By Angela Higginbotham
angela@floridanewsline.com
Born in Miami, Fla., Tad Holtsinger moved around quite a bit with his family while growing up. He earned his degree in sales and sales management from Bowling Green State University in Ohio. In 2004, weary of the cold weather, he and his wife of 29 years, Debbie, moved to St. Augustine in an effort to escape the Connecticut winter.
Always an athlete, Holtsinger is passionate about fitness and inspiring others to lead an active lifestyle. He converted his three car garage into a full gym and recruited the guy across the street to come work out. Now the workout group has grown to five guys that come over a few times a week, ranging in age from 43 to 73 years.
“I have a H2 Hummer and sometimes we pull it down the street with a rope. We also flip a huge tractor tire and we often carry or throw heavy objects outside. We get a lot of crazy looks from passersby,” Holtsinger said.
Holtsinger has worked in wine sales for the past 36 years. It’s a business that he loves. He has a full wine room at home, but he always goes back to a simple Pinot Grigio as his favorite.
The Holsingers have four grown children and one grandchild. They enjoy living in Julington Creek Plantation’s Magnolia Preserve.
- What do you enjoy most about living in St. Johns County?
The weather. You wake up and it’s usually sunny and warm. It just puts me in a good mood immediately. Even when it is cold here, it still makes me thankful that I’m not farther North.
2) What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?
Raising my four kids. No one has been to jail.
3) What inspired your passion for fitness and working out?
I’ve always been an athlete in organized sports — basketball, flag football, and running. I once took a year off from sales and worked as a personal trainer. It’s important too as I’m traveling every week that I stay in shape and keep burning calories. I started working out with more cardio and weights when I turned 40 years old.
4) What else do you enjoy doing in your spare time?
Work travel takes a lot of my time, but I do enjoy the traveling. Cooking. I enjoy writing. I’ve written three books so far and I hope to write more. I also enjoy learning about military history.
5) If you could spend the day with anyone, past or present, who would it be and why?
I’ve already done it. I do the cooking in my family and meeting Julia Child was on my bucket list. A mutual friend helped me make contact. I spent time at her home in Cambridge where she shot her tv show. We cooked and I did the dishes. She said that I was welcome anytime, as I was a really good dishwasher.
Photo courtesy Tad Holtsinger
Tad Holtsinger in his garage gym.
