D’Ingianni’s Fitness Clinic

The D’Ingianni Family: Four Generations

The story that began in a New Orleans operating room in the 1940s did not end with the Fitness Clinic. Four generations of the D’Ingianni family have carried the same work forward, each in its own way: caring for people, keeping them healthy, and helping them grow stronger.

The first generation: Vincente D’Ingianni, MD

A New Orleans surgeon, Dr. D’Ingianni served on the staffs of Charity, Mercy and French Hospitals, co-founded the D’Ingianni Foundation Hospital on St. Claude Avenue, and published at least twenty medical papers between 1944 and 1956. In the 1980s he worked at D’Ingianni’s Fitness Clinic in Kenner, which his son founded, running its diet and health side. Read more in Our History and Publications.

Black-and-white portrait of Dr. Vincente D’Ingianni in a suit and tie, 1945
Vincente D’Ingianni, MD, 1945.
Hand-tinted portrait of a woman with dark curled hair and a pendant necklace, 1945
Josephine, Vincente D’Ingianni II’s grandmother, 1945.

The second generation: Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr.

Dr. D’Ingianni’s son, Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., of New Orleans, founded Binary Systems, Inc. in 1977 and went on to found D’Ingianni’s Fitness Clinic in Kenner in the 1980s, where his father worked with him on the diet and health side.

Black-and-white studio photo of a young boy in a cowboy outfit and hat sitting on a block, 1953
Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., as a boy, 1953.
Black-and-white portrait of a young man in a peaked uniform cap and dark coat, 1963
Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., 1963.

The third generation

Vincente D’Ingianni II

Dr. D’Ingianni’s grandson, Vincente D’Ingianni II, worked at the Fitness Clinic and trained there every day. Today he runs Binary Systems, Inc., the company his father founded, and is Head Coach of The Judokai, carrying on the Fitness Clinic’s tradition.

A man holding a toddler on a backyard swing set in front of a house, 1969
Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., with his son Vincente II at the swing set, spring 1969.
A man and two boys in white judo uniforms, the boys wearing yellow belts, late 1970s
Early days in judo, late 1970s: Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., with Vincente II and Stephen in their judo gis.

Jamie D’Ingianni Mullen

Dr. D’Ingianni’s granddaughter, Jamie D’Ingianni Mullen, is the owner of Salon D’Ingianni in Harahan, Louisiana. A stylist who completed her training in 1997, she opened the salon in 2006, and she and her team keep up with continuing education to offer current products and services. Jamie is devoted to health, fitness and beauty.

Family group of men and children gathered in front of red holiday garland, January 1982
Jamie’s fifth birthday, January 1982: Dr. Vincente D’Ingianni with Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., Vincente II, Stephen and Jamie.

The fourth generation

Dr. Sylvia Catherine Mullen

Jamie’s daughter, Dr. Sylvia C. Mullen, is a physician in residency in general surgery at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of New Orleans and her medical degree at Louisiana State University Health Shreveport, where she was named the Gold Humanism Honor Society Student of the Month in October 2024. More than eighty years after her great-grandfather published his first surgical papers, another D’Ingianni descendant is training as a surgeon.

Laila Mullen

Jamie’s daughter Laila Mullen is about to start medical school.

From the family album

A couple cutting a white wedding cake between two candles, January 1968
Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., and Carol Ann Bonner cut the cake on their wedding day, January 1968.
A couple standing arm in arm beside a tall potted plant, January 1968
The newlyweds, January 1968.
A young father on a couch with two small boys on his lap, 1972
Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., with his sons Vincente II and Stephen, January 1972.
An older man in a white shirt and a woman in blue seated on a teal couch with gifts, Christmas 1982
“Dr. Dad”: Dr. Vincente D’Ingianni with Carol at Christmas, 1982.
Three men standing together under a wooden shelter with pine trees behind them, c. 1990
“The Unholy Trinity”: three generations, Vincente D’Ingianni, MD, Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., and Vincente D’Ingianni II, c. 1990.

From the operating rooms of 1940s New Orleans to the squat racks of 1980s Kenner, and from the judo mat and the salon chair to residency and medical school, the D’Ingianni family’s work in medicine, health and fitness goes on.

Share your memories

Did you train at the Fitness Clinic or know the St. Claude hospital? We’d love your photos and stories.

Sources

Image credits

  • Vincente D’Ingianni, MD, 1945. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • Josephine, 1945. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., 1953. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., 1963. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., and Vincente II, spring 1969. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • Early days in judo, late 1970s. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • Jamie’s fifth birthday, January 1982. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • Wedding of Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., and Carol Ann Bonner, January 1968. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • The newlyweds, January 1968. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • Vincente D’Ingianni, Sr., with Vincente II and Stephen, January 1972. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • “Dr. Dad” at Christmas, 1982. D’Ingianni family collection.
  • “The Unholy Trinity”: three generations of Vincente D’Ingianni, c. 1990. D’Ingianni family collection.