FITNESS BIOGRAPHY
My fitness journey began when I was 19 years old. Throughout high school I tried several sports, basketball and football being my favorites. Each year I would try out for the football and basketball teams but unfortunately never made the cut. Standing at 5'5" and weighing in at 120 lbs did not help my cause. I was not exactly blessed with athletic genes. After high school graduation in 1998, I sought out to find a sport that would accommodate my size and stature. I found myself drawn to boxing while watching matches on television. I admired how strong and courageous boxers were to step inside a boxing ring fully aware of the risks they were taking. What drew me even further into the sport was that it had weight categories. I also liked the idea that it was an individual sport. Each boxer is responsible for his/her performance in the ring. There are no team mates to fill in when things get tough. The glory of victory & bitterness of defeat lies solely on one's self. In 1999, I walked into the Ottawa Beaver Boxing Club and decided to take up boxing. I never could have imagined where this sport would take me. I must admit that the first year of training was rough. I got beat up often, but I never gave up. It was not until my second year of training that my skills started to develop. I realized that I had some advantage in being a smaller competitor. I had to use speed and be elusive rather than stand toe-to-toe and slug it out. Once I finally understood the benefits of my size and its advantages, I began to win sparring matches against boxers who had easily beat me up the previous year. In the fall of 2001, I made the club's competitive team which was a huge accomplishment for me. I went on to compete for another year and ended my amateur boxing career in the summer of 2002 with a total of 6 bouts (4 wins/2 losses)
In 2009, I was offered a full-time manager position at Final Round Boxing gym. Since starting my professional career as a personal fitness trainer, I also managed to obtain a few other certifications which benefit not only me but my clients as well. In 2008 I became a certified boxing instructor through Boxing Ontario, in 2009 a certified Sports Nutritionist through the YMCA-YWCA and, most recently, in 2013 I obtained another personal fitness training certification through Canfit Pro and also became a certified kick boxing instructor through Fitness Kickboxing Canada. I believe that continuing to educate myself allows me to grow as a personal fitness trainer. I want to keep updated with the latest new exercise trends. Aside from managing at Final Round Boxing, I became a contractor instructing boxing fitness classes within Ottawa's Public & Catholic High School Board. I perform fitness classes in the Physical Education curriculum. The transition from training adults to teens was also a huge learning curve. The experience allowed me to learn from my mistakes and see firsthand what works and does not work with all age groups. As a manager at Final Round Boxing, I had the opportunity of meeting, training, and working with amazing people. I even had the privilege of meeting & speaking to Liberal party leader Justin Trudeau and Senator Patrick Brazeau. Aside from personal training clients one-on-one, I also worked with professional and amateur boxers at the provincial and national level. I've also worked with several different junior hockey and rugby teams, which is a great way for the players to stay in shape during off-season training. In 2012, I left Final Round Boxing to concentrate on independently instructing boxing fitness classes offered at a variety of locations. I feel truly fortunate to have found my passion in life which I want to share with the world! If I could do it all over again, I would not change one thing!
CREDENTIALS
Canfit Pro Trainer Specialist (2013-current)
Fitness Kickboxing Canada - Level 2 Instructor (2015-current)
YMCA-YWCA Sports Nutritionist (2009-current)
Boxing Ontario - Level 1 Coach (2008)
YMCA-YWCA Personal Fitness Trainer (2007-current)
Standard First Aid & CPR-C & AED (2007-current)
