Every step, taken cautiously and gingerly, is meticulously measured and deliberate. It is a gait revealing the challenges of extreme physical and mental handicaps.

She struggles mightily to get down the double-barred, gently sloping ramp that leads down into the soothing waters of the river walk.

Once fully immersed, this special-needs young lady is guided by a warm, tender voice—defining encouragement and compassion.

It is the voice of an angel.

An angel wearing a wetsuit, instead of wings.

Now, healing begins.

Sharon Steele is a Powell personal trainer—and has dedicated a half a century of her life being there for others. As their angel.

Fifty years.

When she began, Richard Nixon was president, gas was 35 cents a gallon, eggs 62 cents a dozen, a pound of sugar 12 cents, a first-class stamp 6 cents, a new house $40,000—and for two grand, you could drive a new car off the lot.

The Philadelphia native’s calling came in North Carolina.

“I belonged to the Lady Spa in Winston-Salem, and the manager asked if I wanted to teach a floor calisthenics class for a free membership,” Steele told the Culpeper Star-Exponent. “The small clubs were just breaking into group fitness classes.”

That was 1972.

Steele’s free membership gave the quintessential gym rat time to observe firsthand the lasting impact a personal trainer can have on those crying out for physical lifelines.

People like 74-year-old Donna DeAngelis of Culpeper.

“I am Sharon Steele’s first pre-surgical client for her ‘prehab’ program, and that made me a very fortunate woman,” reflected DeAngelis. “I have osteoarthritis and was scheduled for knee surgery. I had eight personal prehab sessions with Sharon in the pool before my surgery, August 2, 2021.”

Touched by an angel.

“I was ready!” exclaimed DeAngelis. “I was up and walking with a walker the day of surgery. I only spent one night in the hospital. When I came home, I used the walker for only two days before my home health physical therapist released me to use a cane. Less than a week after surgery, I am hanging wash on my lines! All of my health care providers are amazed at how well I am doing.”

Steele’s journey to Culpeper has been peppered with a profusion of glowing anecdotal revelations from those on the receiving end of a loving, caring, passionate health-care advocate.

“For all of my students and clients, I love seeing them get healthy,” Steele said.

It’s been deja vu all over again wherever she parks her wet suit—or stopwatch, exercise mat, kitbag, whistle, pool noodle, STEP platform, resistance bands, stability ball, client logbook, or any other tool of her long and storied career.

Steele has changed countless lives in clubs, YMCAs, hospitals, and community centers in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Rockville, Maryland; Fairfax and Reston, Virginia; Houston, Texas; and, here in Culpeper for the last 25 years—15 at Powell Wellness Center as its senior trainer, having served since the facility’s doors first opened.

Houston did have a problem: There was only one Sharon Steele to go around.

While in Texas, the University of Houston graduate even used her kinesiology degree (the mechanics of movement and how they impact health and wellbeing) to motivate the NFL Houston Oilers to STEP it up with platform aerobic workouts. (Apparently, Steele got them in such great shape, in 1996, they walked all the way to Nashville where they later became the Tennessee Titans!)

She was joust beginning!

Steele also was a personal trainer for actors portraying knights at Medieval Times, a national family dinner theater experience featuring staged medieval-style games, sword-fighting and jousting.

It was her knight in shining armor, aka her dad, who instilled in Steele a love of sports.

“My dad was always my inspiration and encouraged me,” she said. “He played minor league baseball for the Johnson City Cardinals, a St. Louis Cardinals’ farm team. Sports and fitness have always been a part of my life.”

Here, in Culpeper, she is the GOAT: greatest of all time.

Take it from Whitney Propps, Powell’s medical program and fitness manager, who said, “Experience and relatability! Sharon can talk to anyone about anything and make them feel comfortable and welcome.”

“The business we are in can be hard but also very rewarding,” Propps added. “Sharon has seen all spectrums of this industry and has really found a niche at Powell with medical fitness. When you believe in the work that you do like Sharon does, it makes the bad days few and far between.”

Propps said many people dabble in the fitness world, but few get in and stay in, long term. But Steele, Propps said, found something that “makes her tick,” and that makes her very successful.

“That positive attitude radiates in a class,” Propps said. “Not a lot of people want to come work out — they do it because they know that they should. When you have someone like Sharon waiting on you to show up, and you know she will bring her ‘A’ game, it makes it easier to walk through the doors.”

Rare qualities, indeed.

“It is hard to find professional instructors that give it their all each time they come in,” Propps said. “Without question, Sharon walks in the door the same person each day, making her a staple in our facility.”

At Powell, Steele specializes in classes that support strength, cardio and joint health, balance and mobility for healthy living, according to Karen Boushie, the communications and social media specialist at Culpeper Wellness Foundation.

“She is certified for AquaStretch, a one-on-one assisted stretching and myofascial release technique that uses weighted resistance in shallow water,” Boushie explained.

“AquaStretch frees the body of restrictions that limit flexibility; these restrictions may be the cause of pain or discomfort with movement,” she continued. “She is also certified for pre-habilitation training (PreHab), which helps an individual prepare for the stresses of surgery and can support faster recovery. AquaStretch and PreHab are open to the public.”

Powell Wellness Center is one of only two medical-fitness certified facilities in Virginia, Boushie said.

“As a certified facility, PWC offers the professional expertise and programming necessary to assist people safely and effectively, regardless of current health status, to develop and maintain an active lifestyle that minimizes the risk of illness and promotes health and wellness,” she said, adding: “Sharon embodies this mission through her classes and training.”

That ain’t all, folks!

“Sharon also works as an instructor in the pool for our Fitscripts program—and like a beautifully broken record—each time I get the chance to talk to someone finishing up the program, there are nothing but rave reviews about her knowledge and skill,” Propps said. “This particular program is for people who have health conditions or concerns or have really never exercised in their life but now their doc is saying it would be beneficial.”

Steele, an extremely popular—and oft-requested—trainer, is diligent in staying current on health trends to offer her clients the safe and reliable results they seek.

“Sharon has a way of making people feel like they were born to exercise even if it’s something they don’t start until they are 80,” concluded Propps.

Both angel … and miracle worker!