The FORM Approach: Revolutionizing Health Education in America’s Schools
In a recent episode of the Gym Breakcast, Ashton shared his remarkable journey from personal health struggles to creating an innovative health curriculum, transforming how schools approach wellness education. His story begins with a stark reality—at his heaviest, Ashton weighed 300 pounds as a high school sophomore, despite being active in sports. Like many young athletes, he received plenty of coaching on performance but little education on comprehensive health. This experience would later become the catalyst for his mission to revolutionize health education.
After graduating high school, Ashton underwent a dramatic personal transformation, losing over 110 pounds through lifestyle changes. This journey naturally led him to help others, beginning by training people in his parents’ garage and eventually growing into a small fitness studio. When COVID hit, Ashton was forced to pivot his business model, moving completely online. During this transition, he noticed a consistent pattern in feedback from clients: “I wish somebody had taught me this when I was young.”
This realization coincided with alarming health statistics Ashton encountered—by 2030, an estimated 86.3% of American adults would be overweight or obese. The trend sparked a profound question: how do we reverse America’s health crisis? Ashton’s answer was to focus on the next generation, creating a comprehensive health education program that schools could implement to build lifelong habits in students.
The program Ashton developed is called FORM, an acronym representing the four pillars of health his curriculum teaches. F stands for Functional Fitness, teaching kids sustainable movement routines. O represents optimal nourishment, balancing “food as fuel” and “food as fun” concepts. R covers rest and recovery, addressing sleep hygiene, stress management, and proper recovery techniques. Finally, M is for Multiplied Maintenance—teaching students how to maintain these practices and share them with others across different life seasons.
What makes Ashton’s approach different from traditional physical education is its focus on education rather than just activity. While traditional PE often centers around sports performance, FORM teaches the principles behind health practices so students understand how to care for themselves when they no longer have coaches or structured programs. As Ashton points out, most people’s health education is centralized around sports, leaving them without the knowledge to maintain fitness once they graduate and no longer participate in organized athletics.
The implementation of the program is designed to be teacher-friendly, with a completely digital platform containing all necessary resources. Schools can customize how they use the curriculum, whether integrated into existing health classes, physical education programs, or as standalone content. The response has been tremendous, with word-of-mouth spreading through educational forums and partnerships, leading to rapid adoption across schools nationwide.
Ashton’s journey building this educational program reveals important lessons for entrepreneurs in any field. After failing to gain traction with a corporate wellness program, he pivoted to education based on market feedback and his passion. Through persistent outreach—initially making countless cold calls to schools—and constantly refining his approach, he built a successful program now used in hundreds of schools across America. His experience demonstrates the power of focusing on what works, building systems for retention and growth, and understanding your unique business cycles.
