About Us

LEGACY was created to help kids become confident, disciplined, and self-motivated achievers — not someday, but starting now. Through our simple daily app, students build powerful life skills and positive habits, complete short missions that develop character, and earn meaningful rewards along the way. What began in a martial arts school is now a growing movement of families and coaches using LEGACY to teach the most important skills in life: consistency, responsibility, and follow-through. It’s not just about checking boxes — it’s about building momentum that lasts a lifetime.

20+ Years of leadership Training

Legacy was founded by a martial artist, instructor and school owner - Gary Engels
Here is the Story...

2003

Master Shane tassoul hired Gary Engels at Champions martial Arts in Appleton, WI

At 20 yrs old, Gary was curious about getting involved in the business of martial arts after training since he was 5 yrs old in Karate and Taekwondo as a teenager.

2005

Started Leadership Academy

At 22, Gary started his school Leadership Academy in Woodruff, WI and began the Ultimate Black Belt Test with Master Tom Callos. This time shaped the foundation of Legacy. 

2007

50,000 Pushups in a year

The Ultimate Black Belt Test required participants to complete a long list of requirements including 52,000 pushups in a year, 52,000 situps in a year, 1000 acts of kindness, run 1000 miles, ...etc. and many more. To complete 52,000 pushups in a year required 150 a day or 50 in the morning, 50 mid day, and 50 at night. EVERY DAY. This taught the power of consistency, discipline and how little things add up to be big things

2010

Out of the Dojo Award

For completing 140 community service projects and recording them on a website Gary designed called PROJABI, Tom Callos awarded him with the first "Out of the Dojo and Into the World" Award.

2013

TEDx Talk in Reno NV

Gary was asked to speak on Project Based Leadership Training at a Tedx event. This was an idea that was sparked from the UBBT and turned into thousands of community projects completed around the world. This ACTION based philosophy is part of the foundation of LEGACY. 

2021

the Power of a Streak

Gary's daughter Ree, started a streak on a popular app to learn spanish. She built a streak of 184 days and then lost it. She was devastated. She decided to rebuild it the power of that decision sparked something that would turn into LEGACY. She not only beat her streak, hitting 185 days and feeling the confidence and discipline and grit, but then hit 500, then 1000, and to date she's over 1700 and growing! The power of a STREAK build's a positive identity and a powerful growth mindset. 

2025

Legacy is Launched

After 4 years of building, testing, tweaking, and investing time, money, and energy into building an App, LEGACY was launched. It was built on a foundation of Daily, consistent actions, powerful experiences, and thousands of kids taking powerful actions to become Remarkable Young Leaders. LEGACY is the simply the next step on this journey, and it's a BIG ONE. 
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Build Stronger Families, One Mission at a Time with the LEGACY App!

At LEGACY, our mission is to inspire and empower families to grow together through meaningful challenges and activities.

The LEGACY App provides a dynamic platform for kids and parents to complete daily micro-missions that foster leadership, resilience, and positive habits. With engaging features like mission coins, rewards, and progress tracking, the app transforms everyday actions into opportunities for growth.

Whether it’s acts of kindness or fun physical challenges, LEGACY is designed to make personal development exciting and accessible for families everywhere. Join us and start building your legacy today!

We never stop creating new ways to empower and inspire young leaders to achieve greatness.

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Meet The Founder

Gary Engels

Gary founded LEGACY after giving a TEDx talk on Project Based Leadership Training in Reno, NV in 2013. This idea has sparked thousands of community/leadership projects around the world. He is a Royce Gracie Jiu Jitsu Black Belt and 4th Degree Black Belt in Taekwondo under Master Tom Callos and trained for years under Master Shane Tassoul. Founding Leadership Academy in 2005, using the martial arts as a vehicle to teach Leadership Skills. He founded LEGACY as an extension of this training to make an impact in the world through action and results in communities everywhere.

W/Shane Tassoul

W/Royce Gracie

w/Tom Callos

"Our program is designed to give young people the skills, confidence, and motivation they need to achieve their goals and make a positive impact in the world."

Gary Engels - Founder of LEGACY

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