Lifting Spirits One Weight at a Time

For Brian Sutton, Rye Neck School District strength and conditioning coordinator, training athletes isn't just a job, it's a passion. That's why three years ago, along with Matthew Tauber, a friend and the athletic trainer for the Rye City School District, he founded LIFT.

LIFT stands for Lifestyle Integrated Fitness Training, and it is located in Purchase. LIFT's clientele includes a wide range of people, including middle school, high school and college students, Olympic and professional level athletes, plus the average person looking to improve themselves physically.

Most of LIFT's members come from Mamaroneck, Rye Neck, Rye, New Rochelle, Armonk and Greenwich, according to Tauber.

Sutton explained why him and Tauber decided to go into business together, after previously working together for six years at Altheus, a fitness club in Rye.

"We were doing things in our life at about the same time," Sutton said. "We were both about to have our first kid, we were each buying our first home. It just made sense that we branch off and do things on our own in 2007."

Sutton, who graduated from Providence College in 1996, holds a master's degree in Applied Exercise Science from Springfield College. His individual work with athletes has included NHL draft picks, Olympic competitors and medalist, ATP tour professionals, PGA tour qualifiers, collegiate athletes and numerous high school athletes who have continued competition at colleges including Brown, Boston University, Dartmouth, Duke, Emory, George Washington, Indiana, Northwestern, and Princeton.

"We both got our master's degree in this field," Sutton said. "Matt has athletic training working with high schools, colleges, universities. That is where we set ourselves apart...we are highly educated and highly experienced."

Sutton said that experience is necessary in an area like Westchester, where the clientele is sophisticated.

"They see that Matt and I are really knowledgeable, educated and passionate about what we are doing, and what we are saying...is all true," Sutton said.

Both Sutton and Tauber have found that there was a need for people in the area to work with experts in the field. For both of them, the experience of owning LIFT has been worthwhile because of that.

"You need a coach to train the athlete as individuals," Tauber said. "We can give people an avenue in health and fitness with the training, with nutrition and massage for recovery. We also offer physical therapy for people who are injured and are recovering from an injury."

Tauber further explained LIFT's unique approach. "Everybody who comes into our program goes through an extensive assessment that can run from 60 to 90 minutes, depending upon who they are," Tauber said. "From there we will develop a program...We have worked with some pro athletes that were with us for four months, so we will build a program based on that four-month period, and if we have someone for six weeks, we will build a program around that, depending on the individual."

Some of the professional athletes who have trained at lift are Courtney Greene, who plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars, and Ray Rice, who plays for the Baltimore Ravens. LIFT is currently working  with CJ Miles, who plays with the Utah Jazz and Smush Parker, who has been all over the NBA and is currently playing overseas.

"From a business standout point, the best thing has been watching the business grow, watching more clients come through, hiring more staff, educating staff," Sutton said. "The most important thing I get out of it personally is watching people get better, whether it's me training them or Matt training them."

Sutton gave an example of how satisfying his business can be from a personal level as he discussed how he helped a girl who plays field hockey.

"Her goal was to lose 15 pounds during the summer," Sutton said. "She told me she lost 14.7 pounds. She told me, 'I could have never done it without you.' Stuff like that is what gets you up in the morning. That's what not only makes you enjoy being a trainer, being a professional, but also being a business owner."