Who is Seth Scrimo?
Most people only see the finished version of someone's business. The logo, the posts, the podcast, the awards, the books. They do not see the early mornings, the slow seasons, the self-doubt, or the years of showing up before anyone was paying attention. That second part is the part of my story that matters most.
I'm Seth Scrimo. Some folks know me as Coach Seth. I'm the founder of Scrimo Fitness, co-founder of Wooster Entrepreneurs United, and the creator of Best of Wooster, Best of Orrville, and The Wayne Wire. I'm a 7-time number one best-selling author, a 10-year Marine Corps veteran, and a former regional director who helped lead multiple gyms across the Midwest. But more than any of those titles, I'm someone who believes people are capable of a lot more when they have the right people around them.
Here's the short version.
The Marine Corps
Before I built anything, I served 10 years in the United States Marine Corps and Marine Corps Reserve. That stretch taught me discipline, leadership, and how to keep going when things get hard. The biggest lesson, though, was simpler than any of that: nobody gets strong alone. You need standards. You need accountability. You need people beside you, and a mission bigger than yourself. That still shapes how I coach, lead, and build today.
Fitness and leadership
After the Marines I built a career in fitness and leadership. As a regional director I helped run multiple gyms across the Midwest, which gave me real reps in team building, sales, operations, member experience, and culture. It also taught me that the best businesses are not only built on systems. They're built on people. People want to feel seen, supported, and like they belong. That became the foundation for everything I did next.
Scrimo Fitness
I started Scrimo Fitness in 2019 as a one-person operation, built from the ground up. No shortcut, no big ad budget, no magic button. Just coaching, consistency, relationships, and a belief that people deserved a better way to take care of their health. Since then I've coached thousands of people through weight loss, strength, nutrition, habits, and confidence, including clients who have lost 50, 100, even 200 pounds. In 2025 Scrimo Fitness was voted the People's Choice Award winner for best gym in Wooster.
The award is nice. It is not the point. The point is the parent who has more energy for their kids. The owner who finally starts taking care of themselves. The person who walks in nervous and later realizes they belong, and stops saying "I can't" and starts saying "I'm doing it." That is why I coach.
Writing and community
The same lessons I taught clients every day turned into books, guides, and resources, and that work led to becoming a 7-time number one best-selling author. The title is not the main thing. The impact is. If someone reads something I wrote and decides to take one better step, that matters to me.
Community work taught me the same thing fitness did: people change when they feel seen. That is why I built Best of Wooster, Best of Orrville, and The Wayne Wire, to shine a light on the people, places, businesses, and stories that make this area what it is. The Wayne Wire now keeps Wooster and Wayne County connected with more than 25,000 active readers. A great business can be right down the road and still be invisible. A great story can be happening in your own backyard and never get told. I wanted to help change that.
Wooster Entrepreneurs United
WEU exists because business ownership can be lonely. People see the outside of a business. They do not always see the pressure behind it, the slow months, the hard decisions, the late nights, the moments you wonder if what you are building is working. I know that feeling. I've built from nothing, led teams, coached clients, created content, written books, hosted podcasts, and had to learn sales, marketing, retention, systems, and leadership the hard way. That is what I bring to WEU. Not theory. Real experience, real lessons, real conversations.
Serving the next generation
I also serve as a founding board member for the Wayne County Children's STEAM Playlab, where I help on the HR and recruitment committee. Strong organizations are built by strong people systems. Recruiting, onboarding, retaining, and helping people feel connected to the mission are not small things. They are what lets a mission grow the right way.
Why I'm telling you this
I'm not sharing this to impress anyone. I'm sharing it because people deserve to know the heart behind the room they are walking into. Wooster Entrepreneurs United is not just networking. It is business owners and local leaders getting around people who understand what it takes to build something. My co-founder Chad Tennent brings his experience, and you can read his story here. I bring mine: 10 years of Marine Corps leadership, years of running gyms across the Midwest, the lessons from building Scrimo Fitness, the perspective of coaching thousands of people, and the work of building local platforms that help businesses get seen. Most of all, I bring a belief that people should not have to build alone.
If you're an owner, an entrepreneur, or a community-minded leader who wants to grow, connect, and stop trying to figure everything out by yourself, this was built for you. Come to a meeting. Tell your story. Ask your questions. Meet people who get it. Let's build something better, together.