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Despite my many interests as a child, fitness was always the furthest thing from my mind. I grew up on a little ranch near the tiny Northern California town of Downieville, and I was responsible for caring for our dogs, cats, horses, chickens, goats, a falcon and some pigeons. On top of that, I attended ballet classes, and I read like crazy. I was obsessed with building little outdoor structures and decorating them. I fell in love with fabric and then fashion. Sure, I tried my hand at swimming and cross country, but after demonstrating mediocre performances in both, I decided that I was not athletically inclined. I equated being slender with being healthy; I was already slim, so I dismissed fitness altogether and turned my interest elsewhere.

When I was seventeen, I started modeling for an agency in San Francisco, traveling around Europe, living in Milan for months at a time, soaking up Italian culture, and developing a deeper love of food, wine, beautiful buildings, history and language. These experiences whet my appetite for more knowledge, so I applied to the University of California at Santa Cruz. I felt pathetic the first time I found myself exhausted just from carrying my books across campus, and I knew it was time for a change.

When a friend told me about CrossFit, I was enticed to hear that the program is structured around functional fitness, which I urgently needed. At the time, I did not know that CrossFit also advocates elite fitness, something I had given up on years before, nor did I know that this little CrossFit gym would become the most influential aspect of my life.
CrossFit training taught me about discipline, intensity, and commitment, all of which translated into all other aspects of my life, including my education. The progress I made at the gym inspired me to achieve more in other areas. I started surfing, completed my degree and within two years, I became a certified CrossFit trainer, coaching other athletes to elite fitness at the same gym that helped me reclaim my health.

This discovery enabled me to better understand the power of functional fitness and the possibilities provided by its application. I learned that a person’s attitude toward fitness parallels his or her attitude toward life. Just like life, people approach fitness in different ways with varied needs and goals. CrossFit focuses on functional movement, on learning how to meet these goals efficiently, with intensity, commitment, and discipline. It is my goal to live up to my full potential as a human being and help others reach the goals they have set.

In the summer of 2007, I decided to explore my love of beautiful buildings and enrolled in UCLA’s summer architecture program to try my hand at design. I had the opportunity to spend time with the Petranek Fitness crew. The enthusiasm shared by instructors and clients alike convinced me that this is were I should be. I am excited to be part of this thriving community and am looking forward to sharing the knowledge I have gained over the past five years of CrossFitting and instructing.