Tracie Long Mathewes is a familiar face on the national fitness video scene, having been featured in several videos made by The Firm and lesser-known Fit Prime, and may just be on the verge of being a household name.

Charleston, SC (PRWEB) April 8, 2004 -- Tracie Long Mathewes is a familiar face on the national fitness video scene, having been featured in several videos made by The Firm and lesser-known Fit Prime, and may just be on the verge of being a household name.

After years of working for others, Mathewes (who goes by Tracie Long in videos) is now calling the shots. Those who know her expect big things for her, for those who surround her and for Charleston as a "fitness vacation" destination.

In the 1990s, Mathewes played key roles in the production of The Firm videos, sales of which are now approaching $1 billion. She was never able to secure royalty rights, but at the time was content because she enjoyed what she was doing.

But in January 2000, The Firm's owners closed the doors to its only studios, in Columbia and Charleston, sold the rights of the videos to Good Times Entertainment and left a platoon of well-trained, dedicated aerobics instructors out of jobs.

"It was a sad ending to a really great time in my life," recalls Mathewes.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

After some soul-searching and a couple of wrong turns, the 36-year-old Mathewes figured out her new course, became a key partner in a new, high-end fitness club in Charleston called V and launched her own video company, Tracie Long Productions.

Mathewes is starting to see the fruits of her latest endeavor. The first set of videos, "Core Strength" and "Core Cardio," are available starting today, and V opens it doors April 16.

She and V partners Steve deGuzman, Elaine Whitfield and John Thiel Jr. have a game plan that will integrate the videos into the grand scheme of the health club. The videos will not only be a way to reach out to people who enjoy working out at home, but also to provide other health clubs (willing to pay) with a training program for aerobics instructors.

"This is going to be much bigger than V," says deGuzman, referring to the broad reach of their plan.

Meanwhile, another component of their plan is to bring people to Charleston for "fitness vacations." Part of the lure will be videos shot with Charleston scenes as the backdrop. The first set featured the hangar deck of the aircraft carrier Yorktown.

Mathewes' plan also is to keep together nearly a dozen former Firm instructors and help them prosper, too.

"The owners of The Firm were very important because they started it, but, ultimately, the parents got a divorce, and we're the kids and we've stuck together. We're taking The Firm foundation and now evolving into something new."

THE FIRM YEARS

Mathewes is the daughter of a former Virginia Tech football standout, Dickie Longerbeam, who had to bypass a professional career after a severe neck injury. Her mom, as was typical in the late 1960s, was not athletic. Tracie, however, was the quintessential tomboy growing up in Richmond, Va.

"It was back in the day when parents said, 'Get out of the house.' We'd play until dark and come home with dirty hands and fingernails," she says.

In high school, Mathewes participated in gymnastics, cheerleading and track. She also had musical training.

After visiting friends at the University of South Carolina, Mathewes headed to Columbia for college in 1985. In the second half of her sophomore year, a friend introduced her to The Firm. She took classes and started working there "selling memberships out of a cigar box" and cleaning up the barbell area.

The owners, sisters Anna and Cynthia Benson, were impressed with Mathewes and soon asked her to teach some classes. In 1990, she got involved with The Firm's fourth volume of videos, training the lead instructor in the video.

Though she admitted to being on the "extended" college plan at USC, the delay allowed her discover her interest in exercise science and study under nationally-recognized physical education professor Dr. Russell Pate. Studying the scientific aspects of exercise would play a key role in her future passion for health and wellness.

After graduating, Mathewes started to burn up the pavement on Interstate 26 going between studios in Columbia and Charleston. Dining with a friend at Magnolias one night, she met John Mathewes, who recalled seeing her for the first time when he was working as the maitre d'. He was stunned by her well-muscled body displayed delicately in an antique dress, but also was impressed because she was being "super, super nice."

"I saw her and I knew at that point it was 'game over,' " recalls Mathewes, a reference to finding the woman of his dreams.

To be closer to John, Tracie moved to Charleston and took a job as the manager of The Firm's studio in Charleston. In 1994, Mathewes made her debut as the lead in two videos "Tortoise" and "Hare," videos for strength and cardio training, respectively. She followed as the lead in "Tri Trainer" and "Firm Basics" and as a cast member in other videos in the following three years.

