Art of Aging: Senior motivator gets folks moving in spin class

Thursday, January 11, 2018

Art of Aging: Senior motivator gets folks moving in spin class. Tamala Edwards reports during Action News at 12 p.m. on January 11, 2018.

SOCIETY HILL (WPVI) -- A master motivator and coach at 79-years-old is at the top of his game.

When Stephen Kane, a Certified Spin Instructor, Society Hill says "Go," young and old go hard in one of his spin classes.

Kane taught and coached in the Philadelphia school system until he retired in 1999.

Rasheed Brokenborough of West Philadelphia is Steve's former student.

"He changed a lot of people's lives, especially inner city kids. He got a lot of kids in college who thought they'd never leave West Philadelphia," Brokenborough said.

He found motivation for himself in spinning after 5 leg surgeries and 30 extra pounds took a toll on his body.

"I took a year to lose the weight, and said, 'I can do this,' I'm a teacher. Once you're a teacher, you can teach most anything."

Now Kane is a certified spin instructor and he runs his workouts just like he did all those years in the Philadelphia classroom with tough love."

Steve Carrell, Trainer at Philadelphia Sports Club said, "This guy knows how to get in your face, in a nice way."

Kathrin Ross of Westmont, NJ said, "I've done 50 marathons in 50 states, and he's the reason why."

"Spinning is the best bang for your cardio buck. Its no-impact or low-impact and you don't get the injuries. You can do this for the rest of your life," Kane said.

Steve's classes have motivated accomplished athletes and former students along with Steven Bello, who is fighting through a second round of chemotherapy.

"He pushes me at the right time, he keeps an eye on me. It helps me get over the side effects of the chemotherapy," Bello said.

"I think as coaches we're role models and you have to be a role model, especially in spin class. If you're pushing the envelope, they're going to follow you," Kane said.

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