Shaun Eckhardt: Personal Trainer

At first, Shaun was working out to get in shape for football. He started serious weight lifting to get in shape for his 7th grade team. “I must have really good genetics, because I grew really fast,” Shaun remembers. By his freshman year, he’d made the varsity football team, and a few years later, he’d earned a scholarship to play at Northwestern Oklahoma. After he finished college with a degree in kinesiology, Shaun worked as a personal trainer. Only then did he start competing, and only because “working out is just something that I love to do.” Besides, “It’s a great way to show clients that I practice what I preach,” Shaun says.

After that first competition, Shaun was hooked. “I just like the way it makes me feel,” he says. And although the process of competing and getting ready for competitions is “not really fun, to tell you the truth,” Shaun has competed five times since and he’s not planning to stop anytime soon. “I like that feeling of dedication and fulfillment you get from competing,” he says. “You feel like you went through war when it’s all said and done, but you know all the hard work has paid off, and you have something to show for it.”

One of the highlights of Shaun’s competitive career was placing third in the men’s heavy weight division of the 2006 Europa show, the biggest show in Texas. “It’s fun when you get that trophy, I’ve got to admit,” he says.

For now, Shaun has decided to take a break from the competitive circuit and instead focus on running his own gym, personal training and nutrition company and working with Twinlab Fuel where he’ll be featured in print advertising, making appearances at stores and events and working with Fuel customers on the website. “I love teaching people how to reach their fitness goals,” he says. “I wouldn’t want to be doing anything else.”