Marz Garcia, a Marine Corps veteran, is the epitome of upholding the gold standard through both his service in the United States Marine Corps and his ownership of Athletic Republic in Hudson Valley, New York. Referred to as the glue of AR Hudson Valley, his leadership skills and style utilized at Athletic Republic is largely impacted by his time in the military.
Marz enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1993 and served for four years as a combat engineer. He gained valuable experience in explosives coordination, setting up detonations, minefields, carpentry work, and bridge building. Through his service, he traveled to Okinawa Japan, Mount Fuji, Tokyo, and Korea. Following his service abroad, Marz continued his service in the Marine Corps and worked in a woodshop in Cherry Point, North Carolina, and later crossed with the Airforce in Guyana near Georgetown, where he worked on the humanitarian efforts within the service, working with orphanages and schools.
After leaving the military, Marz went to school and began working at West Point, where he continues to teach, before deciding to open his own Athletic Republic franchise in Hudson Valley. Marz’s brother-in-law, Greg Voloshin, had the idea to explore the business opportunity during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Greg, Marz, and his wife Danielle, who all have athletic backgrounds, jumped on the opportunity to bring Athletic Republic to their community. Marz’s experience in the military as a platoon leader and his natural leadership skills have made him the engine that runs Hudson Valley Athletic Republic.
Marz’s military experience has also helped him become a great leader and fill all the gaps at Hudson Valley Athletic Republic. Marz’s leadership style is to get the job done and keep it moving, a mentality that was largely shaped by his time in the military. His determination and dedication to his high-level involvement in his business have earned him recognition as “the glue” of Athletic Republic Hudson Valley. Marz’s time in the military has taught him leadership directives that have become instinctive, and he has learned to delegate roles and responsibilities while filling in the gaps whenever they appear.
“Exploring a business opportunity after my time in the Marine Corps, I knew that the values of the business needed to align with the values that I carry with me,” Marz said. “What really attracted me to Athletic Republic was the evidence-based training with statistics and proof of performance. This is something that I’ve grown accustomed to through the military and truly appreciate about the brand. The standard of training at Athletic Republic is truly the gold standard for sports performance programs, which I believe to be in perfect alignment with the Marine Corps slogan ‘The Few. The Proud.’ because it is not your typical military training or experience, just as Athletic Republic is not your typical athletic training program.”
As an owner of Athletic Republic, Marz is proud to provide an excellent level of service to his community. As lifelong members of the Hudson Valley community, Greg, Danielle, and Marz are familiar with the highly competitive community that values athlete’s excellence and training. Because of this, Athletic Republic has become the standard for athletic training in the area, and Marz says that parents and athletes see their involvement with the franchise as a badge of honor. Athletic Republic provides the highest quality of training and has ultimately made a significant positive impact on the community. Marz believes that giving back to the community that helped raise him and his family is a vital part of owning a business, and he sees Athletic Republic as a way to give back to not only to his children but all athletes in his community.
One significant benefit of owning Athletic Republic Hudson Valley that has stuck out to Marz is the Athletic Republic app and technology. The technology allows trainers at Athletic Republic to track the progress of athletes, allowing the athletes and their parents to see the objective benefits and progress of their training. Not only is this extremely helpful and interesting to the athletes, but intensely supportive parents are able to see the improvements that their young athletes are making through their training at Athletic Republic.
“Parents in the community love Athletic Republic just as much as our athletes do,” says Marz. “At the end of the day, we want to provide the highest quality sports performance technology and training as we possibly can for families in the community. When I see Athletic Republic bringing athletes together, I see excellence being brought to our community.”