About Jonny
Jonny Hinds is a Madison native, coach, business owner, inventor and lifelong problem-solver.
His path started early.
Jonny grew up around fitness, entrepreneurship and invention. His father, Bobby “Sugar” Hinds, founded Lifeline in 1973 after creating his now-famous beaded jump rope. Jonny grew up watching an idea become a product, a product become a business, and a business reach people around the world.
That influence stayed with him.
Jonny began coaching as a teenager and went on to work as a strength and conditioning coach with professional athletes, including players in the NBA, MLB and NFL. Over the years, he has trained athletes and performers including Tony Gonzalez, Penny Hardaway, Shawn Kemp, Jimmy Butler, Tony Robbins, Woody Harrelson and others.
But coaching was only one part of his work.
Jonny became an inventor himself, creating dozens of patented fitness products and training tools designed around a straightforward idea: make something that works, make it challenging, and don't make it more complicated than it needs to be.
His inventions include the Power Wheel, Jungle Gym, Power Push Up, Power Jumper and other training tools that have been used by athletes, coaches and everyday people around the world.
He later founded the Monkey Bar Gym in 1999, building a training system around functional movement, strength, alignment, nutrition and community rather than the machines-and-mirrors model that dominated traditional gyms. The model was simple: ‘No machines. No mirrors. No shoes.’
Jonny is a University of Wisconsin graduate and has held professional training credentials through organizations including the National Academy of Sports Medicine and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He is also a Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt and has competed successfully at the Pan American and international level.
Across all of it—coaching, business, competition and invention—the approach has remained remarkably consistent:
Understand the problem. Strip away what isn't necessary. Build something that works. Measure the result. Keep improving.
And hold yourself accountable along the way.
For Jonny, the work has never simply been about making people stronger.
It has been about helping people recognize what they're capable of—and creating the systems, tools and support that help them get there.
Today, he wants to bring that same approach to the city where his story began.
