About Us
MEET OUR
Amazing ForgeX Team
Established in 2014 in Fergus, Ontario, ForgeX has become one of Wellington County’s premier athletic training companies. Partners Mitch Johnson and Karen Johnson are driven by a passion to see our coaches and members achieve breakthrough results. Using coach-led, athletic-style, functional training methods, we push each other to become fitter and stronger. With over 40 schedule classes per week, the ForgeX Advantage is exceptional coaches, amazing workouts and an awesome facility!
We always hear from our members how much they love our coaches! All our coaches are certified, and all of them share a passion to help our members achieve their personal fitness goals.
Mitch and Karen Johnson
Owners
ABOUT MITCH AND KAREN
Mitch and Karen Johnson are husband and wife and together own Forge X. They apply there passion for fitness and wellness into the business with a focus on family and community.
Both have been active in various sports over the years.
Karen uses her background in therapeutic recreation and her competitive figure skating to her advantage. Along with her organizational and budget skills to the business.
Mitch is one of our coaches who carries various certifications including Crossfit-Level 1, Crossfit weightlifting, Crossfit scaling course and judging etc… Mixing in his previous sports and hockey experience, along with his career in firefighting to the business and training.
Both Karen and Mitch are happy to help you reach your health and fitness goals, and are excited for you to join our Forge X family!
Travis Laitar
Head Coach
ABOUT TRAVIS
Travis Laitar has been apart of the ForgeX coaching team since 2018 and the head coach since October 2019. His training experience dates back to 2016 when he graduated with a BsC in Fitness Develepment from SUNY Cortland. Travis has worked in 1 on 1 as well as group settings with clientele ranging from surgery rehab to professional athletes. Travis has previously held the NASM CPT certification, he currently holds his CF-L1 and is a certified weightlifting coach through Stronger Experts an NSCA affiliated certification. He is currently working towards his TTT professional coaching certification and his CSCS through the NSCA.
Tom Altwegg
Coach
ABOUT TOM
A ForgeX member since the beginning, Tom has become one of our most-loved trainers! He loves to see new members and is excited to have the opportunity to help, inspire and motivate our members to become their own success stories.
Maria Mulder
Coach
ABOUT MARIA
Joining ForgeX has completely changed Maria’s motivation for working out. Her motivation is all about getting stronger, fitter and pushing herself to new limits. She loves the sense of community and the support network at ForgeX. As a coach (Crossfit L1 Trainer), she is passionate about helping members build connections — to feel like they are a part of an amazing community and to set new/different goals for themselves — and to help them to achieve those goals. It’s not about comparison! It’s about seeing where you are today and building on that to be even better!
Wendy Cudmore
Coach
ABOUT WENDY
Wendy’s passion is exercise, from high school sports to university intramurals, from years of triathlon racing to teaching various different adult fitness classes. Wendy’s drive to try new things and improve her fitness led to ForgeX. Having been a member since it opened, ForgeX is Wendy’s home away from home. One of the things she loves the most is seeing others realize their passion for fitness and achieve their goals. As a CrossFit L1 trainer, Wendy’s mission is to make fitness fun and accessible no matter what age or fitness level.
Cathy Jeffries
Coach
ABOUT CATHY
Cathy is a big believer that movement is medicine! As a coach, her focus is to help people move to the best of their abilities, whatever that means for them. Cathy only recently fell in love with the gym. ForgeX was her “TSN turning point”. She loves the ForgeX comradery and the way we mutually support each other, young or old, new or seasoned. As a CrossFit L1 trainer, Cathy is inspired to help others find their why, similar to how ForgeX coaches inspired her to find hers.
Melanie McDougall
Coach
ABOUT MELANIE
She obtained her CF-L1 training certificate while on vacation in Hawaii just before the pandemic broke out. Besides traveling, Melanie enjoys quilting and playing baseball. She grew up playing provincial level softball and pitched for Queen’s University. She has coached U16 female softball teams at the provincial level. Melanie is excited to join the coaching team at Forge and looking forward to helping members reach their goals.
Mackenzie Johnson
Coach
ABOUT MACKENZIE
Mackenzie is a lover of fitness stemming from her days of playing rep hockey. This past year, she participated in the 2021 CrossFit Games Open, placing 245th out of 1500 girls worldwide in her age bracket. Mackenzie has attended the CF-L1 course and has also recently added numerous swimming courses to her resume. She loves helping and encouraging others and is passionate about helping our youth members find their own path to fitness.
Todd Smith
Coach
ABOUT TODD
Physical fitness has been an interest since I was a teenager. Spent lots of time in other gyms trying to stay ‘fit’. I was invited to a free crossfit class in 2012 after a few years away from the gym. A very humbling experience. I was hooked! On the challenge, the atmosphere, and the community.
Forge has been a part of my life since 2018. In that time I have learned lots, had so much fun and met tons of amazing people.
I finally took the CFL1 course recently. I’m looking forward to learning more and helping other people realize their potential and reach their goals.