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 © Open Society Institute |
Baltimore, Maryland
2008
In many inner-city communities, health concerns such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity run rampant. Meanwhile, parks and bike paths are scant, and healthful grocery stores, even more scarce. Fitness and wellness professional Jon A. Kaplan is using his fellowship to teach young people to adopt healthier lifestyles with a program he calls Baltimore Fitness Academy (or bMOREfit, for short). He is partnering with YO! Baltimore, an initiative of the Mayor's Office of Employment Development. Twelve qualified young people chosen to participate in the six-month academy will learn the basics of physical fitness—strength training, cardiovascular training, weightlifting and nutrition. They'll also study anatomy, physiology, and kinesiology. For all that, they'll be paid an hourly wage. But after the Academy has trained and certified them, they will have learned so much more. For starters, they will have picked up the business skills—such as marketing, branding and customer service—as well as the interpersonal skills to become successful fitness entrepreneurs in the future. "They'll leave with a better understanding of what is available in terms of careers in the fitness industry," Kaplan said, pointing to jobs such as physical trainer, group fitness instructor, or school gym teacher. And equally as important, the Academy trainees will be able to communicate about healthy living to people in their communities, starting what Kaplan hopes will be a new cycle of physical fitness and healthful eating. "They're going to learn to live a healthier lifestyle," he said, "and then reach out to other people within their community about the importance of taking care of your body proactively and treating your body well so it will treat you well." Kaplan, who was recently voted "Best Personal Trainer" by Baltimore magazine, wasn't always so passionate about health and wellness. In fact, the communications major from Penn State University first started teaching a fitness class for a group of sorority students just to have fun. "It was a social thing," Kaplan said. "That's when Jane Fonda was pretty big. They nicknamed me Jon Fonda." But what started as a fun pastime soon became a way of life; Kaplan developed a love for working out and taking care of his body. When he moved from Pennsylvania to Baltimore to sell billboard ad space, he taught aerobics part-time at a local fitness facility. A year later, he quit the billboard and communications businesses altogether and took up fitness full-time. Working with the bMOREfit Academy is the perfect fit for Kaplan. "It allows me to utilize skills I have learned from 23 years in the fitness industry, combined with my marketing and communications background, to promote a healthy lifestyle," he said. "But the best part is seeing the transformations that take place. A lot of people don't get that in their jobs. When you see someone who transforms their life, it changes yours."
