Caroline Town Crier

Easton, Maryland
May 2012

Hearthstone Health and Fitness, Inc. (“Hearthstone”), the new fitness and wellness center in Easton, announces that it opened for business on May 21.

Hearthstone Health and Fitness has taken up residence at 102 Marlboro Avenue in Easton. Hearthstone’s owners, Dave and Martha Tuthill of Oxford, have transformed the former Blockbuster Video location into a state-of-the-art facility that will bring together the very best in exercise and nutritional science, fitness equipment and highly qualified expert staff. First and foremost, Hearthstone will provide a superior client commitment to deliver an integrated and complete wellness experience for the individual just starting his wellness journey to the elite athlete looking to improve their performance.

Dave Tuthill, Hearthstone’s President and CEO, was inspired to create Hearthstone following his own wellness journey. In 1991, Dave weighed more than 330 pounds. By 2011, he was down to 280 but now suffered from Crohns Disease and Type 2 Diabetes and was dependent on over 15 medications. Mr. Tuthill finally saw results in the winter of 2011 after working a science-based wellness program that integrated fitness, nutrition, his personal physician and his own knowledge growth. “To date I have lost more than 70 pounds, no longer need insulin to manage my Diabetes and have made many positive changes in my life because I aligned myself with a team of professionals that were all aware of my goals and worked together to help me achieve them,” comments Mr. Tuthill. “I realized there are so many people out there like me – they want to be healthy and be an active participant in their own health journey. That’s when I decided to “pay it forward” to those who need to find their way to better health and fitness by being part of a supportive, integrated and like-minded community.”

The Hearthstone approach takes a 360-degree look at all the factors affecting wellness: physical fitness, nutrition, balance and mental health. The company will be led by a seven-person management team that includes a Director of Fitness, Life Coach and Registered Dietitian. Hearthstone will also partner with many area physicians and guest medical professionals to provided a “total lifestyle” concept to their clients.

Mr. Tuthill remarks, “Many gyms employ non-degreed staff with a training certificate they got off the internet. At Hearthstone, we are putting a significant amount of resources into ensuring we employ individuals who have undergraduate and, in most cases, graduate degrees in exercise and health-related disciplines like exercise physiology, exercise science, physical education and kinesiology. All of our front-line staff are also credentialed from the industry’s leading certification organizations like the American College of Sports Medicine, the American Council on Exercise, the American Fitness Professional and Associates and the National Academy of Sports Medicine. And, unlike so many facilities, our staff have current certifications rather than just getting that certification once in their lifetimes.” Mr. Tuthill continues, “the industry is changing so rapidly that keeping current on the latest science and latest techniques is critical to helping clients work smarter and more efficiently rather than just harder.”

Both Mr. and Mrs. Tuthill were clients of personal trainers, regularly, over the last 20 years with minimal and sporadic success. “So often,” Mrs. Tuthill says “the trainers are only focused on selling memberships and training packages to achieve their bonuses. Somewhere in that formula, the needs and goals of the client gets diminished or forgotten.” Mrs. Tuthill continues, “At Hearthstone, our team is salaried. They are compensated based on their performance and customer satisfaction rather than how much they sell. This allows the team to really care about whether members achieve their targeted results. Measuring customer satisfaction is almost unheard of in this industry.”

The Hearthstone team will offer a wide variety of services from individual to group exercise training. Clients may also choose just to exercise on their own and the company will also provide support to those members. The Hearthstone philosophy stresses education and making informed choices. Clients may learn how to eat “clean and healthy” from their Registered Dietitian and can also learn how to bust through success roadblocks with the help of their Life Coach. These clients can also participate in frequent medical lectures from local and guest physicians and learn the latest scientific trends in wellness care. Hearthstone also wants their clients to have fun and encourages the social aspect found in most public fitness settings. The company takes this a step further and will organize group dinner parties at local restaurants featuring healthy food options.

Hearthstone will also offer the best in traditional and innovative fitness equipment for the improvement of cardiovascular health, functional training and resistance training. Members and non-members will have access to state-of-the-art scientific tests such as VO2 Max, Resting Metabolic Rate, Spirometry and Body Composition featuring the industry leading BOD POD. These quality tests are normally only found in university and major hospital settings.

Clients may also purchase nutritionally-balanced “meals and snacks to go” prepared in partnership with Mason’s Restaurant in Easton. These may be either pre-ordered or can be purchased from a rotating stocked inventory. All the meals are fresh, not frozen, and made from top quality ingredients. Hearthstone will also offer free ionized water and coffee to its clients.

Finally, Hearthstone will offer concierge services. Clients who want to eat healthy while traveling can have Hearthstone make their dinner reservations at restaurants featuring healthy food options. Hearthstone is a member of IHRSA and offers its clients a 50 percent day-pass discount on participating member clubs around the country. Similarly, local obstacles to exercise can be overcome through the help of Hearthstone’s talented staff.

Membership fees will be competitively priced starting at $60 per month with a one-time membership fee of $50. Periodically, Hearthstone will donate all or a portion of the one-time fee to local charities. Memberships are paid month-to-month with no long-term commitment. As Mr. Tuthill states, “we want our members to WANT to belong to Hearthstone. We don’t want to have them frustrated at having signed a long-term commitment to a facility they no longer enjoy or that doesn’t support their individual goals. We succeed only when our clients succeed.”

Further information can be found on Hearthstone’s website at www.HearthstoneHealthandFitness.com or by calling the facility at 410.690.3838.

About
Hearthstone Health and Fitness, Inc. (“Hearthstone”) is a cutting-edge health and fitness center in Easton, MD employing “lifestyle” concepts to improve health, reach new performance heights and slow the aging process for its members. Hearthstone’s credentialed staff will work with members to help them achieve their health goals. The facility provides state-of-the-art equipment and the latest in technology to help members see how their body responds, from the inside out, to focused exercise and a regimen of healthy eating. Hearthstone caters to everyone from the elite athlete looking to improve his or her performance to an individual just beginning his or her fitness journey. To learn more about Hearthstone, please visit http://www.hearthstonehealthandfitness.com or contact Dave Tuthill, president at Dave@HearthstoneHealthandFitness.com or 410.690.3838.