Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Kooperman
Hi Sara, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
My personal mission has always been to educate and elevate others in their pursuit of a successful and fulfilling fitness career. Since the beginning of my profession, I have encouraged and supported others to help them become presenters, better trainers, more gifted instructors, and successful business owners. I have focused on individuals of all ages, ethnicities, and financial statuses to pursue their goals and passions no matter what obstacles are in their way. Rising from adversity and pivoting at challenges is what I preach and what I do.
Starting with one small studio, failing miserably, and losing all my money, fueled my desire to succeed. I turned the unsuccessful studio into individual workshops where I traveled from studio-to-studio teaching group exercise instructors how to teach “Chicago Jazz Funk.” These workshops taught instructors how to take high impact aerobics and turn it into low impact dance-style programs. Soon after, I expanded into bringing on other instructors wanting to share their various blends of cardio, strength, and flexibility. Soon we evolved into a full-blown Chicago conference.
Developing a convention was an expensive and daunting task. Booking a hotel, scheduling sessions, writing, designing, printing, and mailing brochures, along with contracting over 40 presenters who needed travel, boarding and feeding was terrifying. Taking out four credit cards and crossing my fingers daily made this adventure possible. Over several years, we soon had seven regional fitness conferences attracting a total of over 7000 attendees annually. I dedicated myself fully to educating the fitness industry at a grassroots level, knowing that there was and is a need for high quality, regional affordable education, and training,
I also started over 40 fitness education certifications by nurturing and encouraging gifted fitness professionals to share their expertise. These talented and generous groups of fitness pros were similarly driven to share their wealth of knowledge with our fitness family.
Over the past 40 years I have touched the lives of over 200,000 fitness professionals worldwide. For ten years of those years, I was the only female agent worldwide (out of 50) for Les Mills International. I handled one of the largest geographic areas on the globe that spanned three time zones. My commitment to education and professionalism is what drives me. Throughout my career I have often found myself as the as the only female in the room. Feeling a bit out of place, seems to be my natural position but breaking down barriers and supporting others to follow in my lead has always been my mission.
On a personal note, my business mantra has always been “family first.” Having a 37-year marriage along with four sons has always presented its challenges. Balancing my personal life with my professional career is quite a test. Yet, I am an entrepreneur at my core and in my heart. Growing and nurturing others is what I do. Finding young talent and guiding them both professionally and personally fulfills my soul. Providing the foundations for others to excel is who I am.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I have been the CEO of SCW Fitness Education for the past 40 years and have dedicated myself to education that has positively impacted individuals throughout the world. Spurred on by the pandemic, I produced three free webinars a week with the goal of keeping our fitness industry engaged and motivated. Every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday our webinars hosted fitness and wellness professionals of all ethnicities and walks of life sharing their expertise, at zero cost to the attendees. No one knew that this pandemic would last two full years and certainly no one knew what the world was going to be like on the other side. Having led over 200 webinars, has been one of my most rewarding contributions to the fitness industry.
Never once have I or my staff complained or balked at working late to run these free online programs. These free webinars ran (and run) without fail. Having started with three webinars a week, we now offer one webinar a month and continue to offer these open forums for individuals from all walks of life. These free webinars address the most pressing topics in the industry with the intent to inform and educate. Topics include social media, virtual training, nutrition strategies, training techniques, financial survival and so much more.
Our webinars regularly drew and continue to draw 100-300 attendees with 25% showing up live, another 15% watching the recordings, and over 50% listening to the Podcast. Anyone and everyone can stay connected to the fitness industry through these complementary and open-access educational offerings.
Our largest webinar drew 1,200 attendees and taught fitness professionals nationwide how to apply for a PPP loan during the height of the pandemic amid unimaginable financial uncertainty. Sadly, most group fitness instructors and personal trainers are not paid as employees but are paid as independent contractors. This made it impossible for clubs and studios to collect any governmental funds, and the pandemic made it impossible for fitness facilities to continue to pay teachers and trainers. My husband and I did two webinars focused exclusively on training clubs, instructors and trainers to secure their own governmental support. We published guidelines and instructions. I received hundreds of personal “thank you(s)” for sharing the legal expertise, business guidance and fitness knowledge that the webinar provided.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about SCW FITNESS EDUCATION?
One of my proudest accomplishments has been keeping my entire staff employed during the pandemic. I personally reduced my salary by 75% and will continue to do so until our live events recover to pre-pandemic levels. My team of operators, designers and customer service folks always come first. They have and they always will. We are an eclectic band of diverse, energetic, and committed individuals. Our SCW Family stayed together and even excelled during this time empowered by our new live-streaming events.
We successfully ran 19 live-streaming conventions during the 24 months of the pandemic. In March 2020, there were no live-streaming convention programs to purchase or license in the fitness industry. We built our own proprietary live-stream convention program and site. My talented Creative Department, led by Sean Seningen, used our product membership program along with zoom to build our site. We then trained our staff and presenters how to use the system. Every one of my team ran a room during these conventions – even our bookkeeper! We also trained over 70 fitness professionals on how to integrate video, music, and microphones. Countless hours were spent holding training meetings as well as personal one-on-one sessions. This not only benefited SCW and our convention offerings, but benefited the individual presenters, their personal online fitness businesses, and the fitness industry at large. We coached longtime supporters of SCW as well as long-time competitors. We truly adopted the “all in this together “mentality during this pandemic. It was heartwarming the way everyone united and supported one another. This selfless contribution to the industry has been one of my most significant impacts to date.
