Hometown: Ottawa, IL > Cooper City, FL
When and why did you come to Austin?
I moved to Austin in 2013 on a complete whim. I had never been here before, but I immediately fell in love with the city’s commitment to fitness, the protection of green spaces and the genuinely kind and curious attitude of the people living here.
What is your background? How did you get into personal training?
I was admittedly a band nerd through grade school! I started lifting after I started auditioning for roles as a tuba player in drum corps and realized I’d have to get stronger to be able to handle it like my peers.
When I moved to Austin I was fortunate to get a job as a physical therapy technician. Learning from some fantastic PTs made me realize how huge the gap between discharge and physical fitness can be. I pursued certification in order to play a more direct role in getting people active and keeping them healthy.
How did you get started at Austin Simply Fit?
I started with Austin Simply Fit as an intern in 2015. Once I completed my certification, I was offered a position as a trainer!
You also serve as the head of Human Resources for ASF. Tell us about what you do in this role:
Our goal on the leadership team is to create the best place to work as a career personal trainer in Austin. My role is to help write policy and develop programs that support us in reaching this goal. In recent years this has looked like directing our hiring process, expanding our onboarding program, developing our paid time off policy and integrating Krista’s vision for the future of the company.
What is your favorite thing about Austin Simply Fit?
Austin Simply Fit is a diverse group of trainers from many different backgrounds. Every time we add an individual to the team, it’s an opportunity for each of the current employees to learn something new and expand their repertoire as well as step into a teaching role themselves. I’ve watched us grow so much as a community and I’m grateful for the opportunity to learn from my coworkers.
Tell us about your current fitness goals and training:
I’ve been training jiu jitsu since 2019. This sport presents a whole new host of programming questions and has been a fun intellectual challenge. My goal is to be as mobile and well-conditioned as possible while maintaining a high level of strength relative to my weight class. And big biceps, of course…
What are your passions outside of the gym?
I keep myself busy outside of the gym with jiu jitsu, baking for stress relief, and spending time with my partner and dogs!
Favorite quote and who said it?
“The only work really worth doing — the only work you can do convincingly — is the work that focuses on the things you care about. To not focus on those issues is to deny the constants in your life.” – David Bayles, Art & Fear