Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen King.
Hi Stephen, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
My name is Stephen, I’m the son of American missionaries and grew up in Italy until the age of 18. I moved to the states for college and in 2011 got married and brought my Italian wife over. We have three kids we have adopted over the last 5 years. In 2023 I decided to start my strength coaching business called Centaur Strength LLC. The purpose is to help people get stronger more than they ever thought they could hence my tagline “redefine your max”, almost as if they were to become a hybrid of animal and human strength—become a legend hence the name. I have trained old and young, male and female, newbies and advanced lifters, from soccer moms to competitive wrestlers or powerlifters and everything in between. I compete in strongman and that is my preferred sport to coach as it has so many unique events like lifting stones, logs, carrying heavy objects , or throwing them for a distance. Part of my business is also putting on and promoting strongman meets. In fact we are putting on our second annual Kansas City’s Ultimate Strongman 2 on Veterans Day weekend in which we will have athletes attempt state records in the trap bar deadlift and also have a 1000$ prize for the top deadlift over 1000lbs. We have several athletes attempting this (at a local meet!!!). I don’t own a gym currently, but hopefully one day I would like to open my own.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life is full of struggles, whether they are emotional, spiritual, physical, fiscal and so on. As someone who discovered the love for strength training later in life, I started this coaching journey way later than most. This can be taxing on a physical level with the many injuries I’ve endured like a torn ACL and a bulging disc which unfortunately happen in this environment, but also means that my time has to be well planned so that I am not forgetting my duties towards my kids.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My niche interest and preference is strongman. There aren’t many coaches that specialize in this sport and it is very much a sport that is growing in popularity. My goal is to grow it as much as possible in the KC area. The thing that is most satisfying is having someone you train for an extend period of time and see how they transform and become so much stronger or have much better technique than when they started.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
For sure my wife deserves the credit for putting up with my shenanigans along the way. She has encouraged me to pursue my passions and hasn’t stifled my dreams but encouraged them.
When I started my journey as a strength coach, the owners Jim and Tammy of what was then The Forge Strength Gym supported me and gave me a place to train out of. Likewise once they sold it to Competing 4 Life that partnership has continued well with the current owners Devere and Molly. Having people cheer you along the way and build you up is a real blessing.
Finally God has been good, through the highs and lows, when there haven’t been a lot of clients or more than I hoped for, the bills always got paid. Psalm 46:1 says “ God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” All strength ultimately comes from God’s grace so he deserves the credit for it all.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://centaurstrengthkc.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/centaurstrengthkc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/centaurstrengthkc
