MISSION STATEMENT
To Grow Community
& Create Support
For the Sport of Street Workout
by Spreading Health, Wealth & Good Vibes.
ABOUT MARK VALERIOTE
BIO
Mark Valeriote is an International Freestyle Calisthenics Athlete, Certified Coach in Calisthenics, & Founder of “RubbaDuckGang” brand. He was born & raised in Fresno, CA on February 10th, 2000. Before he discovered calisthenics, he weighed 190 Lbs in his freshman year & played video games all day everyday with no experience in gymnastics or parkour. He first started going to the gym doing random machines & lifting some weights but these methods of exercise didn’t seem to do the trick for Mark & got repetitive quickly.
One day he saw a guy at the gym doing muscle ups, V-sits, & handstands which intrigued him enough to ask him what these moves were. In May 2016, he started his Calisthenics journey with his new friend from the gym & worked on strict bodyweight exercises to build strength which gave him incredible results not only physically, but mentally & spiritually as well. Mark’s overall goals switched from winning video games to learning how to master & control his bodyweight, which would then lead to controlling his life better.
MARK’S DREAM GYM “BARS EVERYWHERE”
Eventually after many months of training reps hard on the weekdays & practicing freestyle on Friday, he ran into a team called The Bar Gorillaz at the gymnastics gym they went to during open gym. These guys were doing all the things he was training so hard for with ease & invited him & his friend Jake to go check out their gym in Clovis. One of the team members named “Stevo” gave Mark & Jake a tour of the gym & it was a gym that they only dreamed of. There were BARS EVERYWHERE & they had everything you could possibly need for training Statics & Dynamics.
PLAYGROUND TRAINING ACADEMY
This gym was called “Playground Training Academy” & became Mark’s new home / sanctuary for training Calisthenics. Soon after, Mark went to watch his first Freestyle competition in January 2017 at the LA Fit Expo which ignited a fire inside of him to one day compete & be able to perform amazing feats of strength coordinated with dynamic abilities. He was almost a year in & had accomplished 5 muscle ups, a swing 360 & some freestyle pushups from training but he still had a long training journey ahead that will test his strength, endurance, flexibility, & most of all, fear. Fun Fact: Old Mark had 2 sloppy half rep pull-ups, couldn’t touch his toes & was scared to kick up against the wall for a handstand when he started. He had the incredible desire to hold Front lever, Backlever, & Handstands CLEAN.
FIRST FREESTYLE CALISTHENICS
COMPETITION
In the beginning of March 2017, Mark competed in his first freestyle calisthenics competition which was the step he needed to take if he wanted to become a great athlete. He knew this competition would help him level up because it would push him to train harder and get his combos down cleaner because he would have to prepare doing all his hardest skills within 3 rounds of 30 seconds. Once he got there, he was very excited & a little nervous at the same time because he didn’t know who he was battling. He ended up performing his first combo just as he trained for and even unlocked his back lever mid battle.
Purpose to Motivate &
Inspire Young Minds
He threw a high bar combo first round, then attempted to do some statics on the p-bars second round, then finished it off with some freestyle push ups in the last round. He ended up losing the round but he performed at his absolute best and put on show for the people in the crowd so he was happy with the result. He also met new friends who shared the same interest, gained some battle experience & learned what he had to work on for the next one. Around the middle of this same month, Mark did his first school performance with The Bar Gorillaz at San Joaquin Memorial High School which was a big step for the gym because we started going to a lot more schools / events together. Now training wasn’t just for competing against others but also for the purpose to motivate & inspire young minds. The group would practice & drill their moves everyday until they got them down like it was brushing their teeth.
Mark’s Health and Injuries
Towards the end of March 2017 Mark & the team were seshing one monday night, throwing all of their spins & tricks on the bars. As always, the music was loud & the hype was real. Mark went up to the bar to hit a combo he hasn’t hit before & ended up slipping off of the bar & landing on his arm. He was on the ground holding his arm in pain hoping nothing too bad happened but was also curious if anyone got that combo on video!
Stevo said he was in sports medicine & told him if he can open his hand then it wouldn’t be broken. Mark continued to painfully extend his fingers all the way because he didn’t want to think it was broken. His friends helped him create a sling out of a jacket for his arm and took him to the hospital to find out what happened. Stevo said he was in sports medicine & told him if he can open his hand then it wouldn’t be broken. Mark continued to painfully extend his fingers all the way because he didn’t want to think it was broken. His friends helped him create a sling out of a jacket for his arm and took him to the hospital to find out what happened.
