John Newbury grew up in the Central Valley of CA in a cotton and barley farming family. His childhood consisted of football, soccer and baseball yet all sports took a back seat to racing BMX across the country from 8 years old until leaving for college. During college, while playing soccer and football, John developed a love for helping people change their body composition and overall wellness which inspired a career in the Health and Wellness industry. He worked for national brands like 24 Hour Fitness (CA) and Fitness Connection (NC). Starting as a Personal Trainer, he quickly progressed into positions of organizational leadership, ultimately becoming the Regional President of Fitness Connection in North Carolina.
In 2018 John made a significant career and industry change, co-founding the mobile marketplace app Gopher. John was initially responsible for creating the Gopher’s business plan, app’s wireframes, user flow architecture, features and functionality, new user acquisition and existing user experience. Simultaneously, John researched and personally engaged in freelance and independent contractor work with-in relevant service-based marketplaces to further understand what was broken in the industry and how Gopher could fix it. In 2021, he became Gopher’s CEO and spearheaded a capital raise to catapult Gopher’s exposure, operational support and growth strategy. Today Gopher is now fully active in the North Carolina Triangle and now available in all 50 States.
On a personal level, John enjoys spending time with his blending family of 7 (and 2 mini Aussies). He has been a big NC State supporter since moving to North Carolina. He’s a die-hard 49er fan and his favorite hobby is Golf, the very place the Gopher idea was born.