Barbara Ellen Mawn, RN, PhD
February 4, 2026
In December of 2024, my dearest friend and lifelong soulmate was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Similar to the story of many with this illness, it took several years to pinpoint the diagnosis after a myriad of symptoms and evaluations. By March, 2025 my friend JoAnne was referred to a Parkinson’s Disease specific fitness club, the largest wellness and fitness center in the world for people with Parkinson’s and other physical and neurological disabilities. I told her I was going to be with her through this new unwanted journey that she was facing.
One day in April, 2025, JoAnne invited me to observe the workout at this fitness club that she said was giving her hope and renewed energy. The program is called 110 Fitness. It was founded by Brett Miller, a physical therapist and former army medic. He founded it originally in Marshfield MA in 2018; as it got more popular, he moved it to a larger gym site in Rockland, MA.
As a former army medic, Brett served during the Bosnian crisis and other special operations where he witnessed many unspeakable horrors. He has twenty-six years’ experience as a physical therapist with training in strength and conditioning, sports therapy, boxing, spinning and rowing. He has worked with Olympic athletes and persons with all types of disabilities. He is very open about his struggles with depression, PTSD, alcoholism and suicide ideations after his return from Army service. Indeed, he published a very personal memoir describing his journey.
In his memoir, Brett described his journey to sobriety, returning to work as physical therapist and eventually dedicating himself to developing the most comprehensive, holistic fitness training program primarily for persons with Parkinson’s disease as well as other neurological disabilities. That choice was somewhat serendipitous.
In 2015, Sixty Minutes presented a piece on Parkinson’s Disease and the amazing impact that boxing seemed to be having in helping people maximize their strength and fitness. Brett had not seen the segment but four people he knew that had family members afflicted with it had watched it. They knew Brett had trained professional world champion fighters; they asked him if he could work with their loved ones. And so, the suggestion turned into a reality on a large scale three years later. Brett has partnered with Michael J. Fox and has personally generated enormous support for Parkinson’s disease research on a national level.
The accomplishments that Brett has achieved speak for themselves. What is more difficult to put into words is the enthusiasm that he and his colleague Anna Dunbar demonstrate on a daily basis with over 200 clients at the fitness club….every single day, six days a week. One example of the many extracurricular activities that Brett and his fantastic trainer colleague, Anna Dunbar, have supported for several years is the Spartan Obstacle Race Course held most recently in Fenway Park on November 9, 2025. They trained and supported eight of their clients with Parkinson’s disease to achieve the feat of competing in this challenging race.
I now volunteer one day per week as a “cornerman” to spot two classes of “fighters” as they call them during their exercise programs. Brett and Anna bring joy, laughter and encouragement to every single one of them – they know their names, personal history and disease status. The impact of this program is immeasurable but the positive energy, love and support are plainly visible to the fighters, their families and volunteers who witness the dedication of these two heroes among us.
