John Sitaras

Besides the fitness program, the gym became also a place for informal socializing between these members. At the same time there appeared the necessity to adjust the schedules in order to ensure that people who don’t get along in the corporate world are working out at different times. Sitaras has mentioned in an interview that he is careful to sort out "people coming here for the wrong reasons", such as the proximity to high profile artists. He also added that not all of his clients are famous, the main admission requirement is to have a high motivation and to take the program seriously.

Sitaras developed the system for five years by recording measurements and histories before and after exercises, and studying how to investigate the principles and fundamentals of fitness training effects. When he started to put this method into practice, he described his approach as inspired from architecture, first a foundation should be established and then plan the structure upon the clients’ specific purposes (weight loss, flexibility, strength and power, cardiovascular health etc.). The method, intensity and frequency of a tailored fitness program is established based on the analysis of basic factors like age, medical histories and skills with consideration of requirements and purposes.

In 2014, he was one of the 23 Greeks and Greek-Americans chosen to be featured in "Greeks Gone West", a series of short portrait films, to share their story on how they have pushed through the toughest parts of their journey to become successful in the United States. The series was supported by the Embassy of the United States in Athens and the Greek national newspaper Kathimerini.

In 2012, John Sitaras signed a partnership with the South Korean luxury hotel The Shilla (part of Samsung Group), announcing that in late 2013 they will open in Seoul The Shilla-Sitaras Fitness Center, employing the Sitaras Method. The center opened on August 1, 2013. It is equipped with a digital measurement room, a first in Korea, and it gathers professional trainers, medalists, and national athletes to provide training for the members.

In 2013, he became the head instructor of the Golf Digest magazine (Korean edition), from November starting a series of articles focused on musculature and body balance improvement for golf players.

On July 7, 2012, at the "Unmasked" fundraising event in Bridgehampton, New York sponsored by Alexander Soros, a Sitaras Fitness gym package was auctioned in favor of the NGO Global Witness, an advocacy and activist organization that fights natural resource-related conflict and corruption and associated environmental and human rights abuses.

John Sitaras was one of the main fundraisers for The American Cancer Society at 2012 "Over The Edge" event, by rappelling down a skyscraper.

Jimmie Johnson was the first racing driver to become Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year (in 2009), and the only driver in NASCAR history to win five consecutive championships (overall six championships, 2006–2010, 2013). His story about his collaboration with Sitaras and the importance of fitness and nutrition to his career has been covered in various national media outlets. He also gave to the GAINSCO team the idea of using this method.

A shareholder dispute appeared in December 2008, when, in the context of the economic downturn, three of the nine board members wanted to make important changes at the club in order to increase membership and their returns. They tried to unseat Sitaras as C.E.O., reduce his 53 percent ownership stake and transform the gym into a more mainstream club. Other shareholders sided with him and the three dissidents were bought out. The gym membership remained capped at 200 (as of March 2012, there were 144 members).

In 2008, Sitaras Fitness was a featured auction donor of the Princess Grace Awards Gala in New York City. John Sitaras was also a special guest speaker for Turn 2 Foundation, a charity organization founded by Derek Jeter, with a mission to help children and teenagers avoid drug and alcohol addiction, and to reward those who show high academic achievement and adopt healthier lifestyles. As a Brooklyn native, he instructed Brooklyn and Bronx children in the rigors of physical fitness and the rewards of pursuing their dream.

In his early career as a fitness professional, John Sitaras created his own system and, as he developed a good following, he embarked on a plan to open his own gym. His plan was financed by some well-known Wall Street clients, who put in nearly $1.5 million, and the club, Sitaras Fitness, opened in November 2007, in Upper East Side, Manhattan. It quickly became a place frequented by high-profile people from various fields, like business magnate George Soros, economist and former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, former General Electric CEO Jack Welch, journalist Charlie Rose, record executive David Geffen or NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson. It is the only New York luxury gym featured among "The Most Beautiful Gyms in the World" list of Men's Journal.

One of the persons most associated with Sitaras Method is NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race car driver Jimmie Johnson. The collaboration with John Sitaras began in December 2007, shortly after Johnson was named 2007 Driver of the Year. An initial assessment found that half of his body was much tighter, having acclimated to offsetting the g-force load from turning left his whole life. Sitaras created specific workouts to balance Johnson's strength, a run schedule and stressed the importance of an adequate diet. In two years, Johnson's body fat percentage dropped from 20% to 8% (visible also in the change of the shape of his face), while his strength and stamina greatly improved.

In 1995, while he and his best friend, Boris Levitsky, were eating lunch outside a Brooklyn restaurant, the two were attacked by a local gang, leaving Levitsky dead and Sitaras in a wheelchair for five months. The attack ended Sitaras' bodybuilding career and also caused a deep depression, worrying his friends and family. After he recovered, Sitaras worked for a period of time as a valet parking attendant, a truck driver and as an extra actor. Then he resumed his interest in the field of fitness, working in local fitness clubs, where he built his clientele and reputation. John Sitaras studied with a pain specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital to develop a no-injury strength-training methodology.

John Sitaras was born in Chios, Greece, in 1972. His family moved to the United States when he was 3 months old and he grew up in Brooklyn, in a rough neighborhood. Self-conscious about his 5-foot-11, 145-pound frame, Sitaras started bodybuilding at the age of 17, competing in bodybuilding within a year, and finishing fourth in his first regional competition in 1992. He also enrolled in Brooklyn College, where he took pre-medical courses, including psychology and nutrition. In 1993, due to financial reasons, he dropped out of school to focus on bodybuilding.