I'm very grateful that I was able to participate in the Riekes Nature Awareness program. Connecting with nature has been a life-changing experience for me. I wrote The Budding Naturalist's Guide to the UC Santa Cruz Arboretum with the goal of encouraging young people to connect with nature.

I’m certain that the early lessons I realized at the Riekes Center were integral to helping me achieve what has become a passion and goal of mine: to travel the world and film interesting people and places!

The workouts are fun, and everything you do is tailored to your specific sport. After training at The Riekes Center, I wouldn’t train anywhere else!

One of the things that I like about working with the trainers here is they physically watch you the whole time. They make sure you are always in the proper form and working the correct muscle. Whereas when I used trainers at the other gyms they would just tell me to do my reps, but didn’t really focus on my form. So that’s one of the big things I think is wonderful here

…That’s essentially what you’re trying to do with students; you’re trying to help pass your own excitement on to them. This skill of being able to motivate people and motivate myself will be helpful in life and college too.

My career in the outdoors has grown from teaching classes with Smokey the Bear in Colorado, to leading month-long backpacking trips in Big Sur, to living in the Oregon desert with a wilderness therapy program. The lessons I've learned from these people and places have given me the knowledge I needed to thrive in the Riekes Nature program.

Since the very first day I started training at The Riekes Center, l began to see drastic improvements in my speed, vertical leap, and my overall athleticism. Without the knowledge and skills of the trainers at Riekes, there is no doubt in my mind I wouldn’t be where I am today

Well, after going to Riekes I can definitely tell a difference in my overall athleticism... It was definitely worth every second!

Riekes did an outstanding job of preparing me for the workload of a D1 collegiate athlete

Our district is deeply appreciative of the work of the Riekes Center in our community.  We highly value the wonderful relationship we have with the center and the amazing positive impact you have on children of all ages. 

I think each student that comes through the Riekes Center has the opportunity to develop their passions. There are a lot of intangibles that students will walk away with if they embrace the experience.

Through sport specific workout regimens that targeted speed, acceleration, and isometric strengthening, I was able to achieve my collegiate football goals and reach my dream of playing in the NFL.

After doing Acceleration through the summer and Pinnacle the offseason after my Senior and Freshmen seasons, I improved my speed and strength drastically. I transformed my body to have much better stamina and body composition. Riekes Center helped me become strong and athletic enough to compete on the next level.”

There are multiple ways of teaching. The piano lessons I got when I was young were more of the traditional way of teaching. The aspect of improvisation compared to executing a piece in the way it was written are two different skills. I have had a great experience and would definitely recommend the Riekes Center to others.

The Rise Up training program was instrumental in preparing me to play college football at the highest level. I guarantee you will outwork your competition with this program!