Pioneered Athlete Performance was founded by Jon Malvern, a UK-Based Performance Coach with qualifications in exercise physiology, strength & conditioning and
soft tissue therapy.

“For as long as I can remember I have been surrounded by motorsport. At the age of 6 I was fortunate enough to start karting at a small track in Kent.

From that moment on I have been directly involved in motorsport ranging from national club racing to international events. I count myself extremely lucky to have had the privilege of competing and it offered me the opportunity to start working at the track from an early age.”

Early History

Jon’s keen interest in physiology was sparked by him successfully overcoming adolescent obesity: every time he achieved a weight loss and ‘fitness milestone’ it deepend his desire to wanted to learn how to achieve the next one faster.

This lead to an obsessive enthusiasm to learn more about physiology. Over the course of three years Jon’s obsession to learn and improve helped transform him from a morbidly obese teenager into captain of his college rowing team.

This motivation for learning continued at university with the aim of helping others improve their health and performance.

During his university years Jon was fortunate enough to create opportunities working with a range of non-professional and professional athletes outside of motorsport while also building experience within motorsport.

Jon set about gaining experience with established ‘human performance’ companies working in motorsport and started his own small business, delivering training sessions to racing drivers ranging from childhood hobby kart racers to young adult drivers.

“The experience I gained from working in these different disciplines was invaluable and made me aware of the fact there was not the same level of understanding or professionalism on the
preparation of motorsport athletes as there was in other professional sports.

“Going into my final year of my degree, my passion for the sport and my determination to improve the understanding of the demands placed upon racing drivers, lead me to form Pioneered Athlete Performance.”  

The aim was clear: to use Pioneered Athlete Performance as a platform to;

  • Improve the standard of training and preparation for motorsport athletes,

  • Create a culture that attracts the best practitioners with shared ethos and, ultimately,

  • Build a better, scientifically-based foundation for those involved with training motorsport athletes.

Next Steps

Given Jon’s relative inexperience in the field, he needed to secure a commitment from a driver to go on a mutually beneficial journey together.  This would provide the
stability and foundation to develop the vision for PAP.

Jon found this commitment from a young driver named Lando Norris, his father Adam and his manager Mark Berryman.  And in 2013 the journey began….

PAP has grown steadily and carefully over the last decade.

It now encompasses a truly interdisciplinary team of on-the ground practitioners and highly skilled academics and researchers.  PAP has helped athletes progress into all of the major categories of motorsport and prides itself on having long term and lasting relationships with athletes, drivers, raceteams and wider organisations.