Ross IS A PIONEER

I didn’t grow up in an entrepreneurial household nor one that supported a healthy lifestyle by today’s standards. My child­hood diet consisted of Fruity Pebbles, cherry blintzes, chocolate milk and other sugary indulgences. I was active as an adolescent, serving as captain of my high school wrestling team and running cross country. My journey into health and wellness started after college when I worked my first job as Fitness Manager and Personal Trainer at The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers. The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers is a 150,000-square-foot complex on the Hudson River in New York City. I was surrounded by 50 personal train­ers, two exercise physiologists, a nutritionist and some of the top fitness and wellness educators in the country. Their expertise and interest in the field had a lasting impact on my professional life.

After leaving The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers, I stayed within the fitness industry and worked for some of the finest fitness centers in America, including Equinox Gyms, New York Sports Clubs and others. It was always an inspiring to bring health and fitness to our members and to lead and promote staff in these organiza­tions to new career highs. I learned so much about customer service and directing teams to meet and exceed challenging objectives while maintaining a positive work atmosphere.

After branching out on my own, I started a private consulting company where I opened up new gyms and fitness concepts and turned around struggling wellness businesses. My firm did everything from purchasing and upgrading fitness equipment for upscale apartment buildings to consulting with businesses on wellness programs for their employees to helping open new restaurants.

As my consulting company grew, I expanded upon my interest in fitness and took on juice-bar clients and other beverage companies. The concept of a juice bar strongly appealed to me, as educating people on the high-performance benefits of cold pressed juice, handcrafted superfood smoothies and acai bowls was aligned with my vision of taking health to the world. I realized that proper nutrition accounts for 80% of optimal well-being and fitness only accounts for 20%. My vision has always been to make the world healthier, and I made the decision to focus on nutrition, the lion’s share of the wellness equation.

In 2014, I started Pure Green with the intention of becoming the preeminent brand in health and wellness. I started with a single retail location in New York City and quickly expanded to multiple retail locations. The company now has a robust wholesale business, online business and fast-growing franchise business.

I continue to be fascinated with achieving optimal per­formance and have been fortunate to surround myself with some of the top names in the business of fitness, nutrition and wellness.