The skanner., May 01, 2013, Page 18, Image 18

Obituary
Remembering Willie James Austin
The hundreds of people who
attended the event were lead by
some of the young people Austin
helped inspire through the work of
his organization The Austin
Foundation.
SUSAN FRIED PHOTO
native of West Memphis, Ark.,
Willie Austin first joined the
greater Seattle community in 1980
when he came to play football for the
University of Washington.
Following his career as a defensive
back for the Huskies, Willie chose to
remain in the Pacific Northwest and
continue pursuing his love of health
and fitness. He began focusing on
strength training, and by 1990 was the
World Drug Free Powerlifting Champi-
on.
Willie is a well-respected strength
coach and personal trainer whose has
coached national and world champion
weightlifters and trained both amateur
make a difference, Willie persuaded
and professional athletes. He has
the Gateway Athletic Club to donate
worked as a trainer at the downtown
time and space to youth programming
YMCA and as manager of the West
and in 1994 started the first Youth &
Seattle health club.
Fitness program to provide area youth
In 1988 Willie founded the Gym of
with free health education and fitness
Seattle, and in 1992 he founded the
training.
Gateway Athletic Club. Willie’s latest
In 1997 Willie and co-founder Ros
health club venture, the Now Is Fit-
Ghan created the Austin Foundation
ness Center in downtown Seattle,
to continue and expand the program’s
opened doors in 2004.
commitment to the wellbeing and
Willie first began giving back to the
development of area youth.
community by serving as a guest
In addition to his work with the
speaker on physical fitness and drug-
Austin Foundation, Willie has served
free living. During his on-campus pre-
as an instructor and coach for the
sentations at area schools in 1990s,
Washington State Special Olympics
Willie began to recognize the growing
and as a consultant for the Seattle
need for accessible youth fitness pro-
grams.
He saw first
hand youth strug-
gling with dia-
betes, obesity,
and
asthma,
many of whom
weren’t comfort-
able in regular
gym class set-
tings. He saw
kids who could-
n’t afford the
cost of athletic
programs or did-
n’t have safe
access to physi-
cal fitness activi- Author Eric Lu and Seattle Deputy Mayor Darryl Smith
ties.
do some stretches at the celebration of the life of
Inspired
to Willie James Austin, April 27, at Rainier Community
Center.
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SUSAN FRIED PHOTO
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Page 6 The Seattle Skanner May 1, 2013
Willie Austin died suddenly on April 24. He was 55
years old
Public Schools Physical Education department.
In 1998 the Seattle Times recognized Willie’s contribu-
tion to the community by listing him as one of “20 North-
west people who have made a difference,” and he was
named the 2008 Washington State Mindful Mentor Award
by the Guiding Lights Network.
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