Sebastian Gomez found inspiration while attending Floral Park Memorial High School, and through a charitable process that has raised roughly $700,000, he turned it into the founding of a new gym.
Gomez opened KMF Fitness Club on April 30 at 3361 Hempstead Turnpike in Levittown, a gym offering classes for kickboxing and functional strength training.
“Essentially, the goal is to extend the longevity of people’s joints so that we don’t age poorly,” Gomez said.
KMF Fitness Club also offers personalized workouts and nutrition guides geared for each client.
The idea for the gym stemmed from when the owner was still in high school.
Gomez was born in Floral Park and graduated from the local school district. While in high school, one of the teachers showed a video of his son, Ethan, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a terminal genetic neuromuscular disorder that causes progressive muscle degeneration and weakness.
A few days later, Sebastian and a friend came up with the idea to name their school dodgeball team “Team Ethan” and created shirts for the team.
After graduating, Gomez was approached by a stranger while wearing the “Team Ethan” shirt and was asked if they could buy one.
Gomez then created a new design for the shirt, with the saying “keep moving forward” in Ethan’s handwriting on the back.
Gomez began selling the shirts and donating the money, and his foundation slowly grew to support many other causes, including suicide prevention, pancreatic cancer research and childhood cancer, all while he continued to share a bond with Ethan.
Gomez said he has helped raise an estimated $700,000 over the years
Gomez said that over the years, he networked and gained connections and resources that put him in a spot where he was able to start his own gym. He said he previously worked at RockBox Fitness, which preceded KMF Fitness Club in Levittown, and the gym had approached him about whether he knew somebody willing to take over the space.
“I asked them if I could write a check myself,” he said.
Gomez said he has worked with over 300 clients, helping them reach their fitness and nutrition goals.
“My goal since I started in this industry was to open up my own gym eventually, and I’m lucky I was able to take my experience over the last decade as an instructor and my entrepreneurial background to make it happen.”
Gomez said the original plan wasn’t to make the gym centered around Ethan, but that he is grateful for everything that happened.
“It didn’t make sense for me not to display the KMF brand into it,” he said.
Ethan himself helped cut the ribbon during a ceremony to mark the opening of the new gym.
People can drop into classes at $40 per class, but Gomez said there are bundles available for people “so that they can reach their goals without breaking their bank account.”
