Gary Salmirs graduated from The State University of New York at Oswego with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Today, Salmirs has serves as founder and CEO of Ironwill Foundation, a nonprofit that focuses on equipping families in low-income areas with the knowledge they need in order to lead healthy lives through its Wellness Program. Salmirs began the Wellness Program in recognition of the fact that healthy living is often geared towards those who can afford to join the gym and buy higher-priced nutritional foods.

Salmirs’ Ironwill Foundation offers a six-week course that educates participants through hands-on cooking classes. The program’s leaders also discuss food science, how to buy healthy food on a budget, female health issues, and nutritional meals that are quick to make. Gary Salmirs also started the program as a result of his own journey to lose weight. After a trip to the hospital that revealed he might lose his spleen because of a blood clot in his liver, Salmirs realized he needed to make some changes to his lifestyle. He met with a nutritionist, and together they developed a nutritional plan as well as an exercise plan that incorporated running.

Gary Salmirs began to partake in races, starting with a 5k run and working his way up to marathons and Ironman triathlons. The Ironwill Foundation raises money for causes and groups such the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation. Salmirs himself participated in a six-hour-spin-a-thon that raised $72,000 for the foundation.