For Immediate Release
March 18, 2009
Contact: Jenifer Vogt
Cell: 561-718-3428
Office: 561-988-9230
jenifer@thecreativecompendium.com
THESE WOMEN ARE ACTIVE BY CHOICE
South Florida Company Meets the Fitness Needs of Baby Boomers and Seniors
FORT LAUDERDALE,
FL — For the founders of Active By Choice good health is a family affair. Eleanor Methot, 76, and her two daughters,
Celeste Methot, 51, and Michele Fuchs, 48, started the company in 2006. Both Eleanor and Michele are Registered Nurses with B.S. degrees in Science. Celeste has an M.S. in Exercise Physiology. Together they represent almost 100 years of healthcare experience and operate a number of family businesses focused on healthcare. But Active By Choice is the one they are most passionate about because the idea for the company was born from their own need for quality fitness products suitable for baby boomers and seniors.
“I’ve always been very physically active but as I got older I realized that my fitness routine had to change because I became more prone to injuries that had not been a problem in the past,” notes Celeste. “It also became necessary for me to add more strength training to my routine in order to maintain muscle mass and endurance.”
These realizations prompted Celeste to investigate supports, braces, and fitness equipment to complement her modified routines. She was dismayed to discover that there weren’t many companies catering to baby boomers like her, and even less offering products for seniors. So she consulted with her mother and sister and found that they were encountering the same problem. The three agreed to start a company that would provide quality fitness products with a special focus for older adults.
“I’m clearly in the minority because there are only a small percentage of individuals over 65 that maintain an active lifestyle,” adds Eleanor. “And this is unfortunate because all the indications are that an active lifestyle can improve overall health and can help decrease the likelihood of chronic illness. I power walk daily. I’m even currently training for a half marathon at Disney. So when Celeste originally came to me with this idea, I thought it would be a great way to reach seniors with products and information that would contribute to better health and happiness.”
“We’re not doctors and we don’t provide medical advice. But we do our research to guide the selection of our products and to provide timely information to our customers,” comments Michele. “We make sure our products are suitable for older adults and support a fitness routine that is consistent with the recommendations of major health organizations and researchers. We also test them all ourselves.”
The Active By Choice Web site (http://www.activebychoice.com) provides detailed product information and photos to help customers make decisions about which products to choose. And the women use Social Media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, to communicate fitness information to their customers and to build an online community for active baby boomers and seniors. In April, they will launch a quarterly newsletter with fitness facts, product spotlights, and special offers.
Celeste concludes, “In January we changed the name of our company from Active Authority to Active By Choice. This was a conscious decision because we know that good health is a lifestyle choice. A person has to want to make that choice each day. We’ve made that choice our entire lives and we realize how it has benefited us. We want to share that through our company. We want to help those people that are active and want to maintain. But it’s also really important to us to help those people that are not active and could benefit tremendously from adding exercise to their lives — especially those that suffer from chronic illnesses, such as Diabetes and Athritis.”
Note: Eleanor, Celeste and Michele are available for interviews and commentary on fitness products and related topics for Baby Boomers/Seniors. Follow them on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/activebychoice, or Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/editapps.php?ref=mb#/pages/Active-By-Choice/68253357248, or visit their blog at www.activebychoice.wordpress.com. JPEG photo of Active By Choice founders is available on request.
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Fort Lauderdale-based Active By Choice, Inc. is a family owned and operated online community dedicated to promoting healthy and active lifestyles among people of all ages, with a special focus on the 78+ million member baby boomer market. Combining many years of professional nursing and exercise physiology experience with long-standing industry relationships, Active By Choice’s e-commerce offerings include state-of-the-art products for wellness, therapy, rehabilitation, active support and injury prevention. For more information, call Active By Choice, Inc. at 888-486-5506 or visit www.activebychoice.com.