“I wasn’t a kid who dreamed of being an English teacher. ” These are not the words you would expect from James Dalton III, English teacher of 25 years. Someone who has taught Shakespeare and To Kill a Mockingbird by day has been co-owning a fitness club by night. How has James Dalton III been leading this double life?

Dalton has been in Pattonville for 19 years and spent six years prior at Riverview. During this time, he has worked with his brother and father to found JDs Gym.

“You don’t have to be brilliant but if you work hard that will get you ahead of so many people,” Dalton said, “I’m not super smart but I will outwork you and that will defeat almost anyone. ” 

 Starting from a small home gym in a garage in 2013, this startup has grown into a 4,500-square-foot gym for all. He spends his time outside of school planning gym events and competitions. This passion project fuels his soul. Dalton expressed that he would continue to run his gym even for free. He enjoys helping people better themselves, and he has built something that matters to people.

“My interests growing up were mainly fitness-oriented,” Dalton said, “that’s what I was really into as a kid.”

 As a sophomore in high school, he started in bodybuilding. From bodybuilding, he has moved to powerlifting, then Strongman, and even MMA. In college, he worked as a personal trainer and minored in exercise physiology to continue to develop his fitness expertise. He wanted to work with athletes but didn’t have very many options available at that time. In worry that he would get bored, he began considering his future and his career.

“I remember thinking about it like ‘I don’t know if I want to do this as my career but I could do this on the side,” Dalton recalls, “I probably should go into teaching, it’s more practical, it’s more stable.”

Not only was teaching more practical and stable, but it provided him with another opportunity to change people’s lives. He knew that he could make more of a positive impact on high schoolers who are at a point in their lives where their minds can be changed. Now decades later, there’s Shakespeare and To Kill a Mockingbird, there’s powerlifting and MMA, but it’s all James Dalton III helping people find something to motivate themselves to change and be the next better version of themselves.

“I’m doing something that’s purposeful, I’m doing something that matters to people and that’s what’s important to me.”