My Story
Owner, and Personal Trainer, Nate Schwartz is passionate about fitness and living a healthy lifestyle. As a child, Nate was overweight and out of shape. He experienced first-hand how it feels to be uncomfortable in your own skin, as if you are trapped in someone else’s body. Fed up with being bullied, harassed, and ashamed, Nate decided to change his life when he turned 16. He frequented the local newsstand to read any bodybuilding and fitness magazine he could get his hands on. After his father was diagnosed with cancer, Nate’s family did not have much money. Nate refused to be discouraged. He spent the summer of 1990 creating exercises similar to the ones shown in the magazines, substituting large rocks in place of weights and bench pressing on his porch with a log and two buckets of water.
Refining his skills by using the natural resources around him, Nate invented a number of ways to workout at home. He used the mountain his family lived on to his advantage, often running uphill while holding a large log over his shoulders for cardio. This was an idea young Nate actually got from watching Rocky IV. Other exercises included triceps extensions using a large rock in place of a dumbbell, bicep curls using buckets of water, calf raises by standing on the edge of a porch step, and tons of squats while holding a heavy rock. After saving money from his part-time job at the local grocery store, Nate purchased his first Weider bench with a 110lb weight set. He felt accomplished to have purchased his first “real” piece of equipment. With the help of his mother’s healthy cooking, Nate dropped 35lbs that summer. At the start of the next school year, his friends were amazed with how fantastic Nate looked. Nate’s social life changed drastically. Girls were now showing interest in him, he was being invited out with his peers, and fellow students would ask him for tips on how to change their bodies. Nate was always happy and eager to help. No longer a slave to his own body, Nate began to experience a more fulfilling life than ever before.
In 2011, Nate Schwartz founded Shape Shifters Fitness. Today, he has been involved in the health & fitness industry for over 15 years. After selling his technology-based business, Nate relocated from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania to Melbourne, Florida.
Nate is a Certified Fitness Trainer through the ISSA and has a specialized, performance-based approach to training while emphasizing form, intensity, and diet. His areas of expertise include kettlebells, circuit training, weight loss, muscle building, and a vast understanding of nutrition.
