We recently connected with Chris Russell and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

The Fitness 4 Focus story really begins with the story of Tommy. It all started out on a small playground in Central Pennsylvania.
I first met Tommy McHale in 2005. At the time, I was a Therapeutic Staff Support (TSS) worker for Youth Advocate Programs and spent time with Tommy when he was in school. At recess on a fall day in Palmyra, PA, I bounced a ball to Tommy on the playground. The ball went right by him. Three seconds later, Tommy looked. Then he turned to go get the ball.

This simple moment truly inspired a profound idea inside. An idea of a place.

A place where people with special needs could go to become better.

A place that would make them stronger, not only physically, but also cognitively.

A place where they could go to gain confidence.

A place where an athlete could become more independent.

I noticed Tommy’s poor hand-eye coordination and stamina, but I also knew that Tommy and others like him could improve their physical health with the right tools, people, and environment. ​

Five years later, in January 23, 2010, Fitness 4 Focus officially began. The first facility (just the back of a church in Hershey) has since grown to three facilities spread across central Pennsylvania, and a new location in Goshen, Ny.

And what about Tommy? He has lost 90 pounds, gained more than that in confidence, runs 5 miles on the treadmill Monday-Friday and is always ready to work hard and grow as an athlete.

I spent quite a few years in other odd jobs and did not feel like I belonged. I would wake up, go to work and not feel fulfilled or happy. When I thought of starting Fitness 4 Focus, it made me feel happy and excited to work hard. At the time, there were a handful of other people across the country providing this type of service. I felt like there were enough potential clients around to work with and make a significant impact! I had seen the improvements with Tommy and felt like it would be a worthwhile endeavor. I started everything from scratch and quickly learned that it was going to be more than fitness. Some of my first initial athletes could not tell left from right or red from blue. I had to break everything down because in order to exercise you must know left from right and so on. As I continue to train athletes, I find new things that we incorporate into our exercises. We help teach our athletes in a supportive, safe environment while they are learning to do different exercises. Combining all of this has created a unique exercise experience at F4F.

Chris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

When I started Fitness 4 Focus, I did not think about my past. Over time, I remembered different experiences that helped shape who I am today. When I was younger in middle school, I used to help a guy named Jimmy who was blind. I would carry his books from class to class and guide him around when needed. I started connecting the dots of my past and saw that during my high school and college time, I did the same. There was a fella named Jerry when I went to college who had a great story and he and I just became friends. He had an accident and was confined to a wheelchair and I would help him from class to class. So, I started to realize that I always seemed to have a passion for helping others with different abilities. They are the people that inspired me.

Many of our athletes struggle with daily life skills. Strengthening major and minor muscle groups by improving hand-eye coordination helps to improve in all of these areas. What might be easy for some of us can be very difficult for others. Helping to strengthen a person physically and mentally will lead them to become more independent and solve many issues that they deal with daily. Fitness 4 Focus uses functional exercise to empower others to take pride in themselves. It’s all about building the strength, coordination, confidence and independence they need to live their best lives.

To say I am most proud of one thing would be an understatement! The impact that Fitness 4 Focus has made is tremendous. There are quite a few things I am proud of. First and foremost, Tommy and all of our athletes! Tommy graciously allowed me to work with him and push him as hard as I could so that he could improve. Our athletes do the same thing! I’m very proud of our trainers and their compassion for each athlete that walks through the door! F4F has come a long way and we are going to continue to grow, improve and change as many lives as we possibly can!

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

There are a lot of great questions in this drop-down menu which I could probably respond to in some way shape or form but this one really stands out to me.

There are many people out there that have the compassion for this demographic that I have as well. I have been able to find many of those people and train them to work with the demographic we serve. In doing that, our trainers are able to create wonderful long lasting relationships with our athletes. If you can build that relationship, you can teach anyone to exercise! When you do that, you are able to improve lives in strengthening others.

Our families, community and other organizations around us know that we want to serve and see our athletes be successful in everything that they do. If we continue to do this, the sky is the limit!

A gentleman that runs a very big organization here in central Pennsylvania told me recently that he thinks we are the best behavioral service in the area. That really does say a lot for F4F! We have been very successful in many ways over the years. We are also very lucky that our athletes love coming into our gym, getting their workout done and completing their list for the day.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

It has been a goal of mine for quite some time to take what we are doing at F4F and get it across the country. One of the toughest things has been figuring out what our marketing strategy would look like. Other than word of mouth, how are we going to get more athletes in the gym? Creating a great brand and reputation has helped do that! Once again, it all comes down to relationships. Creating great relationships with local Orgs, doctors, OT’s, PTS, school districts and other local agencies have helped us to grow quickly. We will always need to continuously figure out new strategies when it comes to growing clientele. Now that we have a good strategy, we are more prepared to get other locations opened in new areas.

Contact Info:

• Website: fitness4focus.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitness4focus/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Fitness4Focus