The KC Gripz Team

KC GRIPZ TEAM

TWO FRIENDS, ONE BALLZZZY VISION

KC GRIPZ is the result of nearly two decades of friendship and collaboration between two guys who really know their stuff when it comes to functional training and working with elite athletes. Fitness experts Mike Santini and Ruben Payan, former co-partners in a successful personal training business recognized a void in fitness training and reunited as business partners to fill it.
Mike is a strength and conditioning coach in Scottsdale, Arizona for youth, high school and collegiate athletes.
Ruben is a strength and conditioning coach in Beijing, China and an avid climber and mountaineer.
Both Mike and Ruben recognized that grip strength was being underutilized and often under trained. As passionate industry innovators they discussed possible solutions and training scenarios.
From this, the vision for KC GRIPZ emerged.

MICHAEL SANTINI

About Mike Santini

Mike is a leader in sports performance training for youth, high school, college and professional athletes in Scottsdale, Arizona. He is a motivational speaker that helps youth athletes overcome their fear of failure, and positively reinforces their ability to succeed. He is now taking on the role for KC GRIPZ, as the company's primary instructor for training the body to prevent injury during sporting activities. Mike has coached the McCormick Ranch Little League Bulls; who under his leadership were the 2012 All Stars District 6 Champions, and finished 3rd in the state against 140 plus Little Leagues. Mike is an outstanding athlete with a very competitive nature! He has taken up Rock Climbing, and Obstacle Course Racing. He was a competitor on season 6 of American Ninja Warriors as an extreme athlete.

RUBEN PAYAN JR.

About Ruben Payan

In addition to climbing seven of the world’s eight highest mountains, Ruben owns an award-winning fitness studio in Beijing, HUMAN IN MOTION, named China’s best by Men’s Health magazine in 2013. Ruben is also a motivational speaker and regularly travels around the world to address audiences as a successful mountaineer, functional training expert and fitness industry innovator. In the spring of 2018 he took on the deadliest and most technically difficult mountain in the world, K2. While he was not able to summit, he plans to conquer the mountain in the near future to complete his mountaineering journey.

NEXT LEVEL ATHLETES

2022
Luke Moeller — University of Arizona — baseball

Riley Valentine — Texas A&M University — softball

Ilana Weiss — University of Rochester — softball

Tommy LaPorte — Chandler-Gilbert Community College — baseball

Chase Valentine — University of Tennessee — baseball

Andrew Carroll — University of Arizona — baseball

Colin Christensen — Antelope Valley College — baseball

Gavin Smith — University of Arizona — football

Trey Newman — Arizona State University — baseball

Jon Enright — Chandler-Gilbert Community College — baseball

Kiilu Davis — Florida A&M University — baseball

CJ Eastwood — Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology — football

Sachin Hill -- Friends University -- baseball

Daniel Osborn — Salem University — baseball

Brandon Nacario — Grinnell College — basketball

Collin Riff — Chandler-Gilbert Community College — baseball

2021
Wes Kath — Chicago White Sox (2nd Round) -- baseball

Anthony Franklin — Stanford University — football

Brett Picus — Illinois Institute of Technology — baseball

Sabrina Ibsen — Park University — softball

Cayden Collins — Yavapai College — baseball

Mitch Moralez — Utah Valley University — baseball

Ryan Campos — Arizona State University — baseball

James Jaquint — University of San Diego — football

John Lauinger — Oakland University — baseball

Rogan Freeburg — Eastern New Mexico University — football

Damon Ingram — Bellevue College — baseball

Trace Laudenschlager — University of Mary Harden-Baylor - Baseball

Peyton McGregor — Oakland University — baseball

Tyler Farrell — Waldorf University — baseball

Kadden Drew — Paradise Valley CC — baseball

Chase Valentine — Central Arizona College— baseball

Jake Alwine — Paradise Valley CC — baseball

Dayton Francis — Paradise Valley CC — baseball

Isaiah Harris Jr — Nebraska Wesleyan University — football

Morgan Kubicki — Kent State University — lacrosse

Luke Newman — Glendale CC — baseball

Tyler Dorsch — Concordia University Chicago — Baseball

Christian Kirkman — Arizona Christian University — football

Maguire Peterson — University of Kansas — baseball

Tyler Krater — Concordia University Chicago — baseball

Elijah Eynon — Glendale CC — baseball

Garrison Pregulman — Los Angeles Pierce College -- baseball

Michael Riley — Mesa CC — baseball

2020
Griffen Chewning — South Mountain CC — Baseball

Dylan Fesperman — South Mountain CC — Baseball

Jaylan Jeffers — University of Oregon — Football

Spencer Roy — Army (West Point) — Football

Connor Butt — Army (West Point) — Football

Adam Verbalaitis — Northern Arizona University — Football

Sienna Duffill — Rollins College — Lacrosse

Dallas Odle — Cal State University Bakersfield — Soccer

Brock Locnikar — Harvard University — Football

Max Kendall — Utah Valley University — Baseball

Peyton McGregor — College of Southern Nevada — Baseball

Nicholas Fratantoni — Ottawa University — Baseball

Mason Francis — El Paso CC — Baseball

Jake Farrell — University of Hawaii — Football

Austin Pickowicz — Paradise Valley CC — Baseball

Caden Hoffman — Concordia University @ St. Paul — Basketball

Shane Sunday — Army (West Point) — Football

Calvin Schapira — Purdue University — Baseball

Matt Leonard — Lake Forest College — Football

Amayah Kirkman — Azusa Pacific University — Basketball

Greg Bozinovich — Gateway CC — Baseball

Nolan McLane — Gonzaga University — Baseball

2019
Jake Smith — University of Texas — Football

Clay Randall — Air Force University — Football/Baseball

Adam Campbell — Simpson College — Football

Paul Marsillo — Pepperdine University — Baseball

Mason Johnson — Emory University — Basketball

Nolan Brooks — University of Evansville — Baseball

Jacob Griffin — Ottawa University — Baseball

Trey Newman — Utah Valley University — Baseball

Chris Duran — Ottawa University — Football

Patrick Donovan — Chandler Gilbert CC — Baseball

Carter McCarthy — Stony Brook University — Football

Kj Jarrell — Arizona State University — Football

Stone Matthews — Lake Forest College — Football

Tyler Mead — Utah Valley University — Baseball

Dylan Fesperman — Scottsdale CC — Baseball

KC GRIPZ TEAM

TWO FRIENDS, ONE BALLZZZY VISION

About Mike Santini

About Ruben Payan

NEXT LEVEL ATHLETES​

NEXT LEVEL ATHLETES