Rob Orlando is a Strongman competitor, CrossFit Games athlete, and owner and head coach of Hybrid Athletics, a CrossFit Strongman gym with locations in Bridgeport and Stamford, CT.  From 2005 to 2010, Rob competed in Strongman events across the United States.  During this time he won six consecutive Strongman competitions and set North American records.  As a CrossFit Games Athlete, Rob placed 22nd and 15th at the 2009 and 2010 CrossFit Games respectively.  In July 2016, he returned to competition after a long break and placed 11th in the 2016 CrossFit Games Masters Men 40-44 division.

Rob has been sponsored by Rogue Fitness, and he is currently sponsored by Nutriforce Sports.  Sponsorship has enabled Rob to travel, train with, and compete against the world’s fittest men.  It has also given him a chance to build his own line of fitness equipment including axles, farmers walk handles, yokes, logs, and atlas stone molds.  

At his CrossFit Level 1 certification class, Rob asked CrossFit Founder and CEO, Greg Glassman, "How do I combine Strongman with CrossFit programming?"  Glassman replied, "No idea.  Figure it out and let me know."  Rob accepted the challenge and began the process of integrating the two worlds.

Rob’s goal is to re-introduce natural movement patterns to the fitness community.  Strongman implements the most basic, innate movements known to man, including pushing, pulling, pressing, squatting, flipping, dragging, and carrying.  Combining these "old-school" movements with CrossFit's "new school" programming has proven to Rob to be an effective way to dramatically increase a person’s fitness level.  It also created a slogan that captures what Hybrid Athletics is all about:  “Revolutionizing Old School”. 

In 2011, Rob created the CrossFit Strongman Certification Seminar that is currently taught to CrossFit coaches, athletes, and enthusiasts around the world.  In doing so, he partnered with CrossFit, Inc. and joined a roster of 12 Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) who travel the world teaching their particular discipline.  In this seminar, Rob has taken his years of experience as a trainer and athlete and created a program that teaches people how to build real world strength by moving odd objects and using equipment that is truly functional.  The seminar blends the CrossFit and Strongman worlds together, and teaches athletes how to use Strongman movements in their training to improve their overall athleticism.

As a coach, Rob loves working with his athletes to help them achieve their individual goals.  He challenges each person that comes through the door, and takes tremendous pride in seeing his athletes grow stronger each day.  He currently coaches in both Bridgeport and Stamford, and enjoys seeing the Hybrid community grow as new members embrace everything that CrossFit Strongman has to offer.  Hybrid Athletics is a dream come true for Rob.  He always wanted a place to share his passion for functional fitness, and he is excited to see how the community of believers is growing.

Owner/Head Coach George Keklik is a personal trainer and specializes in Olympic Weightlifting, Gymnastics and Nutritional Guidance. He has been a CrossFitter for seven years—and besides being very passionate about fitness and living a healthy lifestyle, is also very passionate about building strong relationships with the members of the gym. "If there is no trust, it makes reaching goals very difficult," he says. "I love seeing members progress. Day in and day out we see them coming in consistently just to challenge themselves every day. They walk in anxious and focused, and they leave with a smile on their face with a feeling of accomplishment. When members feel accomplished, you know you did your job right."

George played soccer from the days of his youth into the collegiate level, and it was his other passion until CrossFit came along. "Health and fitness was always a part of my life, and I can thank my parents for that," he says. "My fitness career started as a Personal Trainer at a commercial Globo gym. I knew it wasn’t where I really wanted to be, so I got my CrossFit Level 1 and started coaching classes at the CrossFit Gym I was attending for a few months. That CrossFit gym I once walked into to sign up for my first class, is now mine. I would have never thought five years ago that the business would actually be mine. I’m thankful every day and happy I do not have a 9-5 desk job."

When not in the gym, George loves to play golf (when it’s in season), and during the colder months is usually up north on the weekends snowboarding.