Each Friday, the another jennifer blog shares stories of those who incorporate philanthropy into their everyday lives – personally and professionally – in a creative and unique way. If you have a story you’d like to share, please contact Jennifer. You can view past posts from the series here.
Luke Robinson is a certified nutrition specialist and fitness trainer. He’s also the owner of WolfPack Fitness and a former wrestler. (And when I say wrestler, I mean a Stone Cold Steve Austin kind of wrestler.)
When I met Luke about a year ago during a half-day workshop for entrepreneurs, it was apparent that he is passionate about what he does. He’s not your typical fitness trainer and nutritionist. He talks about things like skipping breakfast, not counting calories, limiting excessive cardio, lifting heavy, and eating carbs at night. He calls it the “future of nutrition.” We probably had a ten minute conversation on bacon alone.
WolfPack Fitness is based in Auburn, Maine and can be found on the banks of the Androscoggin River. Workouts at WolfPack Fitness are held outside year round (yes, even in February in Maine!) and involve things like large tires and sledgehammers rather than elliptical runners and free weights. While I haven’t been to WolfPack class (yet), I have a good friend who goes on a regular basis and absolutely loves it.
Not only does Luke have a mission to “help clients find happiness and self-confidence while gaining a new appreciation for the gifts of humanity”, he also gives back in a big way and gets everyone in his WolfPack involved. You can read more about how he gives back in this guest post on Robb Wolf’s blog.
When I saw Luke’s Facebook status the other day, I knew it needed to be this week’s Philanthropy Friday. He had decided to go back to wrestling for a night, with one important stipulation. With Luke’s permission, I decided to just copy and paste it here.
In Luke’s words:
Hey fellow Mainers and wrestling fans! Since I was a young boy, I always had a feeling I would do something big with my life. Hell, I used to practice my autograph all day in my school notebooks. I used to think that “big thing” was being a sports star or as it nearly turned out to be, a professional wrestler. But throughout my life there has been one constant- I really like seeing people happy. After all, that’s why I wanted to become a wrestler in the first place – I wanted to make people feel the same passion, emotion, and excitement that I felt growing up watching guys Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Mick Foley, and Shawn Michaels.
Well as it turns out, my “big thing” wasn’t professional wrestling but it is about making people happy. I get to do that with my business, WolfPack Fitness. WolfPack not only gives me the opportunity to teach people how to eat and move like real human beings but it gives me the chance to share the beautiful wisdom and knowledge that I’ve learned from amazing souls like my mom, dad, and teachers like Mrs. Weymouth, Mr. Robertson, Mr. Barry, Mr. Flynn, and Mr. Beauparlant (just to name a few). WolfPack is about so much more than working out. WolfPack is about learning to see the world in a different way. It’s about becoming a humble, appreciative human being who sees each day as a beautiful gift. It’s about respecting that gift by feeding your body with real food, moving in ways the body was meant to move, giving generously to those in need, and LOVING yourself and others with a happy heart. To steal a line from clients, WolfPack makes MY soul shine.
I’ve been asked many times to wrestle again over the past year to which I’ve consistently said “no.” But when I was asked to wrestle just 30 minutes from my home in Auburn – I got an idea… what if I make a deal with the promoter that all my pay-day goes to charity as long as I can get at least 20 members of “The Pack” to attend the show!? Well I announced it at my classes this week and I think we already have that number exceeded!
I haven’t decided which charity I’ll be donating my pay-day to but I have really enjoyed giving to the soup kitchens and food pantries this year since high quality food is such a pillar here at WolfPack. However, if anyone has suggestions, I’d love to hear them in the comment thread below.
I also created an “event page” on the WolfPack Fitness page. A big group of The Pack will be traveling up together, going out to dinner, making signs, etc. If you want to get those updates then please click the following link and let us know you’ll be going: https://www.facebook.com/events/286246094882646/?ref=5
Thank you all! WolfPack 4 Life! Ahhhhhhwooooo!
Do you see what I mean about passion? Are you fired up yet?
When I contacted Luke about this post, he was participating in a school wellness day and conducting “primal playouts.” I encourage you to follow him and WolfPack Fitness on Facebook even if it’s just to check out what he’s doing. WolfPack Fitness also works with people outside of Maine for “elite distance consulting.”
And, of course, if you’re in Maine, you can also have the unique opportunity to see Luke wrestle one more time.
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