Steve Silberberg
Owner Fitpacking

Steve offers an inspiring Work BIG story. Fitpacking is a novel Live BIG offering.

Meet Steve and Fitpacking.

Fitpacking offers backpacking vacations designed to deliver weight loss. The owner, Steve Silberberg, graduated from M.I.T. in 1984 with both a Bachelors and Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science. Steve was a software contractor for over 20 years. His client list included DuPont, Polaroid, Tektronix, Acadian Asset Management, the EPA, Talbots and Data I/O. Steve's other careers include college professor, founding an Internet lost & found site, aerobics instructor, museum curator, expert witness, stand-up comedian, electronic publisher, and filmmaker. Steve's Air Sickness Bag Museum is the largest collection in the continental United States and has garnered international press as well as national TV and radio coverage. Steve prefers to spend his time backpacking in the wilderness.

What led to you following your dreams and giving up your IT job?

Not surprisingly, it doesn’t take much urging to give up a job in IT.  That’s not to say that IT isn’t interesting or exciting - it can be.  It’s just that unless you’re in a truly innovative environment, you become a commodity like any other business “resource”.  While the financial rewards of such positions may be considerable, the toll it takes upon you stress-wise can also be considerable.

Ultimately, I followed my dreams because there was not much of a future in my path at the time.  Furthermore, I reached a point in my life where the quality of life was much more important to me than a nicer house or being able to afford a nicer car or better restaurants.

What is fit packing?And who benefits by participating?

Fitpacking guides moderately overweight people on backpacking adventure vacations to stunning destinations in order to lose weight, get in shape, and alter body composition.  You lose weight because all the food you eat for the week must fit in your pack.  This limits your intake and the more food you bring, the more weight you have to carry through the mountains. Fitpacking is targeted for people who are approximately 15-75 pounds overweight, but that's mostly a guideline.

How does it help others realize their dreams?

It’s not hyperbole to assert that some participants change their lives by Fitpacking.  Hikers not only jump start their fitness levels and use their trip as a foundation for regaining their fitness, they also become stress-free as many of our Fitpacking destinations are outside the range of cell phone signals.  Plus, Fitpacking trips teach people the skills necessary to be self-sufficient in the remote wilderness. That's an empowering feeling.

What advice would you give to others who want to follow their passion?

Number one is make sure your family is secure and fed.  Don’t make them suffer for your passion. Beyond that, exercise due diligence, but only in moderation.  Researching marketing data and statistics for six months while your window of opportunity closes is unnecessary hesitation that doesn't serve you well as an entrepreneur.  As with any experiment, eventually you just have to try it.

If your product or service is something nobody has ever heard of, jump right in.  You will be able to learn very little about selling sauerkraut juice without trying it yourself.  (P.S.:  Sauerkraut juice is an actual product!)

What makes you a success? 

Well, I don't really consider myself a success. To me, a successful person starts a program that feeds starving third world villages. I just help people get fit. But if I am a success, it's because my parents taught me to treat others with dignity and respect. So, if I can open people's eyes to the wilderness, show them how enjoyable it is and help them to not fear it, then I guess that's a small measure of success!