Born and raised in Sarasota, Florida, John Gettle III is the epitome of a good ol’ “Florida boy.” He comes from a family of pool contractors, with his parents being in the pool business 30+ years. JG3 began working for his parents John Jr. and Jeanie, both building pools and remodeling them at the age of FIVE! His brother Scott Gettle is a pool contractor as well, and in 2006 built 350 pools in one year. It is safe to say construction and remodeling runs in John Gettle’s blood, and a good work ethic was instilled in him at a very young age.
In 2008, John owned a brick pavers and home renovation company. He worked with his partner, Dan Tripoli, doing complete home renovations, including remodeling, flooring and tile, brick pavers, pool decks, and pool remodeling.
In 2009, John decided to follow his dreams and pursue a career in mixed martial arts. Brazilian jiu-jitsu and MMA always came second nature to John, and his talents eventually landed him living full time in Las Vegas, Nevada. It was this year that he would sign to the major fighting organization “Tuf-N-Uff” alongside co-signed athlete Ronda Rousey. While living in Vegas, Gettle trained with “Team Suffer” under friend and professional UFC fighter, Frank Mir. Gettle’s amateur fight record remains undefeated. In 2010, Gettle was put in the spotlight and received national fame after his fight against William Kowalski Jr. At the end of the second round, while receiving blow after blow to the head, Gettle heard the 10-second signal. He eventually got his opponent in a key lock… But Kowalski decided tried to hold out and make it to the next round rather than tap out. It was then that Gettle snapped his opponent’s upper-arm, his humerus bone, in half. This fight has been played on a multitude of media platforms, including TV show Tosh.0 and sports site Bleacher Report, ranking #9 in the “15 of the Worst Broken Bones in MMA History.” Both the YouTube and Facebook videos of the arm snap have collectively garnered hundreds of thousands of views. This fight and subsequent arm break put John Gettle III in the express lane to internet fame and gave his fight career steady momentum. In 2012, Gettle prepared for his first pro fight. With both a torn meniscus and ACL in his knee, he refused to postpone or reschedule his fight against better judgment. This was Gettle’s first loss in a sanctioned MMA fight. Afterword, he would have surgery on both his knees and take time off from professional cage-fighting. In 2015, Gettle returned to the cage in Tampa, Florida, against Sean “Nightmare” Hollis and won by TKO. John Gettle III proudly held the title belt “Tuff-N-Uff Middleweight Champion.”
John eventually decided to go back to his roots and returned home to sunny Sarasota, Florida. After hanging up his cage-fighter title and belt, he looked for purpose in the form of a new career. Considering he already had a background in construction and remodeling, he decided to direct his efforts towards the real estate profession. Here, he figured, he could put his construction and design skills to use once again. After all, he had been buying and selling real estate since he was 19 years old. After passing the state exam, Gettle hung his license with Key Realty, and took a keen interest in purchasing properties at auction, bank-owned properties, foreclosures, and short sales. In addition to working with buyers, sellers and investors… Gettle and his co-realtor girlfriend Lana became business partners, and began purchasing properties at auction. They work their profession from several different avenues and approach the real estate market from every possible angle. John and Lana enjoy doing their research and purchasing properties at auction that is in fair condition, and can quickly be turned for a profit. But they enjoy a challenge just as much, and often take on sight-unseen properties that need to be gut-renovated. Lana says “Turning a trashed home into a treasure is one of the most fulfilling experiences to be a part of. It’s not easy being able to envision a property’s potential… But watching a dilapidated house in shambles transform into what looks like a brand-new model home makes our work so rewarding.” John wears many hats, and given his background in construction and remodeling, he is usually the one to find properties and see their potential. Lana brings the style, and breathes life into a formerly flatlined property with her design choices. You can follow the couple’s flipping magic on A&E and FYI channel’s original series “Flip Wars”.
Lana Tufo hails from the big apple, and everything about her aura and presence exuberates “city chic”. Growing up in Manhattan, she brings Park Avenue style to the sunny and suburban Sarasota. Although this native New Yorker is a city girl tried and true, she grew up living in a vast array of places, such as Dallas, TX, Miami, Fort Lauderdale and Orlando, FL, Greenwich, CT, Westchester, NY and San Diego, CA. Lana attributes living every lifestyle, from fast-paced city life to laid-back southern charm, to her ability to relate to all courses of life. She claims to draw inspiration from all different lifestyles into her style and design choices. Her parents were always actively interested in real estate- After all, her family has moved and lived in 30+ properties since she was little. While living in New York City, her parents would purchase condos, renovate or “flip” them, and sell them for a profit. This was in the early 2000’s before “flipping” became mainstream. Lana moved to Miami, Florida at age 17 to attend college at the quaint and private Barry University. Originally a Broadcast Communications major, after 2 years she picked up a second major, Biology, and decided she wanted to attend medical school. In 2009 after four years at university, she returned home to Manhattan where she tried her hand in different medical jobs, public relations firms, and even a law enforcement position. John and Lana met through a mutual friend in 2005, and ultimately reconnected years later in 2012. Lana made a trip to Florida to see John, and never left. The rest is history.
An invisible thread connects those who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place, and circumstance. The thread may stretch or tangle. But it will never break.” – Ancient Chinese Proverb.
The Japanese believe in “The Red String”, an invisible thread. Knowing that we have been created in a pair, we go around our lives searching for the one who is our destiny. Every time we fall in love, we feel this is it, this is the one and that we have found the other half. This person is our soul connection, and we gamble our hearts to find him or her. Many times we break our hearts in our search for the right one, but when we find them, it is all worth it. However, it is also true that sometimes the path that leads to our destiny is a rocky road. It challenges everything that we have ever believed in about love and happily ever after. Even when we find the ‘one for us,’ things may not go smoothly. The time may not be right; the circumstances might challenge the strength of our bond. What remains is that people who are destined to be together will find a way back, because no matter what we believe true love does exist, and it is eternal.
After reconnecting and ultimately setting their roots in Florida, both John and Lana were actively seeking a new career path- one that they could embark on together. They began purchasing properties at auction, and flipping them for a profit. Once they were actively following this career path, they were approached by a network employee about filming a TV series about, you guessed it, flipping houses.