Meet Matthew Smith of Strength Smith Training Systems & Matthew Sabey Art in Central Phoenix

Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Smith.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Matthew. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in Mansfield, Massachusetts, about a 45-minute drive south from Boston. Strength training, healthy lifestyle, and art have been three consistent things in my life. As a boy, I was surrounded by heavyweights, healthy cooking and the support from my parents to maintain a creative mindset. My father was a bodybuilder who was Mr. New England in the early seventies and he was the one who really inspired my gym life journey. He started teaching me from when I was young about programming, exercise technique, anatomy, and physiology. I started my education pretty young, to say the least! By the age of twelve, I was writing training programs, weight training alongside my Dad and even had my own vitamin regimen! My family always did things a little unconventional. We were the weird family that took vitamins, meditated, and drank herbal tea to cure stomach aches rather than going to the doctor. To be honest, it’s something I really appreciated even more as I got older.

I played all types of sports growing up, I was always drawing and painting a lot, and always had an interest in how the human body worked! If you asked my friends, they would probably tell you “Smitty (my nickname everyone knew me by), he was always up to something, working on some idea he had or lifting or just probably doing something healthy…” Well, to be honest, I can’t say much has changed, I just always wanted to do it all, live life to the fullest!

When I was attending Stonehill College (Graduating Class of 2015), I studied both as a Studio Arts Major and a Biology Minor. On top of that, I ended up interning for several teams, multiple gyms, and personal training for both the YMCA and the Rec Sports department. I was the Co-Founder and Head coach of the Stonehill College Olympic Weightlifting Club, worked as a theater technician, Resident Assistant, Peer Mentor etc etc. The point is I have always embraced being a busy guy as long as a had all three passions in my life, my weights, my health, and my art.

Fast forward to today, I moved to Phoenix, AZ after a short year working as a teacher and a strength coach in Santa Fe, NM. I have been a National Level Competitor in both Olympic Weightlifting and Powerlifting as well as a World Level Competitor in Powerlifting. I officially started Strength Smith Training Systems LLC in 2017 all while working toward my Doctorate in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture (PIHMA). Therefore, I have my weights through my own training and Strength Smith Training Systems, I am learning about my health at PIHMA and I work as an artist under the name, “Matthew Sabey Art.” When I complete my Doctorate at PIHMA in 2020, I intend to apply to a Master in Fine Arts Program to attain my MFA degree.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It is most certainly safe to say that it has been anything but a smooth road! I will admit I have definitely experienced my ups and downs creating a lifestyle as a full-time coach, artist and student all at once. Simply the learning curve in how to run a business and maintaining my time efficiently was a lot in the beginning, but I made it through. You really don’t know how much work it takes to run a business until you actually do it yourself. I think one of the largest challenges for me from a business perspective was realizing the worth and value of my own time. Whether it was time spent training a client or working on a commissioned painting, I had to realize that my time is valuable. It is hard to put a price tag on your time but I learned that if you, yourself, are taken care of, you will have more resources and abilities to help those around you.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Strength Smith Training Systems & Matthew Sabey Art – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
At Strength Smith Training Systems we are a company that specializes in exactly what it sounds like, strength training! The idea behind becoming a “Strength Smith” is to become a master of all things strength! Our primary focus involves learning and training with movements that are typically seen in the sports of Olympic Weightlifting, Powerlifting, and Strongman. If you work with us, you are an athlete, no matter where you start. I don’t care if you are a world champion or have never touched a barbell in your life, everybody is equal and deserves the same respect and recognition as everyone else. Every single member of mine matters greatly to me and I can confidently say I know a lot about their lives outside of the gym too. If you seek out my help, you are getting a coach who cares about the whole person. You are not a machine simply expected to carry out tasks. I want you to be engaged, I want you to see your potential and most of all, I want you to have fun with your training regardless of your starting point! I tell all my clients, “the harder you put in the work, the more I will work for you.”

I think the holistic approach is something that sets Strength Smith Training Systems apart. We take pride in establishing a safe space for everyone to feel secure, be themselves, and feel comfortable in the gym setting.

Matthew Sabey Art is the name I go by for all my personal art-related business work. I tend to specialize in drawing, painting, and printmaking. I particularly like creating work that is full of fast strokes, bold color and thick applications of paint. My work, especially my paintings are easily recognizable for their thick paint marks and high energy strokes that pop with color! I typically specialize in working on a larger scale because not only is it more fun, in my opinion, but I believe that it gives my pictures the ability to have a stronger effect on the viewer. Aside from abstract work, I also like to create pictures with landscapes or human figures. I definitely pride myself on being an easy artist to work with and someone who gets the job done right in order to make the customer happy. I love what I do and want others to be able to see that in my work!

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
For the future of Strength Smith Training Systems, we most definitely intend on expanding our gym space in the future as we grow as a team. Our online training programs are going strong and we hope to offer some more affordable options starting in 2019.

Some big additions will occur for the future where I will be able to offer sports based Traditional Chinese Medicine to my athletes starting in 2020. This includes things like Acupuncture, Cupping, Tui Na, Guasha, Herbal Medicine, as well as other methods to keep everyone healthy and training strong! This will go into effect when I finish up my Doctorate studies in Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Phoenix Institute of Herbal Medicine & Acupuncture and will be able to use this medicine in order to help not only my athletes but anyone else who walks through our doors!

Additionally, to use my art skills for the Strength Smith Training Systems business, we are starting a custom apparel line under the Strength Smith name where 50% of all our proceeds will be going toward the sponsorship of junior level powerlifters. All the designs and prints I have been screen printing by hand! My fiance and I both will be working at this to create a program called “Get Up Powerlifting” where the goal of our program is to sponsor Juniors who may not normally have the opportunity to train in a powerlifting gym and may want to or show some promise as individuals (even if that promise simply means having a good attitude). Our goal is to have the ability to assist them with either their gym membership fees, federation fees, competition fees, provide programming or nutrition guidelines for them; whatever they may need. The mission behind this program is to give back to the lifting community and set the right example of motivation and the empowerment of one’s self, team and surrounding community. This idea still has the kinks being worked out of it but we are excited to launch it in the near future!

For Matthew Sabey Art, I plan to keep on working at my craft and making my viewers and customers happy! As I continue to build my art portfolio, I will be applying to Master of Fine Arts programs in the future when my Traditional Chinese Medicine Doctoral studies are completed.

Pricing:

• Strength Smith Training Systems: -Online Strength Programming & Coaching $150-$200/Mo.
• Strength Smith Training Systems: -In Person One on One Strength Coaching $50/Hr. (In House)
• Strength Smith Training Systems: -4 Week Individualized Strength Programming: $50
• Matthew Sabey Art: -For Commissioned Artworks: $40/Hr.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.strengthsmithtraining.com
• Phone: 207-331-3736
• Email: Strength Smith Training Systems: strengthsmithtraining@gmail.com Matthew Sabey Art: matthew.sabey.art@gmail.com
• Instagram: @strengthsmithtrainingsystems @matthew.sabey.art
• Facebook: facebook.com/matthew.sabey.art/

Image Credit:
Matthew Smith, Kristen Kennedy

Getting in touch: VoyagePhoenix is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.