Plymouth Meeting’s Charlie Packman, retired owner of Charlie Packman’s Personal Fitness Center in Ambler and former strength coach at the UPenn, died on March 15 aged 75, writes Gary Miles for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Packman was a longtime popular personal trainer to professional, college, high school, and weekend athletes, as well as a mentor and volunteer. He began his sports career playing high school football and basketball at Chestnut Hill Academy. Afterwards,he played football at Lafayette College. However after sustaining several injuries, he later shifted his focus to bodybuilding and strength training.
He was mentored by veteran bodybuilder Roger Schwab at Main Line Health & Fitness in Bryn Mawr. There, he mastered the science of weightlifting. Packman then started coaching and over the years helped hundreds of private clients, 28 teams at Penn, and the men’s basketball team at Villanova University, among many others, with their strength conditioning.
He opened his Ambler fitness center in 2002.
“Charlie was quite a character,” said his cousin. “He had personality. He enjoyed being with people, and he could tell a story. He was the best friend you could have.”
Read more about Charlie Packman in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
