Paul and Carolyn Fetters have recently moved to Pine Cove, completing what they call the “California Triathlon,” having lived at the beach, in the desert and now in the mountains. Paul is a professional body builder and former Mr. America who helps others build their personal training businesses, while Carolyn provides training for nutritionists at over 175 gyms in the US and Canada. Together they share a lifetime of experience as athletes and entrepreneurs.

Paul came to Venice Beach from Michigan in 1979 to pursue his dream of becoming a professional bodybuilder. He lived out of his car in the parking lot of Gold’s Gym until he found a job. By 1982 he had begun to act as a personal trainer, a category that did not exist at the time. With just three clients he was able to quit his job and dedicate himself to training. Initially he thought that six clients were the most he could handle while still focusing on his own training. However, he later developed a new format, semi-private training, and when he reached 100 clients moved from his garage gym to a Huntington Beach location, “The Training Spot,” in 2001.

In 1997 Paul won the Mr. America title, and has competed in 44 competitions, “unheard of in body building.” “If you would have asked the twenty-year-old if he would still be competing at 60, he would have said you were crazy. Those categories didn’t exist in those days.” Now builders in their 50s and 60s compete as “Masters” and “Grandmasters.”

Carolyn met Paul while she was in college. “I was a serious athlete; competitive road cycling, running, I rowed crew with UCLA.” But she struggled with her weight. “I was pudgy; my coaches gave me all wrong information. The coach would bring donuts to practice. Then I met Paul, he taught me how to eat. Within two months I’d probably lost 25 pounds. I had been doing a ton of cardio and starving myself, eating maybe one meal a day, believing that was what I needed to do to be thin.”

She found that eating many small, healthy meals was key for her. As she and Paul describe it, regular small meals are like feeding a furnace to keep a small, hot fire burning steadily. Soon she was studying nutrition at Santa Monica City College.

The Fetters owned gyms for 20 years, selling them in 2016. In 2008 Carolyn created a nutrition program for their clients, which became so successful they turned it into a licensing program, now at 175 gyms in North America. Carolyn still runs that company, Balanced Habits, today. Paul worked as a consultant, teaching others how to run successful personal training studios. “Then I was thrown a curveball.”

In 2019 Paul suffered a heart attack and underwent quadruple bypass surgery. “It was a shock,” he said. “After a difficult recovery. I decided to write a program for other people recovering from major surgery. After surgery there is often a time of negative mindset, out-of-control emotions, struggling to get back into the life they knew, and a need for good nutrition. But there was also an opportunity for them to be in better shape afterwards than when they were going into the episode. I help them with strength training and Caroline helps them with nutrition, we do that virtually.”

Carolyn says “Our goal has always been to help people develop a better quality of life. Every year we ask ourselves ‘what can we do to help more people?’ Now we’re helping over 200,000… through our nutrition certification program, which is accredited through NASM (National Academy of Sports Medicine.) Clients get a daily lesson, educational-based nutrition, not just what to eat but how to eat, and how food affects them, we don’t sell products, it’s all real food.”

Paul and Carolyn are discovering the gifts of small-town life. “People are so embracing of us here when they find out we are full-time. It’s something we hadn’t thought about when we came. We moved to a new house, a new environment and climate, but didn’t consider the community aspect of it, what a bonus.”

To learn more visit balancedhabits.com. Paul is on Instagram as “Paulfetts.”