Member Spotlight: Matt Schorr
We are very excited to feature Matt Schorr as our Member Spotlight this month. Matt has been very consistent with his workouts since joining our Fit Fam in 2022. He’s in and out of the gym quietly but while he’s here he puts full effort into his training. And as you will soon find out, he’s also very interesting.
Matt started off by sharing a little bit about himself before he came to Forward Fitness. Here is what he shared, “I grew up in the metro-east in Belleville, IL. I wasn’t super athletic and gravitated towards music and art as a teen and ended up going to college in Chicago studying both and ended up with a double major Bachelors of Art in Instrumental Music and 2d Art. Both degrees have a lot to do with each other, like elements of design and composition, but mainly sitting in a room and focusing on a craft for hours on end. It’s during college that I started jogging through the neighborhood to get air and release the tension of practicing classical guitar for hours in a practice room or drawing a still life in the basement art studio. Years later jogging through the neighborhood turned into distance running training in Forest Park or Grants Trail. I started with 5Ks, half marathons, and eventually ran the Chicago Marathon in 2014. I was never very fast (and hardly even kept track of my pace), but the discipline of keeping a training schedule helped balance whatever else was happening in life. I still play guitar in a band, as much as I can, but most days are more like those college days holed up in an art or music studio. My day job is building/wiring electric guitar amplifiers at a small boutique manufacturer here in St. Louis, Magnatone Amplification.”
Matt found Forward Fitness while his wife was a member. “My wife had started going when she was dealing with back issues. So when I started having issues with my neck, shoulders, and back; I had her experience to see how it could help. I started with a lot of mobility classes and worked my way into team training and now do the kettle bell classes on Saturdays, also. I’ve learned a lot how to relieve tension in muscles, extend range of motion, and proper movement mechanics. I’ve gained muscle, especially in my core.”
We asked Matt why health and fitness was important to him. He told us that, “Staying active is important to me because it allows me to keep doing the things I love, like playing guitar on stage, but more importantly its aging well and being able-bodied and helping those I care about. It’s also a way to balance or regulate life. You can work out your feelings when things are going your way or a way of meditating on things you’d like to improve upon.
He shared this when asked how he has kept fitness a part of his life, “It’s a desire to be fit, around, and helpful to the people and causes I care about. I want to be able to help my wife around the house and be able to walk our dogs in the neighborhood when I’m more advanced in age. That starts now and is, hopefully, maintained over the years by consistent work.
Injuries have been the main challenges that Matt has encountered, “I’ve had a few injuries as a result of playing a heavy guitar slung around my shoulder and running around on stage. My neck, shoulder and lower back. A combination of Chiropractic medicine, consistent training at FF, and a season of physical therapy has helped me work through all of those issues.”
When asked what he was most proud of, Matt shared something I think we can all relate too, “I think the biggest accomplishment is just showing up as best and consistently as I can.”
His advice to someone thinking about starting a fitness routine is, “Its way easier to show up a.) when you’ve already paid for the class and b.) when there’s someone there who knows what the heck they’re doing and c.) can tell you what the heck to do!”
We always like to ask about any fun facts our members might want to share, her is Matt’s, “I’m left-handed and always have a hard time finding left-handed guitars that I like, so I’ve built a half a dozen guitars from kits or from replacement parts. So in addition to building guitar amps, professionally; I build guitars for fun.”
Thank you Matt for being willing to share a little about yourself with our members and thank you for helping to make our Fit Fam the great place that it is!