Alumni Spotlight: Keegan Johnson is making a difference one small step at a time

McMaster Marauders men’s basketball and computer science alumnus Keegan Johnson is taking the leadership and resilience he learned on the basketball court to all other areas of his life, including his newest business venture: Let’s Go Fitness. The company has created an online fitness community for people with diverse needs, and services athletes with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Johnson’s athletic journey blossomed at McMaster, where he was a team captain and OUA All-Star under legendary Marauder head coach Joe Raso. 

“I had an awesome time playing basketball at Mac,” said Johnson, “I remember winning a lot, and I actually learned a lot about basketball.”

His position as a leader on the team made it all the more difficult when the 6-2 guard suffered an ACL tear that caused him to reconsider his future in the sport. After chronic problems continued to linger following two surgeries, it was Coach Raso who convinced Johnson to stay with the team as a player-coach, and continue to bring the leadership that had galvanized the team so well.

“That was learning how to work through adversity. Case in point – have a challenge, and figure out how to work through it,” he said.

His next great challenge would come years later when, seated in a boardroom in McMaster Children’s Hospital, Johnson and his wife Tanya were informed that their 3-week-old son, Dante, had Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS).

Prader-Willi Syndrome is a genetic disorder characterized by low muscle tone, low energy, delayed speech development, and an excessive appetite – or, as the doctor described it during Dante’s diagnosis: “a syndrome perfectly designed to make someone morbidly obese.” For the Johnsons, this was difficult news, and was sure to bring significant challenges in raising their son.

It was at this time that Johnson thought back to the adversity that he faced during his injury, and assured his family that things would work out. 

“We can choose to believe that we can make a difference, or we can choose to believe that this is the end,” he said.

That belief led the couple to host their ‘One SMALL Step’ walk-a-thon, a charity event raising money for the Foundation for Prader-Willi Research Canada. Using their wedding guests as an email list, the young pair set out to raise five thousand dollars in cash donations. 

That day, they raised over $50,000 for Prader-Willi research. 

Johnson began working with others around the world to develop a system that would allow any community to host their own walk, and his charity has raised over $6 million for PWS research to date.

Fast forward to last year’s pandemic lockdown when Dante’s uncle came over to borrow a weight. Prompted by his family, Dante tried 10 reps of bicep curls, and loved the feeling of accomplishment when he finished. Dante and his cousin Mikhail began working out together, and a one-off set of curls in the kitchen snowballed into a 200-day marathon in which Dante and his cousin worked out together every day – without missing a single day.

In the beginning, Dante’s family was diligent in making sure that he had goals to keep himself motivated and make training a habit. But as time went on, Dante could be found working out in the early hours of the morning before his family had woken up.Dante Johnson

“It started to shift … he didn’t want to miss a workout!” Johnson laughed. Dante wouldn’t slow down, even if his family asked him to take a break.

Others in the community began to take notice of Dante’s energy and commitment. Neighbours started asking to exercise with him, and Dante would exercise with other kids virtually. These interactions led to a crucial conversation between Dante and his father, in which Dante asked if helping others workout could be a good job. This moment set off a spark in the entrepreneurial brain of Dante’s dad, and Let’s Go Fitness was born.

Dante, along with five other trainers with disabilities, now leads fitness classes for athletes around the world. The company offers classes every day of the week, and has begun working with group homes as well as Halton Catholic and Niagara Catholic District School Boards. The groups operate according to the motto “Fun, Friends, and Fitness,” and aim to encourage participants to make friends while exercising.

“Seeing what [Dante] has done has been the most rewarding thing,” said Johnson. “I just sort of try to keep up and run the business around him,” he smiled.

Creating a new job pathway was a major driver behind the creation of Let’s Go Fitness, and the company is looking to grow their staff and community even more. They would like to hire more certified or uncertified trainers to assist in running the workouts – a great job for a student-athlete.

For Let’s Go Fitness’ CEO, playing basketball at McMaster, a previous career with the successful e-commerce fraud protection company Ethoca, and the challenge of his son’s diagnosis itself all led to the ‘never-say-die’ mentality to which the company owes its existence.

“I’ve seen a lot of people undersell what they can accomplish. I think people are a lot more resilient and have a lot more inner talent and drive than they give themselves credit for,” Johnson said proudly.

From basketball, to philanthropy, to starting a business, Keegan Johnson’s journey is a reminder that it takes one small step to make a big difference.