Krewe Fitness Covington

Find Support to Exceed Your Limits at Krewe Fitness Covington

by Kiyomi Appleton Gaines

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAIGE HENDERSON PHOTOGRAPHY

Krewe Fitness Covington focuses as much on the “krewe” aspect of its name as on the “fitness.” Owner Kyle Roberts stresses that building a supportive community to help people do hard things and gain confidence is at the core of why he started the gym. It’s also what continues to motivate him as a trainer. “A gym that thrives is a gym people want,” he said. “When you see somebody doing something they were afraid to try, you let your guard down. When you come in here, we all come to the same point of trying to make ourselves better.”

Roberts has always been active and knows firsthand the transformative effects moving the body has on the mind. As a small child with a speech impediment, he was shy and often felt he didn’t fit in. He first found his place through sports, particularly football, and the drive to become a better athlete propelled him into the gym. “It was my brother and his high school best friend that first brought me to a gym. When I walked in, I still remember the color, that pale teal upholstery on the bench. The sound of the cast iron plates hitting together. I still remember the smell. I remember the sounds, and I fell in love with it. I knew this is what I had to do. I didn’t know I was going to have a career in it. [But] I wanted to be part of it.”

He laughs, recalling, “I was a little creepy kid in the gym. I stood there and watched [people] train. I was very nervous about asking questions or trying to jump into something. I didn’t have a lot of friends. I didn’t know how to talk to people. I was still learning [to do that] even though I was 12 or 13 years old. I watched and would try to draw the machines; I would try to draw what they were doing. Finally, these two gentlemen were like, ‘What are you doing?’ I was nervous. They looked at my book and said, ‘You’ve been here for a month, and you haven’t touched anything.’ I said, ‘Yes, I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t want to mess anything up.’ They took me under their wing, allowed me to walk with them, watch them, do a few exercises. They let me train with them.”

When an injury left him paralyzed, football was no longer an option. But he knew staying active was the best way to manage the stress of adjusting both to using a wheelchair and being a young college student. “Football was always my outlet for things because I internalized everything. Losing things that made me w ho I was, my legs made me who I was, and not having that, I needed that outlet. So, I went to the gym,” he said. “Again, I was nervous. I didn’t know what to do. Because I didn’t know anybody who was in a wheelchair and working out. I started paying attention to when there weren’t a lot of people in the gym. That’s when I would go. I would transfer on benches, try to do the movement, try to do the workout, and try to figure out how can I do it being in a wheelchair and not having balance.”

THE MORE YOU ARE INVOLVED; THE MORE WE CAN EVOLVE.

Roberts has been training and learning about fitness for almost 20 years. Encouraged by a Southeastern University rec center administrator, he became a professional weightlifter. Soon, other gym-goers were asking him for training advice. That led him to become a certified trainer. “A couple of trainers were like, ‘Hey, man, you want to train me?’ That was crazy. Trainers wanted me to train them. I said I’m gonna have my own gym someday. I never forgot it, but always put it on the back burner. I wanted to focus on developing my style or go after bodybuilding. It was an afterthought. I turned pro in bodybuilding, and I never went full-time with training, coaching and consulting. [But] I wanted to see where this could go... I kept talking about it. I’d hear stories about gyms, what was going on with the members, how the owners didn’t care anymore. It irritated me, and I’d talk about it with my wife or my dad. They both in the same week were like, ‘You need to stop talking about it because you’re never gonna do it if you don’t,’” he said.

Roberts achieved his dream of having his own gym this summer. “I started buying equipment and putting it in storage. I did this for three years. I took my time. I didn’t tell anybody. Then on Aug. 29, opened the doors,” he said.

When people come in, “I’m wheeling over with open arms. If you want to walk around, walk around. You want to jump on a few machines, jump on a few machines. Here’s the thing though, I’m gonna be right there with you. I’m gonna tell you the story about why this gym was created, about every piece of equipment, where I found it, so what you experience is me. If somebody has physical limitations or they’re nervous or scared, they are accepted, the way those two guys accepted me when I didn’t know anything,” he said.

Roberts’ enthusiasm makes it immediately obvious what makes him such a successful trainer. “Krewe just happened. My last day of competing, I was like, I’m gonna go full-time with coaching, training and consulting. I’ve never advertised, that’s the weird thing, I’m old school. Word started spreading, ‘He’s taking on more clients,’ and then I’d get these calls or messages. Who am I to say no to somebody who reached out to me? It got crazy that so many people wanted somebody who was honest, loyal, and accountable, and I said, ‘Okay, I guess I’m gonna do my gym.’”

Roberts encourages anyone curious about fitness to stop by and talk to him or his team. “I know what it’s like to overcome limitations because somebody was there to say you could do it. When you come in, and you don’t know anything about what we do, you don’t have to. I’m here. I will teach you,” he said.

Krewe Fitness | 1037 Ronald Reagan Highway, Covington, LA | krewefitnesscovington.com