I am also proud to be the co-founded of WATERinMOTION® a pre-choreographed, quarterly released group aqua exercise program that provides video, music and choreography every 12 weeks to fitness professionals worldwide. Aqua exercise is not the ‘sexiest’ of fitness offerings, and sadly is often ignored. Yet, it is important to a growing aging population and provides a supportive family atmosphere for the deconditioned, older, and disabled markets. During the pandemic, to continue to support our WATERinMOTION® Family, we created S.E.A.T. (Supported Exercise for Ageless Training). This program was such a success that we have expanded this chair fitness program as a land alternative for seniors and the disabled to continue or start a much-needed wellness program. My commitment to aquatics and active agers has been significant in the fitness industry inspiring other companies to support these growing populations and underserved markets.
On a personal level, I have worked tirelessly to support our community of fitness professionals in our mission to promote ‘exercise as medicine.’ I have donated countless hours to IHRSA (now the Health & Fitness Association), having been a dedicated member of the Highlights Committee for Facility Standards and the Pandemic Headlights Committee. I also research, promote and presented on the Talks and Takes Monthly IHRSA Talk Show (as the only woman on the panel of four presenters.)
For this talk show, SCW donates our time to create the emails, videos, and social media posts to promote this free show that educates the fitness community. This program runs monthly and addresses current topics focused on helping club owners, managers and directors navigate their businesses during these disruptive times. I stand strong as the only woman on the panel and continually reinforce the value of our Group Fitness and Personal Trainer front-line workers. We now have a new talk show www.scwfit.com/YourBusiness. The show is called It’s None of YOUR BUSINESS, and it is a monthly webinar and podcast sponsored by Zen Planner.
Further, I volunteer and appear frequently for and on the Golds Gym Franchise Association Conferences and am a proud member of the Gold’s Gym Think Tank volunteering my expertise helping new gym owners in their decision-making. I have also donated time to the CanFitPro Advisory Board and have offered support through the sharing of both successes and failures. Sharing best practices keeps me close to the saying “we are all in this together.” We all need to focus on wellness to unify the fitness and medical communities. I have been honored as an inductee I into the National Fitness Hall of Fame on these grounds.
I also volunteer with ACSM to assist with their Communications and Public Information Committee. Having been a supporter of ACSM for decades, serving to assist the growth of this education body is a privilege. Helping ACSM with their image beyond a university setting to gain acceptance and acknowledgement as a leader in our fitness community is important.
Further, I have presented for countless colleges and universities to inspire young people to pursue careers balancing their personal and professional aspirations. I have spoken at my son’s high schools, colleges and sports teams promoting the idea of pursuing a career filled with passion and purpose. I have shared expertise at numerous fitness professional events such as IDEA World, CanFitPro, IHRSA (now the Health & Fitness Association, Club Industry, the Athletic Business Conference, Filex, Asia Fitness, and countless other international events. I write and am quoted frequently in industry magazines and publications. I openly share my opinions and experience and am always the first one to share my information and respond to email requests. I see this as my duty to push our industry forward.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I was one of the Founding Board Members of the Women In Fitness Association (WIFA) supporting this organization in its beginning stages assisting in their formation and membership drives. I ran four (4) WIFA Walks, which were called Sisterhood Strides to unify women in the field of fitness: two were at Club Industry, one was at an IDEA Convention, and another was at IHRSA (now HFA). We reached over 300 women in the industry encouraging them to support WIFA and each other.
Offering the SCW Michael Scott Scudder Scholarship has fulfilled my goal of never denying anyone education. www.scwfit.com/scudder Michael was an incredible presenter who shared his wisdom at all of the SCW Fitness Education’s MANIA® Fitness Professional Conferences and passed away unexpectedly. SCW has received 121 applicants of all levels and expertise to apply for this scholarship. This is a total of $36,300 dollars in scholarships. We have never turned down even one applicant that has applied for this complimentary MANIA® attendance.
The SCW Student Scholarship supports College and University students and faculty who wish to attend MANIA®, aspiring to focus on a Fitness and/or Wellness career but do not have the finances to do so. This award also includes a complimentary Live SCW Certification. As this award is only one month old, we have awarded 11 scholarships worth $4,400. www.scwfit.com/student , Anyone and everyone who applies is granted this scholarship
SCW also offers a 3rd scholarship. The Atchara Seesawat Scholarship. Atchara was a close personal friend of mine who had migrated from Thailand in her teenage years and was the Personal Training Director of the Evanston Athletic Club. During the pandemic, Atchara experienced racism because of her heritage, but never wavered from her core nature of kindness and tolerance.
To honor the life of Atchara Seesawat, SCW offers a 3-day scholarship to a MANIA® Convention. This award is for a Personal Trainer who is trying to better their client experience and expand their ability to help others but does not have the financial means to attend the conference. www.scwfit.com/atchara To date we have awarded 22 scholarships totaling a value of $6,600. Anyone who applies is given this award.
SCW has been a constant supporter of diversity, equity, and inclusion. SCW has actively pursued and supported applicants through our Diversity Task Force. Gail Bannister-Munn has been extremely supportive helping SCW find, secure, and help new presenters of color. Our diversity campaign has drawn several new presenters into the industry as well as provided leadership to young aspiring fitness professionals who have never had the opportunity to present. We have expanded our presenter diversity from 5% to 18.5% assisting with session description and biography writing, presenting skills, and PowerPoint creations. It has always been my purpose and passion to nurture others to support others to reach their goals.
Pricing:
- SCW Fitness Education MANIA Conventions are available here: www.scwfit.com/MANIA
- WATERinMOTION information is available here: www.waterinmotion.com
- SEAT (Supported Exercise for Ageless Training) is available here: www.seatfitness.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sarakooperman.com
- Instagram: @scwMANIA
- Facebook: #scwMANIA
