A year ago, we welcomed Dr. Steve Rosinski to our office. Dr. Rosinski moved here from New York with his wife, Chelsea, and has been a great fit in our work family at Crozet Eye Care. He has done a great job this past year serving his patients with devotion and excellence. I am delighted to celebrate such a successful year and to have him as a part of our team.

This eye doctor/professional triathlete (yes, he’s also a professional athlete) earned his undergraduate degree from Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Penn. and his Doctorate of Optometry from Ohio State University. As a professional triathelete, he is sponsored by CooperVision, which many of you may recognize because it is one of the largest contact lens manufacturers in the world and a brand that we carry here. If you would like to follow Steve’s journey as a pro athlete, you can visit his web site here.

I appreciate all of our patients welcoming Dr. Rosinski to our team this year. If you haven’t had the pleasure of meeting him, you can schedule an eye appointment at (434) 823-4441. However, call soon as Dr. Rosinski is booking up fast.

We were so happy to announce earlier this summer that Dr. Rosinski has joined our practice. Now that he’s had a chance to settle in, we thought we’d do a little Q&A so that our patients can get to know him better. Read through to learn more about his not-so-secret second career!

Why did you decide to become an optometrist? I decided to become an optometrist due in large part to my optometrist growing up…Dr. Cary Kazdan. I have always been interested in the medical field and working with people, but I wasn’t sure which route I wanted to go. Since I am very nearsighted, I had to see Dr. Kazdan every 6 months. I came to see that being an optometrist was a great profession where you could make a difference.  He has really been an integral part of my career and still mentors me to this day. 

Do you have an optometric special interest? I would say my biggest interest is in contact lenses. I love fitting the patient who was told they couldn’t wear contacts for various reasons: whether from high astigmatism, high prescription, dry eye or other issues.  Contacts have opened up a whole new world to me as an athlete, and I want everyone to experience how amazing they can be. I also fit contacts on patients that have corneal disease or irregularities. We have new contact lenses called scleral lenses that have really made a huge impact on the lives of many.

Why did you move to C’ville and what do you like best so far? I moved to Charlottesville from Rochester, NY, for the beautiful mountains, the more moderate climate, the cultural richness, and the ability to join a great practice. I love exploring the area, trying new restaurants and meeting new people.

How are your new co-workers at Crozet Eye Care? I would say I have a great relationship with the women at Crozet Eye Care. I am the only guy in the office, so I get to take the brunt of the jokes but, hey, I can dish it back, as well. I have really enjoyed the first few months and can only imagine more fun times to come!

Let’s shift gears a bit and talk about your other career. In addition to being an Optometrist, I am also a national caliber Professional triathlete. I am in the middle of my first Pro season, and it is going very well. I just had my best finish back in the middle of August at Ironman Timberman 70.3 where I finished 7th overall and 3rd American losing to a few international stars.  

How did you get into racing? How do you balance work and training? I have been racing triathlons for about 6 years now, but I got serious about the sport three years ago after graduating from optometry school. It was hard to train while in school with the intense course load. I ran cross country and track all through high school and college, and after running competitively for a number of years, I decided to take a little break from running and started cycling. Then after knowing how to cycle and run, I thought a triathlon would be something fun to do. After taking part in my first one, I was hooked!