The article below is an article that was posted in the Daily Bulletin.  Article written by Matt Wrye.

Summer is approaching. Temperatures will rise. Kids are bound to get wet. It’s money in the bank for Fit Fins Swim School, a home-based business in Chino Hills.

But profiting off of swim students isn’t Fit Fins’ focus, the owners said.

“We really want to help kids get back outside, be active and do more sports,” said Kevin Calbert, co-owner and Chino Hills native. “Most kids nowadays are playing tons of video games and watching TV all day.”

Calbert and his wife, Angela, are using their combined 24 years of swim-teaching experience to show kids that safety is just as important as making a cannon-ball splash into the water.

Replete with comfortable patio furniture and plenty of green grass, the Calbert’s backyard overlooks one of the best views of the Inland Empire any local resident could ask for. The couple had their backyard swimming pool designed specifically for swim instruction.

The school taught more than 350 kids last year between April and October.

“So far we’re on track to at least hitting the same goal, if not more,” Kevin said. “We’ve got a passion for what we do, and we love working with kids. We’ve got a lot of energy.”

They might be energetic, but it’s going to take even more energy to catapult the business to another level.

If all goes well, the Calbert’s hope to open another branch in Diamond Bar, and eventually a large facility – one where children’s swim teams from local cities can compete against one another in an Olympic-size swimming pool, where senior citizens can get involved in swim programs and where developmentally disabled children can do therapy in water.

Their fitness-health theme would expand, too.

“The reason we call it Fit Fins is because we want to emphasize not only swimming lessons but also the fitness lifestyle and fighting things like obesity,” Kevin said.

Kevin, who also owns All Star Realty and Mortgage Inc., got a taste of the economy’s downturn when the Inland Empire’s housing boom went bust.

But he’s got a feeling Fit Fins might be recession-proof, he said.

“I’m going to keep chugging along,” Kevin said. “People always have to learn to swim. And regardless of a recession or not, (parents) always want their kids to have the best.”

The couple are proud of their active childhoods. Both talk about the sports they played when younger – hockey, basketball and almost anything else that was outdoors.

Angela’s side note on her childhood is unique.

“We didn’t get paid an allowance (for chores),” she said. “Instead, we got 50 cents for every mile we ran, or 20 cents for every lap we swam. It taught us you can be in the pool, having fun, and still get that exercise that’s important to get.”

What the Calberts envision 10 years from now is only a milestone when compared to the longer-term goal. They want to start their own charity foundation.

They’re not sure what it would entail, but it would be connected with kids and animals that need help.

“That’s something that’ll last between the two of us,” Kevin said. “Some people focus on money, money, money – and once you’re gone, that’s gone, too. But a charity lasts forever.”