When Emerson Kilgore was a standout athlete at Pilgrim High School in the 90s  he never had a strength and conditioning coach. Rather, coaches told him and his teammates to work out. 

“Ultimately it was up to us,” said Kilgore. 

Now for the last two years Kilgore has been helping local athletes as well as adults with their physical fitness after opening 401 Strength & Fitness on Warwick Ave. 

Following his time at Pilgrim, Kilgore earned an athletic scholarship for football at Syracuse where he played for four years. After graduating in 2000 he got a coaching job at Canisius College. He has been helping athletes as a coach and trainer ever since. 

Following his tenure at Canisius he returned back to Rhode Island. When Geoff Marcone, the Head Coach for LaSalle learned Kilgore was back in town he asked him to join the coaching staff. Kilgore happily agreed. While Marcone and Kilgore went to Pilgrim together they never played on the same team because Kilgore was on the freshman team when Marcone was a senior. 

From there Kilgore would go on to coach at various high schools, and at different camps. He also spent time playing in the Arena Football League. 

Before the pandemic Kilgore was working at 1 Fitness, which is located, where his gym is now. When the pandemic began he said that a lot of people called it quits on gyms due to the uncertainty of what was happening.

It meant that 1 Fitness ultimately had to close its doors. 

In October 2020 Kilgore decided to create his own gym. 

“I saw this opportunity and talked it over…and it came to fruition. It was something I always wanted to do.” said Kilgore. 

In addition to working with youth and student athletes, Kilgore said that they also have adult fitness classes as well. 

“I basically work with everyone,” said Kilgore, who said that he created the gym so people can come in and workout, have fun, and meet their fitness goals. 

As a Division 1 Athlete in the 90s Kilgore saw the lack of athletes from Rhode Island that got to play college football on scholarship. He said when he played he was one of three people from Rhode Island on a D1 scholarship. 

But Kilgore said that it wasn’t because of the lack of talent out of the Ocean State; instead it was because athletes from Rhode Island were overlooked. 

“It was always unfortunate that I had to have those conversations,” said Kilgore. 

As a coach Kilgore has made it a point to help athletes get to the next level. He said that Rhode Island is starting to turn the corner with getting the respect it deserves when it comes to sports but said that more needs to be done. 

Overall Kilgore feels that he is a mentor for the athletes that he encounters. 

“I think through my hardships and what I dealt with and the things I had to go through, these kids and athletes in Rhode Island can actually benefit from that and that's why this gym is here,” said Kilgore. 

Down the road Kilgore said he hopes to grow the facility and have more to offer but for now he is excited for what is ahead.

“I’m excited about the future here, it's been a pretty good ride so far and I’m looking forward to the future to see what it involves,” said Kilgore.