We finally have the tech to build Iron Mentor — and I’m the Iron Nerd who built it.
A Note From the Creator of Iron Mentor
I picked up my first weight at 13 because I wanted to play football and I wanted to look like Arnold.
That was 38 years ago.
Since then, I’ve been the guy with Arnold’s Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding falling apart on the nightstand, buying Muscle & Fitness and Flex every month, geeking out on every new idea in hypertrophy. A lot has changed since the 80s, and a lot hasn’t. The research is better now, but still messy. There’s no single “perfect” way to grow.
What I’ve learned — from the science and from four decades under the bar — is this:
Everything works. Nothing works forever.
The golden-age bodybuilders clearly found what worked for them. Genetics matter, but eight Mr. Olympia titles don’t happen by accident. At the same time, what works brilliantly for one lifter can be a dead end for another.
So my philosophy is simple:
- Use the best current evidence (like higher-frequency training for key muscle groups).
- Stick with good lifts long enough to groove the neural pathways.
- Then inject novelty and new methods at the right time to force new adaptation and keep training interesting.
Iron Mentor is my attempt to bottle that philosophy.
Professionally, I’ve been a UX/UI designer and product architect since the web went graphical in the mid-90s. Most of my career has been in fintech — complex systems, serious stakes, good money… but not my passion.
My passion has always been bodybuilding and, lately, AI: it’s ignited the imagination of the sci-fi geek in me.
When AI finally made it possible to create convincing virtual personas, I started asking a question:
“What would the ultimate personal training experience look like if I could design it from scratch?”
I kept seeing people in gyms being “trained” in awkward silence between sets by coaches who had no real shtick, no real framework, and not much to say. I imagined the opposite: a coach that…
- Prescribes the right set volume and frequency for your goals
- Adjusts load and reps on the fly based on your performance
- Uses every rest period to explain why you’re doing what you’re doing and how your muscles actually grow
- Knows when to push you harder and when to back you off
- Reminds you why you started on the days you want to quit
- Engages you and entertains you: makes workouts fun.
In other words: a coach that doesn’t just train you, but mentors you — until you can think like a bodybuilding coach yourself.
That’s the idea Iron Mentor is built on.
I’ve designed every flow, every screen, every graphic. I’ve produced the code myself (for better or worse). I’ve designed the algorithms based on what I know lifters actually need, because I am that lifter. This isn’t a committee product or a team of hired guns chasing a paycheck.
It’s a work of love.
To be honest: this is not yet the ultimate personal training experience: it’s version one.
But it will be. That’s the mission.
This is the point where my experience in design, my obsession with hypertrophy, and my fascination with AI all intersect. Iron Mentor is my life’s work — and my goal is simple:
To give you the smartest, most engaging, most effective training partner possible, so that you can build the physique of your dreams in the shortest timeframe.
— Doug