As the Northwest’s premier center for health and wellness, PRO Club is much more than a gym. It is a resort-style destination dedicated to your whole health, with the region’s most expansive offerings of fitness, luxury, and family fun. Owner Dr. Mark Dedomenico has always been at the forefront of breakthroughs in health and longevity. As a renowned cardiovascular surgeon, he expanded his commitment to helping people reclaim their health and transform their lives when he opened the doors to PRO (formerly PRO Sports Club and home to the city's NBA team, the Seattle Supersonics) in 1973.
Because health is our focus, you will find PRO pristine. With facilities that span nearly a square mile – and the region’s most experienced medical and wellness professionals – our mission is to provide everything you need to live your best life every day. State of the art fitness. An award-winning spa, medical spa and salon. Unrivaled amenities. And now PRO Medical — an expansive space offering a complete suite of medical and wellness services, including the world’s most successful weight loss program, hormone balancing for optimal aging, sports medicine, genetic science and more.
Dick Knight served as the Captain of the University of Washington Huskies Men’s Tennis team for three years and was selected to the All American team in 1970. He was inducted to the Husky Hall of Fame in 1985. As a professional tennis player, he was ranked in the top 60 in the U.S. for five years and ranked number one in the Pacific Northwest for four years. His career highlights include playing at Wimbledon and at the U.S. Open, where he lost to Arthur Ashe, the eventual tournament champion.
After obtaining a degree in Economics at the University of Washington and attending law school at the University of Oregon, in 1973 he became the head tennis professional when PRO (then known as the SuperSonics Racquet Club)opened its six tennis courts. In 1983, Dick Knight and Dr. Mark Dedomenico founded Professional Recreation Organization, Inc. to purchase the SuperSonics Racquet Club and transform the facilities into PRO. He has served as the President of PRO since then.
“What keeps me here (and why I haven’t retired yet) is that we’re affecting peoples’ lives in such a positive way. We essentially have a city of people and I come to work every day just thinking how can I make somebody’s life better today. That’s very rewarding.”
DR. MARK DEDOMENICO - OWNER
Dr. Mark Dedomenico, a former cardiovascular surgeon, played a key role in developing the procedure known as Coronary Bypass Surgery along with Dr. Lester Sauvage. Working together as two of the initial founders of the Hope Heart Institute, they also created some of the most significant developments in heart surgery. These included the creation of artificial heart valves and Bionit arterial grafts used to replace damaged or atherosclerotic arteries. Dr. Dedomenico’s work has also taken him into the areas of genetics, nutrition, exercise physiology, and behavior modification.
In 1992, Dr. Dedomenico began a new research project devoted to the treatment of early stage metabolic disease to prevent individuals from later needing cardiovascular surgery or medications to control hypertension, high cholesterol and diabetes. The research led to the creation of the 20/20 LifeStyles program. In 2002, 20/20 LifeStyles was selected as a credentialed provider of Microsoft’s weight-management program.
Dr. Dedomenico’s research and work with 20/20 LifeStyles remains ongoing and prevalent. He has formulated successful long term treatment methods of obesity, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, depression, fibromyalgia, binge eating disorders and arthritis. Additionally, Dr. Dedomenico is currently involved in a major osteoarthritis research project in conjunction with Colorado State University. He is devising new methods to control, prevent and stop the disorder.
In addition to his experience as a practicing surgeon, Dr. Dedomenico spent many years overseeing one of the country’s largest and most respected privately-held companies, Golden Grain Macaroni Company, the producer of many well-loved consumer products, including Rice-a-Roni, Mission and Golden Grain pasta, Ghirardelli chocolates, and Vernell candies.