ABOUT US

Our mission

Forward Thinking Fitness (FTF) is leading the Lehigh Valley with personalized results. Our approach to your health makes all the difference in an area filled with franchises and volume-driven facilities. Pioneering the anti-franchise movement, we know that a one-size-fits-all approach simply does not work for those who are serious about changing their lives.

We are here to go against the grain and declare war on the fitness industry’s low quality standards. Evan’s vision for FTF came to fruition with the help of his dad when they opened up their doors in 2016. Since that day, our facility has tripled in space and we have added a daughter company providing massage and yoga services. Our award-winning services are always evolving to stay ahead of the curve for our clients.

The puzzle is solved

We have created four puzzle pieces of success at FTF:

Each one builds on one another, and all four need to work harmoniously together in order for clients to reach their goals. This comprehensive approach to your health is the difference-maker to reach your full potential. The A-Team is continually leveraging advanced science to help clients smash through goals. Pair that with our contagious culture of positivity and encouragement, you have yourself an amazing amount of support behind you.

Attitude

positivity ALWAYS wins. If you spend your time thinking you can’t accomplish something, or you complain about everything – it will stop your progress in your tracks. The first and most important step you can take is embracing positivity and welcome change. This is the hardest piece of the puzzle to find, because it comes within you. We can’t change your attitude. But if you embrace positivity, it lays the foundation for your ultimate success through the other puzzle pieces we provide.

Exercise

Obviously. That’s what everyone is here doing! Working out with us consistently 4x/week is your golden ticket to progress once you have the positive attitude down. We provide you with all of the personalization you need. You don’t have to think about a thing – just show up and put in the effort to push the pace! This piece of the puzzle is methodically put together (see what we did there) so you have nothing to worry about but show up.

Nutrition

the next step in taking your progress to the next level. There are 168 hours in a week. We see you for 4-5 of them. That means there’s 160+ hours you can totally derail and sabotage your exercise and attitude puzzle pieces with lack of planning and direction. Dig into your bad habits and turn them into serious progress propellers with Chelsea!

Community

this solves the puzzle and gets you to the promised land. In an isolated world, it’s great to surround yourself with people who are here with you on a daily basis working toward the same goal: be the best version of yourself. Get to know people in FTF Nation. Step out of your comfort zone and forge new friendships. High energy and high fives are unlimited in this final piece of the puzzle. We are all stronger together – and that’s just straight up science.

Meet The Team

Evan Howard

Chief Executive Officer | Certified Personal Trainer

Certified Personal Trainer

Evan created Forward Thinking Fitness after being utterly frustrated with the area's fitness industry offerings. He has been experience in one-on-one training the general population since his first year in college, and further diversified his background as the USA Women's Rugby Assistant Strength Coach in 2012. After returning to Allentown in 2014, he grew as a professional in the industry through various companies until it was his time to bring his vision to reality with the help of his dad, Mark Howard. The two opened up FTF on Evan's 25th birthday in 2016 and it has been a great bonding and learning experience for them ever since. In Evan's spare time you can find him thinking about work, enjoying a good movie, and traveling around the country seeing Nine Inch Nails as often as he can.

Payton Bachman

Personal Training Director | Certified Personal Trainer

West Chester University, B.S.

Payton joined the A-Team in 2016 as his very first gig in the fitness industry. He has an extensive background training as an athlete through his undergraduate days. Payton took on the role as our Personal Training Director in 2019 to help design workouts and refine our comprehensive assessment processes. He believes the most important thing in work and life is hard work, which reflects his award as The Lehigh Valley Style's Best Personal Trainer. Aside from absolutely loving his job, Payton enjoys lifting heavy weights and spending time with his loved ones.

Chelsea Horvath

Nutritional Counseling Director | Registered Dietitian

Chelsea joined the A-Team in 2019 and has been quick to embrace our culture helping clients achieve their goals outside of the gym. She comes from a background with a wide range of concentrations: medical, community, and sports nutrition. Chelsea is there for whatever her clients need from helping them clean out their pantry at home to showing them how to shop for healthy groceries. When she isn’t working, you can find her hiking, swimming, or biking. She has a soft spot for authentic Asian cuisine. If you want to find the way to her heart, feed her linguine with clam sauce and zucchini bread. Yummba!

Link Howard

Door Greeter | Certified Cutest Dog Ever

Link joined the A-Team in 2017 as Evan's best friend. He started off with a few accidents on the turf, but after a little house training he became everyone's favorite employee overnight. This little guy loves to look out the front door and greets everyone with a wagging tail. Link especially loves the kids who come in for child care as he's always giving them some puppy kisses! His favorite exercise in the gym is playing with the battle ropes and zooming around all the clients pushing the pace.

Real Integrity And Innovation

We find that the fitness industry is antiquated in many ways. We also know that the fitness industry as a whole is filled with empty promises hidden behind flashy marketing. We came out of the gate looking to offer services with real integrity and innovation that benefits any human who wants to become the best version of themselves.

That goal has since been accomplished, but we are far from finished. From no contracts or enrollment fees to maintaining a low trainer to client ratio, we have always prided ourselves in focusing on quality of care instead of quantity of clients. No salesmen. No cookie-cutter workouts. No more being a number. If you are ready to commit to yourself, there is no better time than now. Through safe and effective programming, you can push the pace with all of us at Forward Thinking Fitness for the results you have always wanted.