As a youth growing up in Frederick, MD (about an hour west of Baltimore), I’ve always been active.  From Soccer to Tee-Ball, Track & Field to Martial Arts…if it involved me running around and having a good time doing it, I was all for it!

After graduating high school and moving on to college, I knew I wanted to help people in a way that would make a positive impact on their lives.  I wanted to do something that involved taking a direct approach to empowering people to achieve greater things in their lives. In the middle of my second year of college, while attending a town festival, I was “discovered” by a local gym during a fitness expo. They said my personality, motivation, and commitment to others would really make me a big success at their fitness center—should I ever want a job. I decided to give it a shot, and in a matter of a few weeks, I was hooked on the idea of working in the health and fitness industry! Not even two weeks later, I discovered a new program that was going to be introduced at the beginning of the fall semester—Exercise Science. This program involved not only learning the “what” and “where” to go about helping people with health-related ailments, but also the “why” they got to that point in the first place, and “how” to educate and prevent them from returning to that state of poor health in the future. I felt I had FINALLY discovered my true calling!

The next few years after that, however, would prove to be a real eye-opener for me. As I climbed through the ranks from an Aerobics Instructor to a Personal Trainer, I discovered how A LOT of health and wellness facilities centered their business plan on bringing in money—NOT maintaining the satisfaction of the paying member. I was surprised how unyielding companies were when a family, falling on hard times, would ask if they could delay a payment so that household bills could get paid…only to have their membership revoked as a result. I was shocked at the level of greed in some of these places, where as long as you were making the kind of money the company wanted you to make, a blind eye was turned to any questionable practices against the members who attended. I was dismayed at how these people, who “prided” themselves on the very company logos they wore every day, treated members as nothing more than a barcode—a product that could always be replaced at a moment’s notice. Their company was nothing more than a cash cow to them.

Surely, this wasn’t the way the “real” world of health and wellness worked…was it? Apparently it was—as I started to see how larger corporations interfered with meeting the needs of the individual client. I saw how managers, directors, and even owners were more interested in the number of dollars generated from newly-signed fitness contracts—NOT from members who are more than happy enough with their progress and environment to stay put for a while. After presenting great ideas that only fell on greedy and deaf ears, I had no choice but to leave the franchise I had known and loved for years.

Shortly after leaving the world of franchised industry, I met a person who would end up becoming a sort of “mentor” to me. He had gone through something similar to my plight, and decided to take matters “into his own hands”.  Through this mentor, I discovered if you remove company corruption from the equation, things like motivation, commitment, and perseverance really do make a successful impact on a client’s life! Also, by taking the time to go and learn how to do things better (instead of how the health club wants you to do things), you end up better educating a client on how to take care of themselves—and others—for the rest of their lives. By thinking outside of the box, even on a case-by-case basis, a personal trainer can develop a fun, challenging, inspiring, and functional program for just about any type of person, for any type of situation.

This is something I still live by to this very day. With each new client comes a new and exciting challenge for me to undertake. I see this as a sort of story or journey, with page one starting the moment I shake their hand and introduce myself. Seeing as no two stories are quite the same, I look upon myself as someone who is there to help shape and reshape their life’s epic. I want to give individuals the power to rewrite their personal tale through overcoming tribulations, achieving personal goals, and simply improving their everyday lives for the better.

To all who come into my care, I personally look forward to helping you achieve a stronger, healthier, and happier “you”!