Dirk was first exposed to endurance sports during the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.  His home was nestled inside the circuit that made up the Cycling Road Race course.  Watching the men and women battle it out for gold on his local roads convinced him that cycling was his sport. After working in a hot warehouse for the remainder of the summer, Dirk saved enough to buy his first road bike.  It was a Raleigh, the same bike brand that had sponsored the US National team at the Olympics. His first ride was an attempt at a few laps of the Olympic road course.   After struggling through one lap (the Olympic cyclists did 6 to 9 laps), he was completely wrecked but more motivated than ever to improve and pursue the sport.

 

His interest in cycling quickly expanded to other sports and led to a keen interest in Sports Science.  At San Diego State, he studied Athletic Training before transferring to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he continued to ride and race his bike while earning a degree in Exercise Physiology.  After graduation, an internship at Pacific Bell turned into a job as an exercise physiologist at their corporate fitness centers. During his time at Pacific Bell, Dirk learned that most active people have injuries.  These injuries can be minor or major, but most athletic people have or develop them.  With a desire to continue to work with people in a role that promoted a healthy lifestyle and a rapid return from injury, he found his calling in Physical Therapy.  Dirk completed his Master's Degree in Physical Therapy from Boston University and has been working as an outpatient PT ever since. In addition to stints in outpatient clinics, Dirk has owned his own practice for the past 20 years and has focused his work on endurance athletes of all ages.  He has coached running and cycling athletes and provided professional bike fittings for just as long.

 

Nearly 7 years ago, while attempting to overcome some imbalances created in his own body from two significant bike crashes, and after not having done so for 12 years, Dirk decided to start running.  His first outing was a 7-minute shuffle that left him sore for several days.  But, with persistence and a good balance of training on the bike, he started to overcome the imbalances, and something amazing happened along the way...he fell in love with running on trails. Since then, Dirk has completed multiple endurance runs, including several 100-mile events, a highlight of which was a finish at the 2019 Western States Endurance Run. Dirk also began expanding his coaching to include an emphasis on trail runners.  He greatly enjoys working to help endurance athletes challenge themselves and pursue their lofty goals through personalized coaching and hands-on physical therapy.