From the Editors

FORWARD MOMENTUM

Every year, we create a special edition dedicated to our community’s wellness-centric lifestyle. In many ways, it’s an easy charge. New boutique gyms, health gurus, clean-food businesses and outdoor rec centers are constantly hitting the scene, ready to provide us with more resources to live healthily. The challenge lies in wading through it all to curate the best of what’s out there.

Recently, some of the biggest local health news has surrounded the NCH Heart Institute (“Matters of the Heart,” p. 42). Within a year of building an all-star team to lead the cardiac department, the healthcare system has launched a fellowship program, opened a cardiac ICU, embarked on more than a dozen innovative medical trials and announced plans for a new building—all steps that help put the Heart Institute on the map.

Erica Current takes a similarly proactive approach at The Skin Room (“The Science of Beauty,” p. 28). Rather than waiting for skincare technologies to trickle down from bigger markets, she aims to keep Naples at the forefront of effective, non-invasive treatments. Going beyond the surface, Current doesn’t aim to age you down or provide a temporary glow. She works with clients to identify the root culprits behind common issues and relies on advanced treatments to heal the skin and maintain results. “My job is to get your skin the healthiest it can be, and then you look youthful because of that,” she says.

Many of the wellness pros featured in this issue devote their lives to optimizing what they do. That’s certainly the case with the fitness trainers in “Sweat Equity” (p. 48). Like Current, most of them are not trying for immediate, skin-deep results. They don’t push training programs based on getting ripped or looking 10 years younger. Instead, it’s a commitment to longevity that unites people like Sean Sullivan and Ryan Vesce of Matterhorn Fitness, Angela Gagauf of Fifty Plus Personal Training and Carlos Garcia of VERSAGYM. They start by assessing clients’ baseline fitness and underlying compensations and then build sustainable programs to strengthen weaknesses and progress steadily over time. Former hockey player Sergei Fedotov draws on the motivational energy of team training to ignite small groups at Pure Skill Fitness. And Lauren Fox of Donation Yoga Naples integrates giving back into her programs. Part of the proceeds from her classes go to local charities, adding purpose to the list of benefits students reap from her yoga sessions.

While the trainers’ motivations and ethoses share similarities, their approaches vary greatly. So, get out there and find the wellness route that works for you. In Southwest Florida, the possibilities abound.

—The Gulfshore Life Team

DISCOVERIES

Naples Therapeutic Riding Center expands, The Continental’s light lunches, Dunbar’s first pharmacy and a better takeout strategy