LLSA Chamber Small Business of the Year Awards: Steve's Fitness

In an industry where trainers often follow a “no-pain, no-gain” approach to fitness, Steve Schewe has a different mantra — “No pain, period.”

“You don’t need to cause pain to cause positive effect,” says Schewe, a certified personal trainer and the owner of Steve’s Fitness.

Instead, Schewe focuses on total body health by addressing the three facets of fitness: flexibility, nutrition and exercise.

“I conduct a full health history upon meeting someone and design an exercise prescription to meet their specific needs,” says Schewe.

Schewe prescribed one such plan two years ago, when he took on a client with a condition of decreased bone density known as osteopenia.

The client’s doctor told him he would have osteoporosis within a year, but after working with Schewe the man went back to his doctor not only osteoporosis-free, but he had also gotten rid of the osteopenia.

Schewe has an education in personal training from UCLA, which gives him an edge on his competition. He also has the benefit of a lifetime of experience — 35 years, to be exact.

The former cross-country runner got into bodybuilding in Los Angeles in the early ’70s, when he trained at the original Gold’s Gym in Santa Monica alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger.

By the late ’70s, Schewe realized that the fitness industry was heading into the home and got into personal training.

Schewe became one of the first personal trainers in the nation when he got his certification through the Health and Tennis Corp. of America (now Bally’s Total Fitness) in 1978.

After 30 years as a personal trainer in Los Angeles, Schewe moved to Sarasota in 2006. He had so many clients back in L.A. that he had to find three separate personal trainers to take them all after he left.

Schewe works with many clients in their own homes or at his in-home gym on Anna Maria Island. The trainer also recently associated with Your Fitness Instructor, an exercise facility that opened this past January on Longboat Key.

“This facility allows me to train more people because there’s no travel time back and forth,” says Schewe. “I can help more people now and that’s what it’s all about, causing positive effect in people’s lives.”

BUSINESS BASICS

Address: 20 Ave. of the Flowers, Longboat Key

Start Date: 1982 (came to Sarasota in 2006)

Number of employees when started: One

Number of employees now: One

Advice: Learn about each client and design a unique routine based upon their health history and their
goals.

Biggest challenge: Not having enough time

Where do you see your business one year from now? When season starts up again in October I’ll be extremely busy. Eventually, I would like to write a book.