INSPIRATION
PEO PLE
From fat to fit Roly poly deputy rolled into new body, new life. STORY: ROXANNE BROWN
≈ PHOTO: ANTHONY RAO
ooking at Shawn Lukens, one might consider him a good fitness role model. He eats healthy, he appears fit and trim and he is an avid cyclist. But it wasn’t always that way. Rewind about 10 years and Shawn was 100 pounds heavier (230-250 pounds) and known as “fat cop” or “fat sheriff ” by his peers at the Lake County Sheriff ’s Office where he served as a deputy. But one day something clicked. “I came home one night from work and just decided to go running and that stuck,” Shawn says. “I was tired of being out of shape, I was tired of not being able to chase after the bad guys and I knew sooner or later we were gonna have kids; I’d been married probably five years at that point, and I was just tired.” Shawn began eating better, he continued walking and jogging and then, made a $500 purchase that changed his life forever: a hybrid (road) bike. “I got into biking and started getting addicted,” Shawn says, explaining that later, he switched to mountain biking and lost 100 pounds. He then joined the Law Enforcement Bicycle Association to be on bike patrol and became an instructor and board member with them. In September 2019, Shawn, now 38, retired from the LCSO and in October 2019, opened Adrenaline Bike Works, a 6,000-square-foot bicycle centric retail and service repair shop located in the former Mount Dora Museum of Speed building at 206 N. Highland Street. There, Shawn touts all kinds of cruiser, mountain and road style top brand bicycles ranging in price from $500-$10,000, and also, his passion for riding. Everyone, including children, are encouraged to try them before renting or purchasing one. And there are two bars, one where people can sit and order wine and draft beers, and another for sitting and watching bikes being repaired. There is also a wide selection of accessories and an indoor bike jump and wooden pump track (A circuit of rollers, banked turns and features designed to be ridden completely by riders “pumping”—generating momentum by up and down body movements, instead of pedaling). Additionally, Shawn organizes group rides to nearby trails and participates in community events. He says he delights in how biking brings people together, especially parents and children. For more information, including hours of operation at Adrenaline Bike Works, visit rideabw.com or their Facebook page.
Do you know someone who is a healthy inspiration? Email your recommendations to roxanne@akersmediagroup.com
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