About NextStep Fitness

In August 2006, Janne Kouri's life changed in a split second. An avid athlete, Janne was participating in a beach volleyball tournament. Between matches he decided to take dip in the ocean to cool off. Like so many times before, Janne ran into the water and dove through a wave. But, it was not like every other time - under the wave this time was a sand bar. Janne hit his head on that sand bar and fractured his C5 & C6 vertebrae. In an instant, he was paralyzed from the neck down.

After two months in ICU in California, Janne, and his new wife Susan, traveled to Lousiville, KY to participate in a cutting edge rehabilitation therapy for individuals with Spinal Cord Injury called "Locomotor Training". For twelve months Janne and Susan lived in Louisville, and under the watchful eye of his therapy team, saw improvements in his muscle strength, movement and general health. Ready to return home, Janne wanted to ensure that he could continue his athletic lifestyle and his Locomotor Training. After much research, Janne came to find that he was unable to continue his Locomotor Training and fitness regiment and continue to live his life as it was. He wondered what everyone else like him was doing. Being surprised at how little his options were he decided it was not only his responsibility to make this happen for him, be for others also. So, with the help of his family, and the guiding influence of Dr. Susie Harkema - one of the neuroscientists who created Locomotor Training & enhanced Activity Based Therapy techniques and Janne's lead advisor in Kentucky, Janne and Susan decided to start NextStep Fitness.

A California Non-Profit Corporation, the goal of NextStep Fitness, Inc. is to create a fitness environment for individuals with physical disabilities - where everyday fitness & wellness is available and supported in a state-of-the-art facility. With the combination of cardio workouts, strength training and stretching, NextStep Fitness strives to ensure that having a disability does not mean being unhealthy. Additionally, NextStep Fitness will be the first community-based fitness facility to offer Locomotor Training to clients. Like Janne himself, NextStep Fitness, Inc. strives to help it's clients stay strong, stay fit and stay healthy.