The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Area entrepreneur wants to move people
Area entrepreneur Mac Lewis wants to move people through exercise, encouragement
Mac Lewis thrives on the sweat and motion that vinyasa yoga affords, and advocates both to assist others..
Mac Lewis has had many labels in his 29 years: Restaurant entrepreneur. Yoga and cycling instructor. Lululemon ambassador. Division 1 college athlete. Recovering alcoholic. While his health journey took a several-year detour during his younger years, the nearly fiveyears sober Beachwood resident is now running full tilt toward wellness and taking as many people with him as he can.
Set in motion
The Erie, Pennsylvania, native with Lake County ties was involved in gymnastics constantly from age 3 until his late teens, when two hip surgeries led him to pursue diving instead while studying hotel administration at Cornell University.
Lewis never missed a practice, but his passion had left him as he began to drink heavily.
“I don’t even know how I got through college,” he said.
Lewis credits a family intervention, rehab and AA meetings, and a will to survive with helping him get his life back on track.
“Somebody had to bring it to light for me and then it was just a decision,” he said. “I knew if I wanted to move forward in life, if I wanted to live, I had to do something differently.”
Moving on
His weekdays now start with a 2-plus-mile run on his treadmill at 3:30 a.m. to “clear his head,” then weight-lifting before he’s off to lead the 6 a.m. power vinyasa yoga classes at the Cleveland Yoga location in Concord Township. He’s there three days a week, including 8:15 a.m. on Saturdays) and Harness Cycle in Cleveland three other days.
He started teaching yoga in 2017 while living in New York City.
He also oversees three CoreLife Eaterys as his family is the franchisee for the Cleveland area. The opening of the first location, in Mentor, and a relationship brought him back to the area in December of 2017.
Within a year, the engagement ended and he threw himself into activity to cope.
“I started to say yes to just about everything that was presented to me because I needed to stay busy,” he said.
He was drawn to yoga after getting sober, knowing his gymnast flexibility would be an advantage.
“That’s what got me in the door,” he said. “Mental clarity is what kept me there.”
Influencing others
He thrives on the sweat and motion that vinyasa yoga affords, and advocates both to assist others.
“I love sweating,” he said. “It means I did something worthwhile, that I spent my time wisely.”
During his classes, he also tries to convey the message about “staying present.”
“It’s more than a physical gift I can give people,” he said. “Getting caught up in yesterdays or the past and ‘What if,’ and what is going to happen tomorrow, it just ruins the moment they have, which is right now.”
Despite his 12 to 15 workouts a week, he acknowledges that he has struggles like everyone else.
He eats at CoreLife often, but has a bit of a sweet tooth. He also has dealt with “crippling” anxiety in the past, and is prone to procrastination and stressing himself out in the process.
He says he is proof that anyone can get well.
“I went from not knowing what the next day was going to bring, worrying about waking up, to being able to help others understand there is a way out,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that they have to work out 12 times a week, or be a cycling instructor or a yoga instructor, but motion, sweat, overall wellness is good for your head.”
Getting personal
Lewis describes himself as an open book and combines that characteristic with his wellness passion in a recent new venture called Sweat Strong.
The program, launched in collaboration with Lululemon in Woodmere, promotes bonding between exercise instructors and their students through sharing life stories as well as sweating together.
“What I’ve found is that the more instructors are willing to share, the more they are able to connect with their classes or students and further develop conversation, whether it be about physical wellness, mental wellness or just overall bettering of themselves,” he said.
By all appearances, Lewis is living his best life, alongside gal pal Ginny — an Irish-Doodle he acquired about a year ago.
“She’s the best,” he said. “She has a daycare at every location I go to. She’s so spoiled.”
He looks to expand the Sweat Strong program this year and the CoreLife restaurant collection, potentially in Erie within the next 18 months.
He also is working toward his first marathon in the spring.
Meanwhile, he hopes to continue spreading encouragement and positivity to all those who cross his path.
“You are never alone,” he often says. “You don’t have to stay where you are and you never know what is around the corner.”
“It’s more than a physical gift I can give people. Getting caught up in yesterdays or the past and ‘What if,’ and what is going to happen tomorrow, it just ruins the moment they have, which is right now.” — Mac Lewis