The owners
We aren’t your average gym owners. We are all athletes, dedicated to our own craft in one way or another, which we believe is a distinguishing factor in many ways.
Every part of building The Republic was built from a members eyes. The vision of The Republic was born from the knowledge base of which machines/products are good, which work great, and which do not … because we use them everyday ourselves. We know where things should be, and how they should be organized … because we have trained in places where they weren’t.
When you come to The Republic and hear people lifting weights, using machines, and hanging out with friends … it won’t just be from the members, its from us, the owners, as well. We believe that simple fact can make all the difference in your experience.
Tyler Williamson
Founder/CEO
Tyler Williamson is the Founder/CEO of Texas Iron Republic and TW Strength and Performance. With over 10 years experience in the fitness industry, he holds the current USPA National Squat Record and the World Record in the IPL. He’s passionate about strength, bodybuilding, and sports performance. Tyler is a graduate of The University of Texas at San Antonio with a degree in Kinesiology specializing in Exercise Science. While attending UTSA he was a 7 time Conference Champion and All American Track athlete specializing in long jump and sprints. After college, he spent 2 years training athletes at all levels, including college and professional as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). He then spent 4 years learning the art of competitive bodybuilding, where he won the light heavyweight division at the Labrada Classic. Finally, he moved into strongman/powerlifting, where his debut performance landed him the state record squat of 689 pounds at 220 pounds bodyweight. Tyler’s passion for all genres of fitness and frustration with corporate gyms lead him to build a gym that caters to like-minded individuals at the Texas Iron Republic. He’s made it a point for the gym to reflect all the things he loves about fitness and hand-selected every piece of equipment.
In his free time, if he’s not spending time with his wife and toddler you will find him out on lake Conroe or the gulf fishing and as he calls it, “practicing his patience”.
Cayla Williamson
Co-Founder
Cayla Williamson is a certified personal trainer and co-owner of TW Strength and Performance. Her love for the fitness industry is deep-rooted, as she grew up playing sports and accepted a full tennis scholarship to Midwestern State University. She later transferred to the University of Texas at Arlington where she completed her Bachelors of Business Administration in Management.
In 2015 she moved to The Woodlands, Texas where she met her husband Tyler Williamson and rekindled her love of fitness. The two connected over a shared passion for helping others, and have worked the last seven years building their dream gym, while guiding their clients to reach their own fitness goals. Throughout the years, Cayla has learned so much from Tyler and couldn’t be more thankful for his mentorship along the way.
In her spare time she loves enjoying the outdoors with her toddler, husband, and their two dogs.
Cayla is looking forward to meeting all the members of Texas Iron republic and bringing the community together to help make them stronger in every possible way!
Christopher Matos
Co-Founder
Chris is a US Navy Veteran, Former Houston Police Officer, Strongman Competitor, and Co-Owner of Matos Realty.
Chris has been involved in fitness his entire life, from sports in high school to required PT in the military, it has always been around.
In 2019 Chris started training Strongman heavily to help with his duties as a police officer. From there it quickly became a passion of his and he competed in over 10 shows in 2.5 years, taking 1st place in 6 of them. After an injury on duty, he moved on to work at the family real estate brokerage.
Chris trains other strongmen and women, along with general fitness clients at The Republic.
There is nothing that Chris has not attempted to dip his hand into, and you will often find him walking around the gym, talking to random people, and completely forgetting about what he was originally doing.
So, if you need help learning to lift a log, finding a new home or business, planning a competition, changing a flat tire, or simply picking up the car and moving it … Chris is your guy.
Chris is also married to his high school sweetheart from The Woodlands College Park High School, and they share 3 beautiful children together.