Mathewes got valuable experience not only in front of the camera, but behind the camera, which she really enjoyed more. "I'm real bossy. Being behind the camera, I could boss everyone around. It's right up my alley ... and it's more mentally challenging," she says.

In 1995, John and Tracie married and, in 1998 and 1999, they had daughters Francesca and Makayla.

A NEW LIFE

About month after Makayla was born, The Firm closed. After some mourning over the closing, Mathewes admitted feeling some relief.

"When the studio closed, I was able to exhale and to walk away. If it had not (closed), I may have been there forever. I spent 10 years working hard and loving it so much. ... I thought that part of my life was now over. I was going to have (more) babies and get into personal training."

Good Times Entertainment, which bought The Firm, called Mathewes and offered her $7,000 but no royalty rights to do more videos. Mathewes declined. Then, former boss Anna Benson started Fit Prime and contacted Mathewes to help. She agreed, but didn't like the final product and quit.

"I helped her write 10 videos and led four of them in 18 months. It just about killed me," says Mathewes, describing the videos as looking as if they were "shot in a tractor shed."

Mathewes headed to a nearby health club, LifeQuest, to work. However, it was Steve deGuzman, a friend she met through the club, who would keep stoking the embers of her ambitions. He wanted to open a health club in Summerville. She didn't. Both talked about videos. She had turned 35 and wanted more control.

One day, a friend of a friend told her of a space at Fountain Walk, the home of the local IMAX Theatre. She vividly recalls seeing that 10,000-square-foot top level space for the first time in February 2003.

"I don't believe in ghosts, but when I walked in there, the walls talked to me and I could see my future," says Mathewes. "The very next day I dragged Steve down there and he was convinced. We worked on a business plan and signed a lease on Aug. 1.

"I didn't think I wanted to do videos again until we signed that lease and started to roll out our plan," she says.

V's philosophy

Mathewes is rolling all she knows -- the exercise science, aerobics instruction, video production and even her own personal experience with training -- into V and Tracie Long Productions.

"We will be concentrating on total health. Exercise is only 25 percent of the total preventive health equation. We have that component, but we'll also be addressing other things, such as nutrition, supplements and the mind-body connection," says Mathewes. "Years and years of hard exercise, along with the usual stresses in life, can actually be bad for you. People used to think if you exercise, you'll be healthy, but there's so much more."

Meanwhile, the approach V and the videos will take is on "functional fitness," where you train to be more fit for the everyday lifestyle you lead.

Those who know Mathewes have complete confidence in her and think the latest endeavor will bring her the attention she deserves.

Jeanne Anne Copleston, also 36 and a Mount Pleasant resident, has known her for about a decade and thinks that her talent was overshadowed by The Firm.

"The Firm gave us great training, but we all had to fit into its box, and Tracie was never able to go solo," says Copleston, adding that Mathewes' biggest strength is her leadership.

"It's usual for women to have issues with jealousy, but Tracie has a group of women who would follow her to the end of the world," says Copleston, who appears with Mathewes in the latest videos. "She's a great leader because she's not afraid to tell it like it is, but with humor and charm. ... She can take her ideas, get input and sum it up in five sentences."

Husband John Mathewes says, "I saw the potential for her to do something fantastic, and now, finally, it's coming to fruition. ... She's genuine and passionate about what she does and is excited about helping as many people as she can feel better," he says.

And he doesn't worry about her losing touch with her family.

"She knows how to balance her life. She knows how to be a great mom, wife and fitness trainer."

Wayne Caparas, owner of Caparas Media, will be involved in the filming and production of the videos and thinks Mathewes has more to offer than other video-fitness staples, such as Billy Blanks and Denise Austin.

"Tracie is brilliant when it comes to fitness. She is rooted in the science of exercise and has a knack of taking a revolutionary approach and putting it in a group-fitness setting where it's easy to follow," says Caparas, who started LifeQuest with deGuzman. "Tracie blows everybody away."

ON THE WEB

Go to tracielong.net or justv.net to find out more about Tracie Long Productions and V fitness club.

Contact David Quick at dquick@postandcourier.com.