As a highly touted baseball player in high school, Mack Chuilli looked forward to a career in the pros. But when that dream was abruptly sidelined by a shoulder injury from overuse, Chuilli was forced to forge a different path.
As Business Reports details in its latest Entrepreneur feature from the new issue, Chuilli has rededicated his career to making sure other athletes wouldn’t suffer from the types of sports injuries he had. He is the CEO and sports performance director of Traction Sports Performance, an elite sports performance institute with two locations, one at 9222 Burbank Drive and another at 17475 Opportunity Ave.
Chuilli employs dozens of trainers, coaches and nutritionists. His multimillion-dollar, 20,000-square-foot facility on Burbank Drive—which features a full physical therapy clinic and 15 acres of turf fields (and additional space for growth)—attracts NFL, MLB and NBA pros from around the country.
But that wasn’t always the case. “Our business is based off of results, so as our athletes got better, as our clients reached goals, we grew from the word [of mouth],” Chuilli says. “We are now to a point where we are trying to compete nationally.”
And Chuilli believes he can do more with his companies. Looking at the big picture, Chuilli is now trying to determine if Traction should remain a strictly local operation or if it should locate its next facility in Texas, Florida or Alabama as it works to be a national player.
“We continue to grow so from a financial standpoint, we make money,” Chuilli says, adding he’s constantly reinvesting in his operation.
Chuilli admits that running the business side of his facilities can be tough while he also works to add new services and keep the price point affordable for all athletes.
“The truth is, my mindset has always been: work hard, do a good job, get good results and the people will come,” he says. “And it has worked.”
For Chuilli and his business partners, the sky’s the limit. “We want to be one of the top training facilities in the country, and we won’t stop until we get there,” he says.
Young athletes ages 9 and up can train at Traction, while their parents can receive personal training or attend fitness classes.
“We don’t have a health club environment,” Chuilli says. “It is all private training. Nothing is done in this facility that isn’t specifically programmed and designed for each person.”
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