COACHING STAFf
ryan LUKACH
Ryan Lukach is the Owner and Founder of River North Strength, and manages all day to day operations as well as Strength Coach duties.
Before starting RNS in Richmond, VA back in 2018, Ryan was a coach for nearly three years at Strive Village, a private strength and conditioning facility in Chicago founded by his former collegiate strength coach. There, Ryan worked with a wide-range of clientele including former athletes, business executives and busy moms.
After his time in Chicago, Ryan and his wife Christy moved east to Richmond, VA in to live near family & open River North Strength. At that time, Ryan handled all semi-private and personal training sessions, new client consultations, and nutrition coaching.
In the winter of 2020, Ryan and his wife relocated to the Saint Louis area and opened the newest (and now only) RNS location in Kirkwood, MO in October 2020. The Richmond location was purchased in 2022 by two top-notch RNS employees and now operates as "804 Strength".
Ryan had played five years of NCAA Division I Baseball at the University of Hartford where he was a captain for four years. Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Hartford and a CPT from NSCA. He is also a Nutrition Coaching Specialist certified by NCI.
Ryan Skiera is the Director of Training at River North Strength, overseeing all training and programming for the facility as well as Strength Coach duties.
Before joining RNS in June of 2022, Ryan was most recently a graduate student and strength
and conditioning coach at Lindenwood University. There, Ryan had the chance to work with a variety of university sports programs. In January of 2022, Ryan was tasked with overseeing the programming and coaching of Lindenwood’s Men’s Ice Hockey, Women’s Wrestling, Men’s and Women’s Swim, and assisting with their Football program. He graduated with an MS in Health Science from LU in May of 2022.
In the summer of 2021, Ryan was an intern for the Football Strength & Conditioning Program
with the University of Iowa. Prior to his time at Lindenwood, Ryan played 4 years of college
football at Benedictine University, just outside of Chicago, IL. He graduated with a BA in
Exercise and Sports Studies in the spring of 2020.
ryan skiera
Riley Ripper is a Strength Coach at River North Strength.
Prior to joining RNS in July of 2023, Riley graduated from Lindenwood University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Physical Education and a minor in Strength and Conditioning. He is currently pursuing his masters in Kinesiology and Physical Education of Coaching at SIUE.
During his time at Lindenwood, he played 3 years of football. Prior to his time at Lindenwood, he played football at both Minnesota State and Lindenwood Belleville. Most recently, Riley was a Strength and Conditioning coach at D1 Training and currently works with youth athletes at Roxana High School in both the high school and junior high programs.
riley ripper
McKayla Siemiller is a Strength Coach at River North Strength.
Before joining RNS in August 2023, McKayla graduated from Lindenwood University with a Bachelor's Degree in Exercise Science and is working towards her Masters in Health Sciences.
Prior to Lindenwood, she attended Barton Community College in Kansas for two years. McKayla competed on the Barton women's swim team for two seasons, where she became the first individual National Champion in school history. McKayla then transferred to Lindenwood to compete on their Women's Swim and Dive team for three seasons.
After graduating, McKayla spent the summer of 2023 interning in the strength and conditioning department with the Lindenwood Football team where she assisted in coaching the athletes through their lifts and runs.