NHL, Body by Jake team up to fight childhood obesity through Governor’s Fitness Council

Jake Steinfeld has a new title for NHL Commissioner for Gary Bettman.

"I changed Gary's title from Commissioner to Governor," the fitness icon told NHL.com on Wednesday. "I call him Governor Gary Bettman. He's an incredible family guy, an incredible businessman, a guy who really cares about the future, and what the future is all about as our kids.

"I'm not just talking about building bodies. We're also talking about building confidence and self-esteem. And we see test scores go up, teenage pregnancy down, gang violence down. The community comes together because the fitness center becomes the hub of that community.

"The most underutilized antidepressant is exercise."

The founder of the Body by Jake fitness brand and chairman of the National Foundation for Governors' Fitness Councils has partnered with the NHL to bring his DON'T QUIT! fitness campaign to New York. Nominations for a chance to become three elementary or middle schools throughout New York, Alaska, Hawaii and Nevada to receive start-of-the-art fitness centers is open through April 12.

An introduction between Steinfeld and Bettman through Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis led to a friendship and eventual a stick tap from Bettman to help the actor, fitness personality and entrepreneur's goal of ending childhood obesity and fighting mental illness after initial inquires to the state of New York went unreturned.

"Jake has been an industry leader in the fitness world for decades and his DON’T QUIT! campaign is a wonderful endeavor that the NHL is happy to participate in," Bettman said. "Promoting exercise and healthy living is paramount but to step up and actually provide the physical fitness centers in these communities for our young people, who might otherwise not have had this opportunity, is truly a reflection of Jake’s generosity. The NHL is proud to partner with and back this noble mission."

The program is limited to schools with kids in what Steinfeld calls that Gumby stage, where they're still growing and learning that if they exercise, they're healthier and more focused. The objective is gifting fitness centers worth $100,000 to all 50 states by the end of 2024 and goes beyond showing off muscles. Each is financed through public/private partnerships with companies like The Coca-Cola Company, Elevance Health Foundation and Nike, without a reliance on taxpayer dollars or state funding.

Long before Steinfeld went Hollywood, he grew up in Baldwin, New York, overweight with a bad stutter, so his father bought him a set of weights at age 13 to build his body and confidence.

On the wall of the 66-year-old’s home office in Los Angeles is a poem etched on a plaque called "Don't Quit," written by Edgar Albert Guest, those two words having defined his formative years though adulthood and a personal vendetta to end childhood obesity and fight mental illness.

Motion has proven to be medicine with physical activity and exercise helping prevent and treat more than 40 chronic diseases, enhance individual health and quality of life, and studies showing improved academic achievement and reduced discipline problems. Whenever Steinfeld visits winning schools, it’s been like “Santa Claus with a 34-inch waist."

Santa has also arrived in the form of the NHL and youth programs designed to help kids and grow the game.

“We’re putting hockey on the radar for more kids, in more neighborhoods across North America, said NHL senior executive vice president of social impact, growth initiatives and legislative affairs Kim Davis, "in ways that lower traditional barriers to sports and ensure participants receive the physical, cognitive and emotional benefits hockey provides.

"From our on-ice Learn to Play program to our off-ice NHL Street initiative, we are aligned with Jake’s vision of DON’T QUIT! and his commitment to investing in and growing youth sports."