The Mission: Iron Mind V1.0
Iron Mind is more than just a workout; it’s a study in habit formation and health equity.
We founded the Iron Mind Initiative to investigate a gap in public health: how to make physical activity truly accessible to students regardless of their socioeconomic status. Most programs fail because they don't account for the real constraints adolescents face—busy schedules, social anxiety, and a lack of exercise knowledge.
The Iron Mind Method
We deliver a standardized micro-dose strength routine designed to be:
Efficient: 5 minutes, twice a week.
Barrier-Free: No equipment required and flexible location options.
Accessible: Delivered via a curriculum aimed at mitigating the traditional barriers to PE.
What We Are Measuring
Our current research (V1.0) focuses on student adherence at the 2-week and 4-week marks. We are specifically looking to see if our design successfully "buffers" common constraints like:
Limited time and space.
High stress or privacy instability.
Socioeconomic barriers that typically lead to inactivity.
Our Interpretation
If our data shows that SES differences are minimal, we’ve found a model for health that is robust to socioeconomic context. If differences persist, we’ve identified the "residual barriers"—like energy and competing demands—that the next generation of science needs to solve.
meet The founders
Braxton Grace
Co-Founder | Braxton Grace is a B.S. Exercise and Sport Science student at UNC-CH, and a nationally competitive powerlifter. His path to leadership in the Iron Mind Initiative is rooted in firsthand experience; growing up in a Title I school context, Braxton saw how socioeconomic barriers can turn health into a luxury rather than a right. For him, collegiate sports weren’t just a passion, they were the essential bridge to higher education.
Now, Braxton bridges the gap between his health supplementation research and high school classrooms. As a Research Assistant with the Applied Physiology Lab at UNC, he manages physiological data collection following strict IRB protocols, and as an EMT-B Junior Instructor, he leads the training of ongoing cohorts in emergency medical procedures.
He co-developed Iron Mind to translate high-level exercise science into a "barrier-minimized" reality for students who face the same challenges he once did. With Eric, Braxton has already spearheaded pilot presentations for over 80 high school students. His mission is to prove that five minutes is all it takes to build a habit that can withstand any circumstance.
Eric Shan
Co-Founder | Eric is a Public Policy and Exercise and Sport Science student at UNC-CH who operates at the intersection of clinical excellence and community health. As a double National Bench Press record holder (U17/U19 USA Powerlifting American Records), Eric brings elite-level discipline to the mission of the Iron Mind Initiative.
His professional background is rooted in high-acuity healthcare and research. Eric serves as an Orthopedic Technician at a Level II Trauma Center, where he has completed over 450 clinical hours assisting in complex medical procedures. Additionally, as a Student Researcher at the UNC Orthopedics Hart Lab, he leads data-driven projects to streamline clinical decision-making and has co-authored systematic reviews on muscle recruitment.
Combining his experience as a Volunteer Firefighter and Certified Personal Trainer (NASM-CPT), Eric co-founded Iron Mind to translate complex health data into actionable habits for youth. He led the incorporation of the initiative as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and is currently structuring the intervention protocols for IRB submission to transition the program into a formal faculty-sponsored implementation study.
