To help his parents, he returned home for a couple of years, coaching some of his hometown hockey teams. He helped a few players make it to the Ontario junior league and the NHL, and did a lot of positive work in the community.
Stackhouse said everything was going well, but the time had come to purchase a house. In the area where he was living, prices of homes were shooting up in price. Every month, he felt he, his wife Stephanie and their family would be purchasing a house, but they were getting burned by blind bidding. Eventually, he turned back to the province where things had gone well for him. Going further south in Manitoba would not be as cold, and the geographics of being close Brandon and Winnipeg were similar to where he was in relation to Peterborough and Toronto.
“The prices of homes are a lot cheaper here,” Stackhouse stated. “I like the safety factor of Boissevain. I know it’s a safe community. I don’t have to worry about my kids going to the movie theatre. It is the sense of community here.”
The choice of Boissevain actually came down to the house itself. Stephanie was interested in a Victorian home and one affordable one was available on Cook Street. Looking at it online, Stackhouse said everything began falling into place. They also checked out the town web site and watched a YouTube video on the These Roots Run Deep mural, which showed all of the benefits of the town. It is a great sports town, which is good for Eddie and his wife is attracted to the arts.
“It was a combination of small town living, farming community, arts, hockey and geographics. We’re glad to be here, plan to be here for a long time and help a lot of people.”
Stackhouse has plenty ideas for FitStop. Back home, he used to bring whole hockey teams in to train, and would like to do that in Boissevain as a contribution to the community. He said he would like to add some music and a video screen to the gym, some medals and motivational quotes for the wall.
His plans are to offer his services as a personal trainer for a fee above the FitStop membership. Both fees are well below the cost users would find in other centres. As a trainer, he has a positive style.
“I’m a motivator,” he explained. “I run off of positive reinforcement. I understand no one is perfect. I tell people stories about training through the years. It gets into their mind.”
He has named his program after the lion, the king of the jungle, who gets his status by mentality. As he explained, those who say they can and those who say they cannot are usually right.
Stackhouse has not only helped hockey players, but weightlifters, baseball players, gymnasts, football players, and more.
“It’s all about figuring out what support you need, what muscles you need, and tailoring the program to that need or goal.”
Diet and nutrition is important. It is different for different sports or goals. As Stackhouse said, what you feed a sprinter as opposed to a weightlifter is different. Overall, however, a balanced diet is key.
“Everyone has different goals and everyone has tweaks in their program,” he said, “Everybody’s body is different. You’ve got a goal, you’ve got some drive, we can help you.”
Stackhouse can adapt programs for different sports, needs, ages and goals. There are the elite athletes and people who are just trying to be more fit. He wants to work with both.
Working with Copperman allows Stackhouse to get back to the tools, which is important to him. It helps that the business is in the same building. His hope is to split the jobs 50/50. He added he wants to be flexible with his time for his athletes.
Stackhouse is already working with a local athlete privately, and is waiting for some of his Ontario kids to get drafted by the OHL. He said when you get teams into the gym, you can just see how much joy they get out of training. For himself, he is starting to prepare for upcoming bodybuilding competitions.
The sky is the limit for FitStop and the community.
“I think this is just the beginning,” Stackhouse said. “I feel the potential is huge. This could be a top training facility in Southwestern Manitoba.”

by PAUL RAYNER, Recorder staff