---
title: How Daniel Stein Found Success With Adaptive Fitness
description: "Alec Zirkenbach, founder of the Adaptive Training Academy, explains how welcoming people with disabilities into your gym isn’t just a public service: it’s good for business."
image: https://blog.nexofit.com/hubfs/blog%20images/Client%20Stories/2026/30_Special-Strong_Success-with-Adaptive-Fitness.jpg
---
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# How Daniel Stein Found Success With Adaptive Fitness
1. [Home](https://www.nexofit.com/)
2. How Daniel Stein Found Success With Adaptive Fitness
- by [Hilary Achauer](https://blog.nexofit.com/client-stories/author/hilary-achauer)
- October 26, 2026
> *With Special Strong, Daniel Stein brings fitness to adaptive athletes of all ages around the country.*
[Special Strong](https://www.specialstrong.com) – which offers personalized adaptive fitness training for people with disabilities — began with a vision.
While many people say they had a vision for their company, they mean it more as an idea or a concept.
For Daniel Stein, the vision was more literal — and it wasn’t even his.
It all started in 2011 when Daniel was working as a personal banker.
“I was moving up, and I was set on this as my career. There were so many great opportunities there. And there was stability and security, and a path to move up in the company,” Daniel said.
Then in November of that year Daniel met with his mentor from the church, a man named Rob. They sat together in a coffee shop and Rob told Daniel he had a vision from God for Daniel’s future.
“He saw me training kids and adults with special needs,” Daniel said.
While Daniel was interested in fitness and strength training, not only had he never worked with anyone with a disability, he’d never even worked as a personal trainer.
However, Daniel trusted Rob, and realized he might be perfectly suited for this path.
## How Special Strong Began
Daniel was diagnosed with a learning disability at age four. He struggled in school and was bullied by the other kids.
> “One thing that helped more than anything was exercise. I liked working out and it made me feel so much better,” Daniel said.
Then in high school Daniel started hanging out with the wrong crowd. He began using drugs and alcohol and got in trouble with the law.
“I ended up overdosing my senior year of high school and had a near death experience,” he said.
Fortunately, Daniel went to rehab and got sober, throwing himself into lifting weights and bodybuilding. This is also when he started going to church and began developing a relationship with God.
So when Rob told Daniel he should start training people with disabilities, Daniel took it seriously. He left banking and began working for a weight loss clinic. When that shut down after he’d been there six months, Daniel decided it was time to fully commit to Rob’s vision.
First Daniel, who at this point was a certified personal trainer, began training the general population.
“Eventually I felt like it was time to work with the special needs community. So in 2016 my wife and I started Special Strong,” Daniel said. He let go of his regular clients and turned his focus to people with disabilities.
Even though Daniel was a certified fitness instructor, he didn’t know anything about autism or Down syndrome. He worried if he would be able to convince people to work with him.
However, slowly but surely, Daniel got clients and he discovered he loved the work.
“I came alive,” Daniel said, adding, “This is what I was designed to do. These are people who are just missed in society.”
Daniel trained clients out of a gym or their home, which meant he didn’t have the overhead of a brick and mortar location. The business grew quickly within the first year, so much so that Daniel’s wife was able to quit her job and begin working with him. She arranged networking events, group fitness classes, and did a lot of the office administrative work.
“The things that I was really bad at,” Daniel said, laughing.
Those first few years weren’t easy, however. Daniel said they maxed out their credit cards, using them to pay bills. He and his wife poured everything they had into Special Strong.
> “There was this fearful pressure of if you don't make this work, you're gonna lose everything. Like, that was it. And I did not want to lose everything,” he said.
Daniel worked 70 to 80 hours a week, combining his fitness knowledge and sales ability. He spent hours looking online for anyone who worked with the special needs community. He said people in his community, the Dallas Fort Worth area, were happy to help.
He kept meeting people for coffee and a chat. And while he didn’t see results right away, over time this approach paid off.
“People started sending me leads and customers. Over time, those seeds got watered, and then they finally sprouted,” Daniel said.
Soon children’s hospitals, physical therapists, and occupational therapists began sending Daniel leads. He learned about landing pages, and began driving social media traffic to them. The leads began flowing in.
Then in 2019 Daniel met a client who changed the business forever.
## The Viral Video
Brandon Neal’s mom reached out to Daniel after seeing his ad on Facebook.
Brandon, who was 17 at the time, had a genetic gene mutation that had led to a variety of disabilities, including scoliosis and a misplaced hip. When he was nine he had surgery to correct his hip, and the doctors said he’d be walking again in six months.
That didn’t happen. Brandon never walked after his hip surgery, becoming severely depressed and anxious. However, in 2019, when Brandon’s mom told him they needed to buy him a new wheelchair, Brandon said he wanted to walk. He didn’t want to be stuck in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
They’d tried physical therapists and occupational therapists, and nothing had worked. The doctors were out of ideas. Special Strong was their last hope.
Daniel said he’d never taught anyone to walk before, but he was open to trying. So he worked with Brandon for three months, building both his strength and his confidence.
Then one day, Daniel walked into the gym for one of their training sessions and decided that was the day Brandon was going to walk on his own.
> “I got my phone out, and I said to Brandon, ‘I don't care what you have to say. You're gonna walk today.”
They’d been practicing, and Daniel knew Brandon was ready. He took Brandon outside and began filming, telling Brandon to walk toward him without touching the wall.
“He walked,” Daniel said. “I got the video recorded. It was a crazy moment. Afterward I posted it on my LinkedIn, and it blew up.”
The video went viral. Soon news outlets were calling Daniel and he was getting messages from people from around the country, wanting to know if he could help their child or loved one.
After telling hundreds of people he couldn’t help, Daniel realized there might actually be a way to bring Special Strong to the rest of the country.
## Special Strong Goes National
Daniel decided to expand using a franchise model. This way he could help trainers replicate what he’d done in his community, offering resources and eventually even certifications.
Now, ten years after they started, Special Strong has more than 60 locations around the country. They are in 15 states and have certified more than 2,000 trainers. Most importantly, they have impacted more than 10,000 adaptive athletes and their families.
What began with a vision is now a reality.
---
About Author, Hilary Achauer
Hilary is a renowned fitness business writer, marketing content writer, and journalist. She’s written content for start-ups, entrepreneurs, executive coaches, wellness providers, gyms, and CrossFit. Her focus is always on telling the best story with a clear, compelling style and being able to engage readers, bring in new customers, or build an audience.
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