and decided that’s what I was going to do. I was going to help those injured in sport as it combined both of my loves.

After that, I attended the University of Arkansas and received my Masters in Athletic Training and later was offered an internship in the NFL with the Chicago Bears. I learned a ton about professional sports and how the best athletes in the world prepare their bodies for sport which led me to my current love, performance. I realized in this time that I was more interested in seeing where we could take the body from a performance standpoint and how resilient I could make an athlete. After becoming a Certified Strength And Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) I was able to marry my two passions: Injury rehabilitation and performance.

That brings me to my role as a Performance Specialist with THP today. I get to help people become more resilient and take them out of pain while making their bodies physically stronger and more resilient to the rigors of daily life. This allows people to get back to and excel at what they are passionate about without worrying about injury bringing them down. My job is to make people better at the things they love. What they do between my four walls helps them outside in the real world, and I love it.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
There have been many challenges along the way. I identified as an Athletic Trainer and had to just let that life go. You study for so long and invest a lot of money into that degree and certification and have to give up that role and it is tough. You feel like you wasted time or lose a part of your identity, but now I realize how much that background has helped me in my current practice.

I also moved from Chicago with my wife and had no job out in Phoenix but knew I needed to make a change. That is when I fell into my first job out here which led me to my current role at THP. I knew the fitness scene out here had all the opportunities I needed so leaving my family back in Chicago was unfortunately necessary. I know it was the right decision but it is hard to be away from them.

Please tell us more about your work.
At THP, we specialize in individualized training that focuses on the client and their external and internal goals. We realize that when a client signs on with us, they just put us in charge of their goals, however lofty they may be. And we understand that it is a big honor to be seen as a guide for our clients on their journey to health and fitness.

I personally am involved with many facets of the company. I am in charge of the online training program and help people from all over the state, area, and even country reach their true potential. In this day and age, fitness is both physical and digital and we want to be pioneers in its transformation. I also am involved with content creation, program design, and finding more people to help.

We truly specialize in individualized training for each client. No two clients are the same and we don’t treat them that way. Again, we are only guides on this journey trying to educate and help our clients reach their potential.

We are known for having a really fun atmosphere as our training sessions are three clients to one trainer. This group atmosphere helps to push clients past their limits and establish a network of individuals who are all in this together. Outside of that, I truly believe our assessment and how much we get to know our client’s wants and desires is what sets us apart. We don’t compare you to others or throw you in a training program that wasn’t made for you just because it is easier. We handcraft our programs and let science, history, and your goals determine our choices. And that is what we are most proud of at THP

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Honestly, I can’t answer this question. I believe I am right where I belong and that each experience I have had has crafted me to who I am today. Every person and experience I have had along the way has proven to be valuable, no matter good or bad.

Contact Info:

• Website: ignitethp.com
• Phone: (708) 256-0627
• Email: chris@ignitethp.com
• Instagram: @c_reed.fit

Image Credit:
@Natural_mentality – Stephanie Reed – All photos

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