> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Teens get physical (ed) - URL: https://www.smdp.com/teens-get-physical-ed/ - Published: 2008-03-28T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T19:01:42.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Fitness center geared toward local youngsters* NEBRASKA AVENUE Los Angeles area schools might be closed for spring break this week but physical education instruction is still in full effect. At least it is at one Santa Monica fitness center. There’s a new face in the stacked Westside workout universe, one that isn’t geared toward the clientele old enough to pay their own gym membership, but rather ones young enough to pack a fresh pair of P.E. gear in their backpacks. A business that caters to a high-school aged audience, O2 Max Fitness (o2maxfitness.com) opened its doors earlier this month at a 1,200 square-foot warehouse on Nebraska Avenue, just a stone’s throw away from the New Roads School. The center was founded by Karen Jashinsky, a New Jersey native and recent USC MBA graduate who in marrying her two loves — entrepreneurship and exercise — spawned a concept for a workout clinic that doubles as an after school hang-out spot. It’s more than a gym. O2 Max is a safe haven for teenagers outside of school, a place to socialize while still getting in some exercise, Jashinsky, a self-proclaimed fitness buff, said. “My plan was never just to open a gym, but to get teens to change their view on fitness,” Jashinsky said. The health center is located in the heart of the city’s industrial area, surrounded by artists studios and tech companies. The gym is divided into two areas — the ground floor dedicated to exercising the body and the second floor to exercising the mind and soul, the upper level equipped with wireless Internet, a flat-screen television, a Nintendo Wii game console, a study room and pilates room. It is on this floor where teenagers unwind after spending a few hours on their bodies, watching television shows, reading a US Weekly magazine, and studying for the SAT’s with a Princeton Review tutor who pops in twice a week. The first floor is stocked with powerless fitness equipment such as medicine balls, free weights and giant flexibility balls. Though there are a few treadmills strewn about, the goal was to stray from electronically-powered equipment, which Jashinsky feels could limit teenage growth. “It’s more important to educate on strengthening their body,”Jashinsky said. The walls of the ground floor are essentially barren, some tagged with inspirational quotes from the likes of Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali. “Friendship is the hardest thing in the world to explain, it’s not something you learn in school,” Ali states in a passage scribbled on one wall.“But if you haven’t learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven’t learned anything.” The gym membership costs about $80 a month, not including a $100 initiation fee that covers one private workout session in which the client’s fitness is assessed and a workout plan is drafted. The introductory fee also includes a nutrition plan created by a registered dietitian. After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis, Jashinsky spent a few years as a personal trainer before she decided to open her own fitness center. Jashinsky, who comes from a business-minded family that owns a restaurant in northern New Jersey, enrolled in USC’s business program with the dream of one-day opening her own gym. She decided to focus on teenagers after learning about the need for a high school student-focused fitness center from her client’s children, many of whom resided in the Westside. Two things that Jashinsky said she heard loud and clear from high schoolers in what motivates them to exercise, is music and sociability. About 20 teenagers, the majority of which are high school aged, have enrolled in the gym. One of the new clients is Elizabeth Flier, a senior at Harvard Westlake School, who took part in her second fitness session on Thursday. Jashinsky was the personal trainer for Flier’s father for five years. The Beverly Hills teenager said she decided to enroll in a membership because she was no longer required to take P.E. at her high school. “I didn’t realize just how much I enjoyed it until I did-n’t have to do it anymore,” Flier said. “The program has helped me understand my body more.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 28, 2008.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/032808.pdf?ref=smdp.com)