By the time he got seen by the doctor (which was around 90 minutes since it happened), he kind of already knew because he experienced the most pain he’s ever felt before waiting in the ER.
The doctor told Mark that his left ulna was broken clean through & had to get surgery the following week. The procedure consisted of them applying a titanium plate & 6 screws on the inside of his forearm to heal & strengthen it. Doc said it would take about 3 months before Mark was allowed to use it again. If you’re an athlete who has experienced an injury similar, you know exactly how Mark was feeling.
He wasn’t able to go to the gym with his friends, wasn’t able to workout, & wasn’t able to practice handstands. These moments in an athlete’s life could be very frustrating & depressing because you can go from practicing your sport, progressing everyday, to resting an injury in bed for months. Don’t be too worried though.
Life Happens with Perfect Timing
Be mindful that everything that happens in your life happens with perfect timing & has a good reason behind it. Mark said “Injuries happen when the universe is either telling you to work on something else or trying to help you find a better way to perform / prepare for your training.” because each injury Mark has had, taught him something else to prevent it or something else to up his game. After about a month or two of healing, Mark’s arm felt slightly better but mark was tired of staying home. He decided that while his arm was healing, he was going to train his one arm pull-ups for his right arm because he really wanted to do them. When he first tried, he could barely hang from just his right arm but once his left arm was healed in May 2017, he unlocked 1 clean One Arm Pullup & was ready to get back to where he once was to continue getting stronger & better.
At this time, Mark was at the end of his Junior year in High School & there were some competitions he wanted to compete in during the summer. Since he was going to have so much free time over break, he knew he had to get a job to fund his travels. Mark’s mother is the office manager at a pool company & she told Mark that they were looking for laborers to help build pools during the Fresno summer. It was going to be a full time construction job offering $12 an hour. Mark at the time didn’t have much work experience at the time & was taught to take every opportunity that comes his way so he gladly accepted the position.
Mark started working for the pool company the day right after his last day of junior year and started putting his work boots on at 6 AM Monday through Friday. He knew that it was going to be hard work, but he had a good perspective on it. He was learning new things everyday, got to go to different pools/sites keeping things fresh, got to get gains in digging holes, & most of all, he was making that bread $$$.
Mark didn’t have a problem working construction because it kept him strong & taught him valuable skills but he knew that this wasn’t what he wanted to do his whole life. Eventually he knew he wanted to help people learn the skills/exercises to master their bodyweight & unlock their true potential through Calisthenics training for a living. His days would consist of working from 7AM to around 5PM, getting a ride home from his coworker, showering, changing, getting something to eat, then going straight to the gym again to train Front Lever, Planche, Reps, or Freestyle until 10 or 11pm.
EVERYDAY LIFESTYLE
This became the everyday lifestyle for Mark & he loved how much it challenged him to get stronger mentally & physically. He would come home covered in dirt or concrete mix super tired but he knew that as soon as he got to the gym & got warmed up with the squad, he would get right back in the zone once again & be able to unlock new skills/strengths. Mark worked this schedule for the whole summer break until he went back to finish his senior year of high school.
Senior of High School
His senior year of high school went by pretty quick & easy for Mark because he only had 4 classes & he didn’t have to dig any trenches throughout his day. About half way into the year, he got a job as a maintenance worker at one of the gymnastic gyms he always went to train at. This way, he was making some money & getting gains from being able to train at open gym for free. His last class was 2 periods long but as long as he got all of his work done, he left school at lunch time so he could go to the gym & get a GOOD session of training in before starting work from 4 to 8pm.
WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE MARK VALERIOTE?
improved
state of mind
less body fat
energy
optimism
Fun Facts about Mark Valeriote
Mark had a lot of fear toward heights & being upside down as a kid
Mark weighed 190 lbs as a sophomore when he started calisthenics
Mark was unable to do a correct pullup when he started
Mark’s first freestyle move was a backclap pushup
Mark doesn’t take any supplements other than pre workout sometimes
Mark received a C in P.E. his Senior year of High School
Mark chose competing in the Venice Beach Freestyle Calisthenics Jam instead of going to prom
Mark took his first 16 man tournament win in Ambato, Ecuador
Mark got his wisdom teeth out in Ambato, Ecuador