Hometown: From Silver Spring, Maryland which is right outside of Washington D.C., also known as the DMV (DC, Maryland, Virginia) and not the place where you get your drivers license.
When and why did you come to Austin?
Just moved down to Austin from the DMV to explore a different culture and ambience that is completely different from the DMV and East Coast. I am very excited to dive into and learn more about the city’s communities/cultures. Prior to moving to Austin, I’ve made multiple trips to the city and each time would fall in love with it more. When the opportunity came up to join ASF, it was a no brainer.
What is your background? How did you get into personal training?
I’ve been an athlete my whole life by practicing soccer as my main sport, but also having played other sports such rugby and wrestling. When practicing these sports, I’ve always had coaches that would just tell us athletes to do something just because they said so without giving an explanation as to why we’d be doing a specific drill or exercise. When I started training back in 2018, I told myself that I wanted to help people reach their fitness goals and/or help optimize their athletic performances by being an open book with clients. If asked, I will take the time to explain a program or a session plan to a client to help build a stronger trusting relationship between trainer and client, but also to help with buy-in into a program and services that I can offer.
Tell us about your current fitness goals and training.
Current fitness goals are to cut a bit of weight and tone up, and increase my flexibility, but most importantly just be a healthy individual overall. Since soccer has always been my favorite sport, I’d like to find a competitive men’s league that I can join. Not only to meet new people, but also explore the city’s soccer scene a bit more. Another reason why keeping weight down is important to me is because Austin has a great food scene, and I consider myself a foodie so I’ll have to really keep up with my workout and diet routine to not gain weight from the great food the city has to offer, or maybe even add a few two-a-days into the mix to keep up.
What is the most common fitness myth you work through with your clients?
Stretching and getting a proper warmup isn’t that important and that you can simply just show up and get into an intense workout without getting hurt. ASF is great about getting clients to do their warm-ups before the session, so that way we maximize the time spent in the session in the lifts. Also, ASF’s standards on progressing a client based on their ranges of motion and meeting certain standards will help keep the programs safe, but also gives the clients motivation to reach those standards to keep progressing and getting better.
What do you want your clients to take away from each training session with you?
I want my clients to come out each session learning some new piece of information that helps them understand why we are doing something in the program, from an exercise to a stretch, but also being able to push their own boundaries of comfort. I believe coming out from our own confront zone allows us to grow and learn more about ourselves, and that will push us to be better each and every session.
What sets you apart from other fitness professionals?
What sets me apart from others is my ability to be personable and create great relationships with my clients. I want clients coming into each session ready to workout with their good friend who genuinely cares about their well-being and wants to see them reach their full potential in and out of the gym.
How do you, personally, define success?
Success can have many meanings to different people, but for me success is measured by one’s happiness and consistency to continue wanting to improve in life. For me, when someone is happy with themselves they are able to help affect those around them by being a positive influence, because negativity can open a Pandora’s box that can affect a personal lifestyle tremendously, and many don’t realize it until it’s already too late. The urge to continue to improve in life is also an indication of success for me because the person is always willing to learn new information to add to their tool kits to adapt to any life challenges that might be thrown their way in or out the gym.
Who is your hero & why?
I would say my hero is my dad. My dad has shown me what it means to show up for your loved ones and yourself regardless of the circumstances. He has also helped shape and mold me into the person I am today, from showing me the value of hard work to also being one of the first to own and correct mistakes made in life, but also to enjoy the little things along the way because nothing can be ever taken for granted in this lifetime. We only have one life, so how can we make the most out of it?