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Vernon “The Freak” Smith
Founder of The Freak Performance | Mentality & Performance Coach | 17+ Years Building Athletes the Right Way
Vernon “The Freak” Smith isn’t a brand name. It’s a reputation—earned under heavy bars, long seasons, and the quiet grind nobody posts. He’s the coach athletes trust when “good” isn’t the goal anymore. When the goal is dominance. Longevity. Confidence that holds up under pressure.
For over 17 years, Coach Vern has coached the full spectrum—youth athletes learning the basics, collegiate athletes chasing championships, professionals protecting careers, and elite competitors who can’t afford wasted training. His style is simple to explain and hard to copy: science-led programming, standards that don’t bend, and relationships that turn training into belief.
This page is the clearest picture of who he is, what he’s built, and why the people who know… call him The Freak.
The Marian University Era
28 Championships. 13 Years. 26 Sports. One Standard.
Coach Vern spent 13 years as the Director of Strength & Conditioning at Marian University, overseeing 26 sports and helping build a culture that produced winners across the board. The rings tell one story. The daily work behind them tells the real one.
During his time at Marian, Vern didn’t just “run workouts.” He designed systems—training plans that accounted for the reality of college athletics: different sports, different schedules, different bodies, different demands… all under one roof. It takes a rare coach to build high performance across that many teams without burning athletes out or chasing shortcuts.
That’s why the championship number matters. Not as a flex—as proof of repeatable excellence.
Built Different
Why They Call Him “The Freak”
Some coaches can explain strength. Coach Vern can demonstrate it.
At his performance prime, Vern was known not just for coaching strength—but for being freakishly strong himself. The numbers don’t sound real until you realize the way he moved them: calm, controlled, and without the theatrics.
He’s been recognized publicly as one of the strongest strength coaches in the world, with reported lifts that include 900+ pounds in the squat and deadlift, 550–600+ on bench, and a 500-pound power clean. Those aren’t “gym numbers.” Those are life numbers—the kind that shape credibility the second an athlete meets him.
And that’s the point: athletes don’t need a coach who talks like a textbook. They need a coach who can lead from the front and still coach them like a human being.
The Setback That Built the Coach
Pain Into Purpose
Before Vern became the coach with rings and a reputation, he was a college football player at Marian University who faced the kind of moment that changes athletes: a serious knee injury that required reconstruction.
He fought his way back to play one final season. And while most people see that as the end of a chapter, Vern treated it like the start of his calling. The injury didn’t take something from him—it sharpened him. It forced him to learn the body, respect the process, and understand what athletes really need when their confidence is tested.
That’s why his coaching carries weight. He’s not guessing. He’s lived the side of sport where things don’t go perfectly… and you still have to show up.
Experience in the Field
From Youth to Pros to Olympians
Coach Vern is the founder of The Freak Performance, a results-driven performance brand built for athletes who want more than a workout. The gym opened in September 2022 in Westfield, Indiana, and has become a place where training is treated like a craft—not a trend.
Vern has coached and developed athletes across sports and levels, including youth, collegiate, professional, and Olympic-level athletes. He’s known for adapting training to the athlete in front of him—because no two bodies, backgrounds, or sports are the same.
A few athletes connected to the #FreakFam include:
Kylie Murr (Pro Volleyball) • Garrett Christian (MLB) • Michael Jerrell (NFL) • Coryna LeBecki (Pro Cycling) • Annika Schmidt (Pro Soccer)
The Freak Performance Method
The Knowledge, Science, and Why Behind It All
Coach Vern’s training is grounded in science—but it’s not cold, robotic, or copy/paste. His programs are built to translate: to the field, the court, the track, the mound, the match—where performance actually matters.
At The Freak Performance, the goal isn’t just to lift more. It’s to build athletes who can use what they build.
Training focuses on:
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Speed that shows up in competition
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Strength that protects the body and upgrades performance
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Power + explosiveness that changes outcomes
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Agility + durability that holds up through seasons
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Mental toughness that doesn’t fold under pressure
And the biggest difference: Vern teaches athletes the “why.” He wants them to understand what they’re doing, why they’re doing it, and who they’re becoming because of it.
The Real Coach Vern
A Unique Style of his own
Athletes describe Coach Vern as someone who can get intense without being disrespectful. Someone who can be hilarious one minute and dead serious the next. Someone who calls it like it is—but never forgets the person behind the athlete.
He builds relationships that last because he trains with a family mindset. Not soft. Not sentimental. Just real.
He pushes athletes hard because he believes in them. He holds standards because he knows what’s on the other side of standards: confidence, consistency, and results athletes can feel.
If you want the simplest summary of Vern’s coaching style, it’s this:
Human first. Athlete always. Freak standard no matter what.
The Mission
Building the #FreakFam, One Athlete at a Time
Coach Vern currently lives in Indiana with his wife and three daughters. He trains, leads, and builds what he believes will become a go-to performance facility for athletes who want to do it the right way.
Not the easy way.
Not the trendy way.
The way that holds up—on your best day and your worst day.
If you train with Coach Vern, you’re not just getting stronger. You’re getting a standard. A mindset. A system. And the belief that you can do more than you thought you could.
That’s what The Freak Performance is built for.
Train With Coach Vern
If you’re serious about improving speed, strength, power, and mindset—and you want coaching that’s proven, personal, and built to translate—start here.
