Now that you guys know who I am… I’d like to share a little bit more about myself, so you can understand a bit about my background, and why I have such a huge passion for Health and Wellness! 

As a child, I started roller skating in Virginia at the age of 5, and went to Nationals (in California!) at the age of 6.  At 7, I decided to have my birthday party at the ice skating rink. That was the day i decided to put my wheels aside, and trade them in for a shinny set of blades… 15 years later, you could still find me on the ice. I became a coach after my competitive years were over, and still skated recreationally… and to this day, I have days I wake up, and I just want to be back on the ice. I went through a lot of stressful things as figure skater, battled anorexia, dealt with issues with friends and school, due to my strict training schedule, etc. but learned a lot of valuable lessons… all topics I will cover another day.

In high school, my skating hours lessened, so my mom and I decided to join the gym nearby (my mom’s weight loss story I will also cover another time) as something to do when I wasn’t skating. It didn’t take long before I found my passion… Group Exercise. I have always been fit and into healthy living, but I never thought I would like this as much as I do.

When I went to college, I had a dilemma on my hands… do I major is Graphic Arts (something I was really good at in high school), or go with my life long passion… Exercise Science? As you can see Exercise Science won the battle.

In 2010, after years of taking other people classes at both the YMCA and American Family Fitness, I decided it was my turn to be the one in the front of the class. I put in a lot of money, hard work and hours practicing, but I did it. I got my AFAA Group Exercise certification, and my Zumba certification. Although I had many people telling me I couldn’t do it, and I would not be successful, I was blessed to have a huge support from friends and instructors at the Tuckahoe YMCA, in Henrico, Virginia. I was able to first start interning, and then became a Group Exercise Instructor, at not only Tuckahoe, but multiple different facilities over the years. I gained a huge following, especially for Zumba, reaching 100+ participants in my classes. I expanded my abilities and decided to certify in Schwinn Cycling and TRX. At this point, I was teaching Zumba, Floor Cardio, Cycle, TRX, Abs classes, Cardio Dance, Boot Camp, and Body Sculpt. Some days I would teach multiple classes and multiple formats back to back or multiple times a day.

I worked in the Richmond area for 2 years, teaching while I finished college, but then the day came… it was time for a change. Over the time I had been teaching at the YMCA, not only did my following for my classes grow, but friendships and family grew as well. But with that said, I was starting to get burnt out with everything in life, and I did not want to see myself get so burnt out that I lost my passion. I decided that it was time to take a vacation to give myself a step back… but this break ended up becoming more permanent than anyone would have expected.

I decided to take a FitBodies Working Vacation, and come down to the place I love most of earth… Riviera Maya, Mexico. My next blog will stare more details about my move to Mexico for those of you interested in that story.

I came down to Mexico thinking it would be a nice 2 week vacation… but that vacation led to meeting many new people, seeing old friends… and 2 weeks turned into 3 weeks… and 3 weeks turned into an phone call to my mom, saying… “Guess what. I got a job. I’m not coming home.” Best part was my mom saying… “I’m not surprised. I figured this would happen. When do I get to come down?” The hardest part was the email to my supervisor at the Y, to let her know that I wouldn’t be coming back. I didn’t want to disappoint those who had helped me get my start, but I knew it was time to move on.

Many thought I wouldn’t make it here, but like I always say, don’t let other people hold you back. The best feeling is when you can prove someone wrong who didn’t believe in you.

Nearly 2 years later, I sit here in front of the big, beautiful ocean, with my two Yorkies by my side, and the love of my life (who I met down here), living and loving life to the fullest with a big smile on my face… all the way from MEXICO!

And thats all for now… I’ve got a lot more coming. Tons of health and fitness tips, recipes, both healthy and just plain yummy, at home work outs, Zumba fun. I look forward to sharing my stories and tips, and hopefully I can be an inspiration to you. 🙂