Salomon Services is Helping St. Augustine get Fit one Athlete at a Time

“The best time to start your fitness journey is yesterday.” For Salomon “Sal” Ropero, owner of Salomon Services, “yesterday” was about 42 years ago. A lifetime athlete, Sal has a long history of pursuing total body fitness.

Beginning as a football and basketball players in his early teens, Sal became a competitive swimmer in high school and then competed as both an amateur and professional surfer for a decade. His love for the active, outdoor lifestyle drove him to become a professional surfing judge earning respect as head judge for the Eastern Surfing Association (ESA). From there, he moved on to become the head athletic trainer at Fletcher High School where he directed the sports medicine program coordinating care, therapy, strength and conditioning for injured athletes.

In addition to holding a Bachelors degree in Health Science and a Masters degree in Sports Medicine, Sal is a certified Athletic Trainer with the National Athletic Trainer's Association (NATA), a certified personal trainer with the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and holds a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) certification. His fitness and training expertise has been called upon by the strength and conditioning staff of the Jacksonville Jaguars to assist in preparing players at the highest professional level.

But what does all that mean? Basically, it means that we are incredibly fortunate to have Salomon Services available locally “helping St. Augustine get fit one athlete at a time”.

Driven by Sal’s passion for helping people achieve their fitness goals, he and his wife, Tanya, opened their first small gym in St. Augustine in 2005. They felt they could better help people by opening their own facility rather than working for someone else.

Salomon Services differs from other gyms in several ways. Sal’s expertise as an athletic trainer really helps him understand the body orthopedically. Therefore, he is able to offer rehabilitation and therapy to clients. The trainers at Salomon Services are really good people with high character. They get to know, understand and relate to their clients to provide a personalized experience. The team at Salomon Services deeply values their clients which is probably why clients quickly turn into lifelong friends.

Salomon Services’ personal approach and customized training has made this once mom-and-pop shop explode over the last 15 years. Last fall, Salomon Services opened a brand new 9,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility (plus 40-yard outdoor turf field) so that they could better assist even more clients. But perhaps the true secret behind their success? “We never feel like we are ‘working’. We love what we do,” said Tanya.

Their gym is truly made for everyone as their clients are comprised of 8-year-old kids to those who are 90 years young. Salomon Services trains locals of all fitness levels whether their goals are weight loss, strength training or sport specific conditioning.

Come take a tour of their beautiful new facility and learn more about the programs Salomon Services offers during the Sampler for Kids and Summer Camp Expo on March 8th!