About Us

    The name of the gym carries TONS of weight. First, some backstory...

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    Brannon Shaw (July 9th, 1990 - August 7th, 2021) was my brother. He lost his life in a lake located near Nashville, Ga at the age of 31 two days after my 25th birthday. Brannon was an absolute fitness freak. I remember being this young unathletic kid and always watching my brother accomplish these amazing feats of athleticism.

 

    Things eventually began to change as we grew older and I started taking my fitness a little more seriously in high school. We were both enrolled in martial arts as kids but, it was around this point that our focuses split, and while Brannon decided to leave the world of combat sports in pursuit of bodybuilding, I dove in headfirst and became more involved than ever before.

 

    My relationship with my brother was great and he was definitely a huge inspiration in my journey. He was my biggest critic and my most loving supporter. I spent most of his later years trying to get him back in martial arts again but part of me thinks that he didn't like the fact that his little brother (both in age and physicality) could beat him up! The other part of me thinks he knew that we each had our own respective callings in the athletic world...

 

    with all that being said, I'm sort of leaving you with the short version of the story, but that's where I get the name. LEGACY 31. It represents not just the legacy I want to make for myself, but also the one my brother didn't get to complete.

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There is also a little more to this story... Before we were LEGACY 31, we were White Tiger Martial Arts Academy.

 

    I bought the gym from Mike Mason in 2023. So, that's another piece. Mike ran WTMA for 20 years and he's the one that started this legacy. He is my original coach, and will always be my second dad. I am eternally grateful to him, his teachings, and the mentorship that he still gives me to this day. <3