Sigma Phi Epsilon - University of Michigan

and my passion for fitness and working with kids came together." Matt feels that kids are put under a great deal of pressure to excel in athletics these days, so he wanted to offer a fitness program for kids without the pressure, anxiety, or fear of competition. "If you're not enjoying exercise at a young age, then you won't like it later in life," he stated. So, Have Fun Fitness fit perfectly into his program idea. The other significant meaning of HFF for Matt is "Honoring Fred Fisher," his late father who passed away in May of 2015. His father encouraged him to be active throughout his life and believed in having fun whenever possible. "It was a great way to tribute my dad," he said. This past father's day, Matt put on an HFF obstacle course, which brought out more than 100 participants and included a giant inflatable water slide, tire flips, sand crawling, and inflatable obstacle courses. "The kids left with smiles after a fun day of healthy activities." In addition to running the HFF program, Matt is in his ninth year as an elementary school physical education teacher in the Bronxville School District and serves as the assistant athletic director. He also coaches Little League baseball and teaches a family physical education course at the Bronxville Adult School. In the future, Matt hopes to branch out his HFF program to more gyms, hire more trainers, and continue to make fitness fun for everyone he meets. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, mom, and brother, all of whom have been supportive of his goals and the HFF program. Matt also tries to relax by playing golf; he would love to put together a SigEp golf outing as well. If you'd like to get in touch with Matt, he can be reached at havefunfitness@ gmail.com. "I can't thank my SigEp brothers enough for everything." page 2 W hen Matt Fisher '08 came to the University of Michigan as a freshman from a small town, going Greek wasn't on his radar—his goal was to the make the varsity baseball team. While he didn't think the Greek life was for him initially, he wanted to become well-adjusted to college life and decided to go through recruitment because two of his best friends from his freshman dorm were joining the Michigan Alpha brotherhood. "One of the best parts about being in SigEp was the support from the brothers," he said. Matt received a great deal of support in particular from Dr. Michael Hilton '07, Tim Hodes '07, Adam Widener '07, and Chris Hankinson '07. "When you do something and the odds are against you, that support gives you a boost of confidence and pushes you toward the right path. That was a big turning point in my life." Matt was cut from the baseball team as a freshman and again as a sophomore, but it was his SigEp brothers who were there to catch him when he fell and build his confidence to help him achieve his dream. "The biggest thing was having the support of my brothers when I was down and celebrating together when I was able to make the team in the spring of 2006." When he made the team, he sent an e-mail to his brothers notifying them of his achievement. "Nothing made me happier than sending an e-mail to my SigEp brothers with 'Spring 2006' in the subject line and 'Mission accomplished.' in the body," he said. "I was a walk-on and didn't see much playing time, but my fraternity brothers showed up to nearly every home game and cheered to get me in the game." In addition to thriving on the support of his brothers, Matt enjoyed living in a house with 40 brothers and loved the open-door policy—someone was always available. He highlights that his favorite memories are of intramural sports and in particular, winning the intramural football championship game in 2004. He also enjoyed participating in the Mr. Greek Week competition, which he won and gave a speech dedicated to his brother, Blake Heidenreich '07, for the 'hero' portion. Blake had been severely injured in a diving accident, which inspired Matt to give a tribute speech in his honor. With the support of his brothers and through physical therapy, Blake made a miraculous recovery, and Matt was grateful for the opportunity to highlight his resilient brother. For SigEp members, HFF has a special meaning, but for Matt, it holds even more significance. After obtaining degrees in physical education and 6-12 health education from the University of Michigan, Matt took what he knows and loves and created a CrossFit program for kids called Have Fun Fitness at CrossFit Immortal in Pleasantville, N.Y. "I wanted to do something that makes me happy," he said. "Fitness is a big part of my life, Supportive SigEp Brotherhood Inspires Matt Fisher '08 to Achieve Athletic Dreams The supportive Michigan Alpha brotherhood helped Matt achieve his goal of making the Michigan baseball team in the spring of 2006. Matt Fisher '08 during a Have Fun Fitness class. The 2004 intramural football champions.

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