Come out and celebrate this Saturday (7/19) from 9am – 12pm at JKFITNESS:
17006 San Pedro, SanAntonio, TX 78232!
Did you know that JKFITNESS was named after Julia Karlstad, “JK” the Founder & President,
that’s also what her basketball teammates called her at the United States Air Force Academy.
Here’s her story of how JKFITNESS all began and some of the successes and challenges along
the way, written and narrated by “JK” herself:
Seventeen years ago JKFITNESS started in my vehicle and different clients homes or
businesses… I was driving from house or office with fitness equipment in hand; giving people
workouts. A few short months later I rented space at a gym off De Zavala in San Antonio, TX,
not far from The University of Texas at San Antonio. At the time I lived in Bulverde, TX and
made a long journey each day to get to work. The drive might have been long, but the days were
short as I LOVED helping people get fit and improve their overall wellness. Shortly after
acquiring gym space to train clients out of, I purchased a metabolic machine to accurately test
my client’s cardiovascular fitness and resting metabolic rate. That machine is still in use today
and still ranks as one of the most accurate methods of accessing one’s fitness and nutritional
needs. After staying at the De Zavala location for about one year, JKFITNESS moved to
Paesano’s Parkway and co-located with the Neurology Institute of San Antonio with Dr. Suzanne
Gazda’s group. We had a great time in that location working with many neuro patients and
building a niche for understanding how to work with clients with many different medical
conditions and limitations. While in this location we expanded our depth in space and then also
joined forces with Warm Springs Rehabilitation. It is here where Julia met physical therapist,
Kathy Schwartz and her amazing colleague, Lesley Mays. Julia is still GREAT friends with these
two professionals today. We’d refer clients back and forth (still do to this day) and help bridge
the gap between physical therapy and long-term wellness.
About 5 years into the business, I was seriously contemplating closing my doors. For the first
time in my life, I didn’t think hard work paid off. When I did the math, I was barely scraping by
and from everything I read the statistics were not on my side. Only about 10-20% of small
businesses make it the first year with another 50% plus failing before 5 years and only about 10-
20% making it past 10 years of business. I decided to consult with a business
mentor/professional before making a final decision and well let’s just say that person helped me
see things from a different perspective; that consultation helped me decide to continue down the
path of being a fitness professional and an entrepreneur. My FAITH also gave me insight as I
knew God had given me a talent that allowed me to positively change people’s lives, I wasn’t
ready to give that up and thankfully my tenacity, grit, perseverance, determination, motivation,
and work ethic has allowed this business to grow over the years.
Somewhere along the line I decided to create a Rock Solid Club, this is a club where clients are
recognized for making a significant health and fitness accomplishment. Presenting the Rock
Solid Club Award is probably one of my favorite things to do as it truly illustrates the positive
changes that JKFITNESS is helping facilitate in many people’s lives! This wall is displayed in
the studio and each year new members are inducted into the Rock Solid Club. Next time you’re
in the studio take some time to read about some of these client’s accomplishments or go to our
website and check a few of them out.
After spending about 7 years at the Paesanos Parkway location, JKFITNESS moved a little
further north central San Antonio to a strip center just north of Brook Hallow off Hwy 281. This
location was where I started to understand on a deeper level what it meant to fully renovate and
buildout a space that was going to work for my business. I hired a contractor, signed a sublease,
and locked myself into this location for 5 years. This construction project was challenging but
moving into a newly renovated space that was specifically designed for JKFITNESS was
exciting. My staff and I trained and motivated a lot of people in this space. I even hosted a book
party here as I published my second book titled Bariatric Fitness for Your New Life.
Considering I vowed never to write another book, I felt it was appropriate to celebrate this feat
since I’d been sought after by a publishing company, Ulysses Press, and was able to write this
manuscript in 6 short months while running my business and being a mom. I even directed the
photo shoot for this book and that too was a challenging, yet gratifying project!
In 2019 I started to contemplate once again if I should continue down the path of being a
business owner or moving my career in another direction. Working in a service-oriented
business is difficult; especially one that requires you to be positive and motivating 100% of the
time. Fortunately, I’m a glass half full kind of person and I try my best get others to look at life
in a similar light. Little did I know that less than a year from this same crossroad I was about to
embark upon three of the most difficult business years for JKFITNESS! Sometimes it’s best you
don’t know what lies ahead. I was seeking another location for JKFITNESS to land and if I
could acquire something that made more sense for the business and my professional career I
would continue to march forward. After much consideration and finding a place, this is what I
decided to do. However, two weeks shy of making that final decision to move forward on
another location, JKFITNESS was shut down due to the COVID pandemic in 2020! All I can
say is thank goodness for my military background and being able to lead the business, my staff,
and our clients through very trying times. In less than 48 hours from being shut down we rolled
out our virtual training service option which is still in place today and allows us to train people
from the comforts of their home or office. We have several clients today that train with us out of
state and have even trained folks out of country. I also give big kudos to our amazing clients
who continue to see the value of our services and stuck by our sides to allow us to continue to
help them with their health and fitness through the pandemic and beyond!
It was during the pandemic when I was also managing the construction project of our current
location of 17006 San Pedro, San Antonio, TX, 78232. After countless hours and extreme
perseverance, I was able to open the doors to this location in August of 2021. The pandemic
wasn’t over and getting the certificate of occupancy through the City of San Antonio on a fully
renovated building with new construction probably marks one of my most challenging business
accomplishments. Of course, none of this happened alone, I had many amazing people helping
along the way! A big shout out to my building contractor (Glenn Strother), my architect (Ramiro
Zapata), and my father (Dennis Karlstad who came down to San Antonio, TX from Pigeon Falls,
WI for several months to help complete the buildout)!
As I navigate down the path of this country’s current economic status post-pandemic fallout
along with the political challenges of today, I continue to keep my passion for health and fitness
at the forefront. One can’t put their health at jeopardy; if there is one thing the COVID
pandemic taught me and should have taught others is that you must keep yourself as healthy as
possible because you never know when your life could depend on it. Over the past few years, I
changed the structure of my employment, the structure of leadership within the business and
continue to offer management for the business, my staff, and my clients. I’m blessed to be
working in a field I am passionate about and pray that what lies ahead offers an even greater
health and wellness impact to the San Antonio community and beyond! JKFITNESS has won
Best Fitness Studio in San Antonio for 7 years and we’re in the running to be the best again in
2025! I hope you can come out and celebrate with us this Saturday and more importantly allow
JKFITNESS to help you achieve and surpass your health and fitness goals. Over the years I’ve
been blessed with many talented health and fitness professionals. Today we have a very talented
professional staff and we’re excited to help take your health and fitness to the next level!
Thanks to ALL who believed in me, my vision, and have trusted JKFITNESS to help with their
own goals to improve their overall wellness. Happy Birthday JKFITNESS, 17 years and
running!
Written by:
Julia Karlstad, M.Ed., CSCS-NSCA
JKFITNESS, Founder & President