Today we’d like to introduce you to Jay Sutaria.
Hi Jay, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My passion for fitness started when I joined my middle school basketball team. I wasn’t the tallest guy on the roster, so I had no choice but to become one of the strongest if I wanted to earn playing time. In college, I studied exercise science with plans to pursue a career in physical therapy. My dad suggested I become a personal trainer, which gave me something to do on campus while I was in school. I ended up doing so well in the personal training program that I was asked to become an instructor for it, and that’s when I realized I no longer wanted to go the physical therapy route. A couple of years later, Dwight Howard was dealing with knee issues and asked me to help him so he could keep playing at a high level. That opportunity catapulted my career and led me to where I am today, working with EuroLeague Stars and NBA players to help them take care of their bodies. Now, I own two gyms in the Houston area, where I get to help not only basketball players, but anyone who is in need of better guidance with their body and their training.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
No, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road. Early in my career, I bounced around to different gyms quite a bit, either because I outgrew the facility or because I ran into friction with an owner who didn’t like the way I worked. Conforming to somebody else’s rules was never something I was good at, and I eventually realized that applied to my career as a whole. So I opened my first brick-and-mortar gym in 2020, two weeks before COVID hit. That was a major stressor in itself, but it ended up working out for us. Ownership also brought challenges I had never dealt with before, like having a landlord and still having to answer to somebody. Managing a building on top of delivering great training took some getting used to, and so did managing a staff, which wasn’t part of my life early on. Add in raising a family with two young boys, and it’s never been smooth. But it’s the path I chose, and I’ll keep living it because I enjoy the work and I enjoy helping others.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about STF Houston?
STF Houston is a physical therapy and personal training business built around one-on-one training, with the goal of helping people become pain-free and stay pain-free throughout their fitness journey. Personally, I’m known for working with professional athletes on their bodies and making sure they can play a full season without any major injuries. I travel quite a bit for that work, which allows me to help athletes on site wherever they are – whether it be in the US, Turkey, or Italy. What sets us apart is the level of detail and execution our team provides. I don’t believe anyone else in the city, or the state for that matter, matches the attention we give to fixing someone’s form and being side by side with them through every part of a session. In an industry driven by group training, we intentionally keep our business predominantly one-on-one. At our facilities, we offer manual therapy, dry needling, deep tissue massage, stretch services, and the most detailed personal training experience you can imagine. What I’m most proud of is that the same standard of care I bring to professional athletes is what every person who walks through our doors receives.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was the younger of two, and I always felt like I was being compared to my older sibling. I was a people pleaser who worked hard to keep everyone around me happy. My dad traveled a lot for work, so I was usually the one looking after my mom. I even chose the University of Houston because it was close to home and let me stay near her while my dad was on the road. I was very loyal to my friends, but also very demanding. I’m definitely not the easiest person to get along with because I hold high standards, and that showed in a friend circle that rotated quite a bit. Basketball and fitness were always my main interests. From my sophomore year of high school all the way through college, I averaged about four hours a day in the gym, either working on my game or lifting weights.
Pricing:
- One-on-One Sessions: ~$175/session
- Semi-Private Training (Sugar Land Facility Only) ($~500/month)
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Www.stfhouston.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stfhouston/?hl=en
