Special Strong: A Welcoming Adaptive Environment for a More Abundant Life
Special Strong is one of the country’s only fitness centers for people with mental, physical, and cognitive challenges. It specializes in adaptive and inclusive fitness training and began in 2016. The center focuses on the three Cs: Community, Curriculum, and Convenience. When you go to the website, you can find a lot of information about the center. Go to https://www.specialstrongakronohio.com/
According to the website, the center’s mission is ” to unlock the strength and confidence within the mind, body, and spirit of every individual impacted by mental, physical, and cognitive challenges to live a more independent and abundant life. “Special Strong’s vision is “to empower over 1 million athletes and 100,000 coaches to live an abundant life through adaptive fitness. These are the core values listed on the website,” At Special Strong, we are governed by Christian values, using the acronym “STRONG.” Through our values, we have created a life-giving culture where solutions can be created, people can prosper, and God can be glorified.”
The McClowry family has purchased one of these fitness centers. For a center to be focused on building relationships, owning this franchise seems like a perfect fit for this family. I have known Rachel for over 2o years as a fellow Intervention Specialist. She taught elementary school, and her students would transition to my middle school class. I knew then she was deeply committed to relationships with her students and their families, and we were very similar in our love of seeing our students thrive. She taught the whole child, telling me important information about the family to help the child succeed. I worked as a substitute teacher with her son, Colin at a summer camp run by LLA Therapy for kids with special needs. He, like his mother, has a heart of service and knows the importance of building relationships. Kids love working with him. This franchise works with the whole person- body, mind, and spirit. The family, Colin, Ethan, Troy, and Rachel saw this as a natural fit with their family business, LLA Therapy. It is a pediatric practice in Ohio with over 25 years of service with comprehensive therapy programs in speech, occupational, physical, behavioral, music, and educational interventions. The speech teachers that I worked with in my class were from LLA Therapy and some of my students would go to the summer camp run by LLA Therapy. I can tell you from personal experience, that they are top-notch programs. Again, relationships and trust are built as the needs of individuals with developmental disabilities are given services. The McClowry family seeks to empower individuals with mental, physical, and cognitive challenges to be the best versions of themselves. I am excited to see this development and asked Rachel a few questions to understand better Special Strong and their vision for the fitness center. Here are her answers.
Q: How did your family decide to purchase this franchise?
A: We have owned a pediatric private practice for over 25 years that specializes in behavioral, speech, occupational, physical, and music therapies as well as tutoring, reading, and intervention services. As we continued to add services to be a place for wrap-around care of our clients Troy saw posts for Special Strong and was very intrigued to add the adaptive training component for our families. We reached out to Special Strong to start the franchisee process and were awarded the Northeast Ohio (Akron) territory. Our son, Colin went through the training to become a certified adaptive physical trainer. We are now looking to grow the Special Strong Akron brand and currently are doing the training at all of our 4 outpatient therapy locations.
Q: What inspired you to open a Special Strong gym?
A: We have always been passionate about providing high-quality services for individuals and families with special needs. This opportunity seemed like a logical extension of what we have been doing and we have always felt that opportunities for physical fitness have been lacking for this population of individuals.
Q: How do you tailor workouts or programs to accommodate physical or cognitive needs?
A: We think that is the beauty of Special Strong. It has a template for success with 4 core competencies (core and balance, brain and sensory, strength and endurance). However, the training becomes highly individualized in each of those areas. It is about meeting the individual where they are and setting goals for them to improve in each domain.
Q: Can you share a story about how your gym has positively impacted a member’s life? Or,how has the acronym STRONG impacted your fitness center? I know that STRONG stands for Stewardship, Transparency, relationship-focused, Ownership, No Judgment, and Generosity. How are these put into action?
A: We are just getting started but have already witnessed growth in our clients. Colin sees new skills emerging each week and is so excited by the possibility to help others as they conquer the challenges they face in the gym. He loves the incremental changes he sees as they learn to strengthen their minds and their body! He sees them working hard and their determination to finish a workout. As for STRONG, just like what the employees do at LLA, we cannot think of a more rewarding way to spend our day!
Q: How do you foster community within your gym for members who might feel isolated elsewhere?
A: As this is a new project, we are so excited about the possibilities of running groups and collaboration with community agencies and nonprofits, as we put together these types of programs for 2025. Look for summer camps, athletic groups, and other programming opportunities to come soon!
Choosing Special Strong isn’t just about fitness, it’s about joining a supportive community that understands unique needs. Adaptive fitness services are science-based private and group training programs where abilities, not limitations define the journey for people with mental, physical, or cognitive challenges. Claim a 7-day free pass today for a customized fitness solution!
