Photography by Spacecrafting
Maddie Ehrich
Maddie Ehrich had endured five knee surgeries before she finished graduate school. And as a former Gustavus Adolphus College basketball player, she had done more than enough training, rehab and physical therapy to know what worked and what didn’t. Discover Strength, a science-based gym featuring medical-grade machines that deliver a safe, effective workout in 30 minutes, was her favorite.
“I thought I’d have chronic knee pain forever, but I’m 14 years removed from my first knee surgery with no pain. I attribute that to training at Discover Strength,” Ehrich says. “There’s a bridge needed between the end of physical therapy and optimal functioning for the rest of your life. DS can help decrease pain, decrease reinjury risk and increase joint health.”
Discover Strength takes its commitment to providing supervised workouts with expert specialists for every client very seriously, so it’s no surprise that Ehrich herself is now an ACSM certified exercise physiologist, a HIT UNI CPD high-intensity exercise specialist and a NSCA-certified strength and conditioning specialist.
But what led her to pursue a professional role at Discover Strength? As Ehrich finished her master’s degree in exercise science and coached at Ithaca and Stevens colleges, she realized she was missing the principles from her Discover Strength workouts and decided to make a career change.
In 2019, she moved back to Minnesota and started as a Discover Strength trainer in Northeast Minneapolis, which led to a stint as general manager in St. Louis Park. While training Bridgewater Bank CEO Jerry Baack and Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Mary Jayne Crocker, she dreamed aloud of owning her own franchise. “The next natural step was to work with the bank right next door,” Ehrich says of the financing deal she arranged with the bank to open her new business.
Bridgewater Bank’s personal touch and dedicated service resonated deeply with Ehrich. “Like Bridgewater Bank, I am passionate about educating my clients and making sure they get to where they would like to go,” Ehrich says. And so, just a year after opening her Edina location, she began working with Bridgewater to expand into Hudson, Wisconsin, this fall. “Bridgewater cares about its clients and provides a personalized banking experience,” she says. “They have been fantastic partners.”
