Our high school, Floral Park Memorial, was hosting its annual dodgeball tournament. Teams usually come up with creative, if not questionable, team names to try and slip them past the teachers and administration while also getting a chuckle out of it.

One of the teachers, Dustin Demmers, is a teacher at FPM. I never had him as a teacher—I just knew him as the giddy, goofy, always-smiling hall monitor from sixth period. But then, Mr. Demmers released a video of his son, Ethan, (if you haven’t watched it, I’ll link it below) that made it feel that something had happened to Ethan. The next day, Mr. Demmers came to school as if nothing had happened. I didn’t know what was going on, nor did I ask.

My buddy and I spent a few days trying to come up with a name for our team. I remembered the video I had seen the day before and suggested “Team Ethan” for the name. He loved it. Now, as a reminder, I never had Mr. Demmers as a teacher, but my friend did, so, he went to ask him for permission to name our team after his son— and that was Day 1.

Years later, after I graduated high school, I worked at a pool teaching kids how to swim. I constantly wore those old dodgeball shirts—every single day. And I’ve been wearing them since I made the first original shirt.

One day, one of Dustin Demmers’ current students came up to me and asked if she could buy one. I hesitated, then said, "Yes, give me two weeks." Later that day, I was talking to another friend, trying to come up with something to put on the back of the new design I was working on. I wanted to write “Keep Smiling,” but he convinced me that it might come across as dismissive—like telling people to smile through tough times instead of addressing their struggles. Instead, he suggested a quote from the Disney movie Meet the Robinsons: "Keep Moving Forward." And the rest is history.

I then asked Dustin for a sample of Ethan’s handwriting with that phrase. The next day, he brought Ethan with him to a swimming lesson. Right there in the lobby, I had Ethan write it out. And that original handwriting is what you now see plastered on absolutely everything we make :)

Since then, the Team Ethan brand has taken numerous causes under our wing to help raise awareness and money for those in need. We’ve donated to raise awareness about suicide prevention, and pancreatic cancer research in honor of our beautiful friend, Mary Jane Morra, and childhood cancer in honor of our beautiful new angel, Joshua Encar.

I (Sebastian Gomez) have always struggled with my mental and physical health. Over the years, I’ve learned that as my physical health improved, so did my mental well-being. Not only did this benefit me personally, but it also allowed me to be a better person for the people I love most.

It is the greatest blessing that, after 11 years of hard work, we are now able to help people on a more personal level. With a combined 25+ years of experience in personal fitness and nutrition, I have focused on my vision that brings both an online and physical space to share what I’ve learned in hopes that it can help you, too.

Over the last few years, I’ve personally helped over 300 people reach their fitness and wellness goals. It’s truly the greatest pleasure to watch these incredible individuals build confidence and achieve things they never thought were possible.

Along this journey, I had the privilege of meeting Adrian Nunez—one of the biggest foodies I’ve ever known. His passion for food has led him to create tailored recipe books that make eating healthy both fun and delicious. Through his personal experiences, he has gained valuable nutritional knowledge that can also help you (always consult with a nutritionist or dietitian before making any dietary changes).

Lastly, in the process of building Keep Moving Forward Fitness Club, I had the honor of meeting one of the kindest souls, Thomas Liguori, the owner of Life Style Café in Port Washington, New York.  Together, our goal is to combine all our knowledge and resources to create a beautiful trifecta of fitness, nutrition, and community—a space filled with some of the kindest people, where working on yourself is not only rewarding but also fun community experience. It’s a place where you can leave your worries at the door and focus on the most important person—you.

After all the good you do for the world and those around you, the least you can do is give yourself 60 minutes a few days a week to be present for yourself..