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Vellon knew he wanted to become a Navy pilot after seeing Top Gun at age nine. Rather than dismissing the dream, his father helped turn it into a plan: earn good grades, play sports, serve the community, and aim for the U.S. Naval Academy. Vellon graduated from the Naval Academy in 1998 and headed to flight school. He flew both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters, though rotary-wing missions became his primary domain. Following 9/11, he deployed in support of operations in Afghanistan. Years later, Vellon was piloting a Nighthawk helicopter in support of the USS Carl Vinson strike group during the operation that killed Osama bin Laden. "I think of those deployments as the operational bookends of my flying career," Vellon says. But two decades of flying helicopters came at a cost. Years of vibration and physical strain left him with chronic neck, shoulder, and back pain. He compares it to the cumulative damage endured by football players or boxers — not one catastrophic injury, but countless smaller ones. By the time he retired in 2018 after 20 years of service, he was hurting badly. e turning point came when his wife, Yolon, urged him to seek treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs. Physical therapy helped, but Burn Boot Camp in Poway, where Yolon was already training, became central to that recovery. It was a place where Vellon felt welcomed and encouraged. "It wasn't just a gym," he says. "It was a community." at renewal carried especially high stakes because Vellon and his wife are parents to a 16-year-old son who was born at just 25 weeks and has cerebral palsy. Caring for him requires strength, balance, and endurance. "I realized that taking care of my own body wasn't optional. It was part of taking care of my son," Vellon says. Today, Burn Boot Camp has more than 400 locations nationwide, built around what Vellon calls the 3 Cs — commitment, challenge, and community. "When the opportunity came up for Yolon and me to start a new Burn Boot Camp in Sorrento Valley, I saw it as a way to weave together the major threads of my life — leadership, family, recovery, and service." e first thing that appeals to Vellon about the Burn Boot Camp model is the 45-minute workouts built around high- intensity interval training and strength conditioning. e focus of the workouts changes daily so the body can recover while maintaining consistency — a format that attracts everyone from busy professionals to parents and student-athletes. But just as important to Vellon is the culture — what happens beyond the workout floor. Burn's complimentary Childwatch program was a lifeline for his own family, and he plans to make it a cornerstone of the Sorrento Valley gym, especially for families raising children with special needs. "I want them to know they belong the way my son and my family belonged," he says. "e kids can look through the window and see their parents working out, investing in their health." In a fitness industry that can sometimes feel intimidating or exclusive, Vellon hopes to build something more welcoming. His younger son, Reuben, 13, is already contributing by donating books to create a children's library at the gym — a small gesture that reflects the family's shared commitment to service. Vellon speaks with particular admiration for his wife, whose own strength helped carry the family through his years of deployments. He also describes his older son, David, not by his challenges, but his joy, love of sports and music, and his habit of greeting everyone with a hug or high five. Together, the Vellons are building more than a gym. ey are creating a place where people can find community and grow stronger. Burn Boot Camp Sorrento Valley will host popup workouts throughout August at the Ocean Air Recreation Center in Torrey Hills, before its official opening in September. locations.burnbootcamp.com/locations/sorrento-valley-ca Focus military COURTESY PHOTO << The Vellon family: Reuben, David, Yolon, and Jeremy ranchandcoast.com 58 AUGUST 2026 RANCH & COAST MAGAZINE