Anthony Paradis, CSSD, RDN

Anthony Paradis joined the South Carolina Athletics staff in September 2021 as the department’s first director of Olympic sports nutrition. After eight years in private practice and five seasons at Tennessee Tech, Paradis will guide the nutritional education and development of the approximately 570 Gamecocks competing in Olympic sports.

At Tennessee Tech, Paradis was both the director of sports nutrition and a nutrition instructor in the School of Human Ecology while pursuing his Ph.D. in education. After joining the department in 2016 to provide counseling and sports nutrition support for the Golden Eagles’ more than 320 student-athletes, he created and trained staff for a fueling station in the athletics training center, implemented an online nutrition and mental wellness course for student-athletes and provided screening and assessments for eating disorders, sleep index, energy needs, vitamin deficiency, body composition, food insecurity and eating patterns.

Prior to returning to the college ranks, Paradis was in private practice as a sports dietitian and strength coach for five years, developing his own studio that included two assistant trainers, a chef and a counselor. His clients ranged from high school and college athletes to professional cyclists and hockey players to competitive bodybuilders and powerlifters.

Following his graduation from Texas Tech in 2008 with a bachelor’s in nutrition sciences, Paradis worked as a dietary technician at Lewisville Medical Center, a personal trainer and a dietetic intern at Texas Woman’s University.

A constant student of his industry, Paradis has been active in pursuing grants and publication, including grants from NCAA Innovations in Research and the Tennessee Tech Office of Sustainability for a project to support sustainable sports nutrition. An active member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Collegiate Professional and Sports Dietitians and S.C.A.N. Sports Nutrition Practice Group, he has presented at various conferences focused on education and how dietitians and personal trainers can work together.

Paradis is a registered dietitian nutritionist and licensed dietitian (2011), certified specialist in sports dietetics (SCAN, 2016) and certified strength and conditioning specialist (NSCA, 2016). He is a past president of the American Association of Family and Consumer Sciences and a current member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Collegiate Professional and Sports Dietitians.

As an athlete, Paradis has consistently pushed himself to record-setting heights as both the Tennessee (2017) and Texas (2015) state record holder in powerlifting with Natural Athlete Strength Association. He also completed a solo 500-mile consecutive hike on the Colorado Trail in 2015, which was the foundation for his first master’s thesis, and competed on American Ninja Warrior in 2012.

Following his bachelor’s degree from Texas Tech in 2008, Paradis earned a master’s in nutrition sciences from Texas Woman’s University in 2016 and a master’s in education from Tennessee Tech in 2020.