About Shawn Dreben, founder of Sacred Temple Fitness

shawn-dreben-mMy interest in fitness began at the age of 14. I decided to join a gym with a friend of mine and before I knew it I was going five days a week and seeing great results.The more I saw my body change, the more I wanted to share my “knowledge” with all of my friends. Without a trainer to show me the ropes, I just watched people, especially body builders, to see what I could learn. Little did I know that what I was learning was going to lead to a rotator cuff injury that would keep me out of the gym for close to four months.

I was introduced to a chiropractic office where they performed physical therapy modalities on my shoulder and taught me exercises to help me strengthen my injured shoulder. Before long, I had learned the entire musculoskeletal system from studying the giant anatomy posters on the walls of the treatment rooms.I also continued to ask my chiropractor more and more questions because  I wanted to know EVERYTHING. Also, I wanted to understand how I ended up with my injury and how to avoid these types of injuries in the future.

At this point in my life I knew fitness was where I belonged. By this time, I was now 18 years old and studying anything I could get my hands on. My shoulder was healing but unbeknownst to me,  just over the horizon was another condition that would affect my life and derail my fitness goals. I had developed heart trouble that was causing me to experience panic attacks and I soon started suffering from depression. Within a few months, I was put on medication for my heart.

At 19 years of age, in addition to my job waiting tables, I applied for a position as a fitness trainer at LA Fitness. I had to take an eight week course two days a week, and if I passed the exam I could get a job as a trainer. This class was also a prep course for the National Academy of Sports Medicine certification. After working at L.A. Fitness for close to eighteen months, I found out that I needed heart surgery to repair my Mitral and Aortic valves.Three weeks after going through a nine hour open heart surgery in October of 1994, I took the NASM Certified Personal Trainer exam and passed with high marks. Needless to say, I quit waiting tables.

Soon after, I decided that it was time to expand my business outside of L.A. Fitness. I started training people in their homes, offices, private gyms and in the park. My clients range from 16 to 80, and come from all walks of life:  CEO’s, small business owners, teachers, full time mothers, teenage athletes, etc.