Fundraiser for Medical Expenses with Sessions or a Donation

Hi,

I’m reaching out to reconnect, share my journey, and ask for your support as I work to rebuild my career after some challenging years.

First, I want to thank you for the time we spent together in the water. Whether it brought you relief, strength, rejuvenation, invigoration, or moments of joy.

I am grateful for having had the remarkable opportunity to share time in the water with you. Your trust in me as your guide in what the water can do fueled my passion, and it’s that same passion that drives me to continue.

My Journey and Lessons Learned

As you may recall, my work in aquatic fitness and therapy has always been adaptively unconventional. I’ve had the unique privilege of tailoring sessions and classes since 2008, in hundreds of pools amassing well over 10,000 hours, all thanks to clients like you. But the past three and a half years have brought challenges that tested me well beyond anything I could have imagined.

Since COVID, including relocating to Sarasota in 2021, I haven't been able to work or build any kind of business with any consistency due to a series of medical issues. To be blunt, I have had six visits to the ER, been admitted seven times, and undergone five surgeries and two procedures.

Despite all these setbacks, the water has been my sanctuary, classroom, and lab. When combining water with land at various phases of my recovery, it provided a path to accelerated recovery that I have yet to find anyone else doing. Every week, the head physical therapist was amazed by my recovery progression.

The training video I shot this past October. Less than twenty months since spinal fusion neurosurgery of my cervical (neck) in Jan '23 and nine months post quad tendon repair (knee) surgery (Jan '24). Of the twenty months, six months of which I was in a brace.

This crazy journey has greatly deepened my understanding and empathy for recovery and the incredible potential of aquatic healing and strengthening that is not being utilized in systematic healthcare or alternative wellness.

I've learned more working through my recovery than any academic certification can offer, and I am incredibly appreciative of these life-changing lessons. Because I now can use it to help others.

How You Can Support

All I want to do is get back to doing what I love, my work. To help make this happen, I am offering my aquatic services at a discount pre-purchase price to relaunch my business in Miami, preferably by early February 2025.

My goal is to raise $60K or 60 units for medical expenses and to help me get back on my feet.

1 unit = $1000 for six (6) private sessions or a group of up to 5 people.

Please use Venmo (@aquastu) if you are only interested in pre-purchasing a unit for yourself. If you would like to gift a unit or more to someone else or make a donation, please use GoFundMe. Another option for donating a unit or more is to contact me, and we can decide on a community outreach I could teach/train at with your donation.

Each unit includes the initial foundational gear I used for my spinal recovery. Every contribution will go toward my medical expenses and support my return to work.

If you’re unable to contribute financially, sharing my story or referring someone to my services would mean a lot. A majority of my clients were referrals, so any recommendations would be deeply appreciated.

Why This Matters

Recovery isn’t just about healing—it’s about reclaiming your life. With my unique perspective of being an aquatic trainer and recently as a patient, I’ve experienced the transformative power of water, using aquatic principles in conjunction with land work no one else knows of to accelerate recovery in ways traditional therapy doesn't.

These principles I've discovered will work for everyone, regardless of age or fitness level. I want to help shatter the preconceived biases about aquatic fitness and therapy, and your support will allow me to start back on that journey.

Exciting Updates

I recently relaunched my initial website AquaFitSports, and I am editing content for a YouTube channel launch to share more of my journey, insights, and demos.

Let’s Reconnect

If you have any questions or would like more information, please reach out. I’d love to hear how you’ve been and explore how we can work together again. Thank you for being part of my journey and for believing in me and what I do.

With warmth and much gratitude,

Stuart