MY STORY

Growing up in Texas, where football reigned supreme, I spent my childhood playing outside in the blistering heat. However, it was wrestling that truly captured my heart. To me, it was a dance, an art form, a battle between two warriors who had endured countless hours of grueling practice just to have a six-minute match and bask in the glory of the podium. This was nirvana for me, and I was determined to achieve my goal of winning a state championship.

Unfortunately, my athletic career took an unexpected turn. From the age of 13, I suffered from numerous severe injuries, which gradually hampered my performance and dashed my dreams of reaching the top. It was too much to bear, and I had to let go.

During my junior and high school years, I spent a significant amount of time in sports rehabilitation, working with physical therapists, orthopedics, and chiropractors to restore my health. It was fascinating to observe how they managed to help me, given the severity of my injuries. Witnessing and experiencing this sparked an interest in me: I could use what I was learning about body mechanics and injury prevention to assist others. But where should I begin?

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At the age of 18, I became a NASM™ Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). With this certification, I could help my friends and family improve their physical conditioning during my remaining years in high school. It was incredibly satisfying to assist others in achieving their fitness goals. However, I knew there had to be more to physical health than just exercise.

This led me to enroll in The University of Texas at Austin's Nutritional Sciences program, where I gained a strong foundation in health sciences, including how nutrition is broken down into key components, its effects on the body, and the connections between health, behavior, education, population, culture, and economics. Incorporating nutrition into my toolkit enabled me to advise clients on how to prepare for exercise nutritionally and when not training.

After graduation, I continued to broaden my knowledge of fitness training. Throughout the years, I had the opportunity to learn and teach Olympic lifting, CrossFit, Pilates (non-certified), corrective exercise, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), and kickboxing fitness. This foundation provided me with the tools to design customized exercise programs to build clients from the ground up while instructing them on what constitutes a healthy diet.

However, after years of fitness training, I realized that despite helping clients with their fitness and nutrition, something was still missing. Many clients would be dedicated to the gym, but would engage in unhealthy habits and thought processes. How could I assist them at that level, and what was it called?

That's when I discovered the concept of mindset! But to transform a person's mindset, which leads to actions, I needed to know where such unhealthy thoughts and actions came from.

To this end, I enrolled in The Institute of Integrated Nutrition® (IIN) Health Coaching program. This program taught me about the primary foods that shape a person's life (the Food Pyramid®) and how to create a non-judgmental space to discuss those areas. I then used cognitive behavioral therapy tools to replace unhealthy thoughts and habits with healthy ones, fostering long-term, thriving lifestyle changes.

Thus, my approach to a person was born: Mind, Body, Nutrition.

Today, I continue my studies in the health-science realm, gaining new knowledge and perspectives to improve how I connect and deliver services, guiding clients to their vision of success and happiness, and recognizing that one size does not fit all.