Hi! Hayla here!

Long story long, my fitness journey began as a Junior Lifeguard on Belmar Beach, NJ. I must've been about 9. We ran in the sand, swam in the ocean, paddle-boarded and kayaked. I wasn't a natural athlete... but I showed up!

I attended high school at the Marine Academy of Science and Technology, or MAST, on Sandy Hook, NJ. I didn't do any sports, but I was an active participant in the Naval Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (NJROTC). I decided I wanted to join the Coast Guard and began a strict regime of running around the block.. About a mile, some days. (There's sarcasm here)

I was accepted into the US Coast Guard Academy and off to boot camp I went. Technically, it's called "Swab Summer"- but think bootcamp. Fitness was not my jam. I was frequently, nope, always the slowest and weakest one in the platoon. I'll never forget how it felt to run in formation up the hilly Connecticut campus being pretty certain I was going to pass out and get trampled. Or worse, my slowness being the reason my fellow cadets got punished. Big uuf. Sorry if anyone in Bravo Company is reading this. Many a report saying that if I couldn't increase my fitness, I'd be kicked out. But, your underdog survived!

Not having much of an athletic background, I chose crew as my mandatory sport. We'd take the shells (boats) out on the mighty Thames River. We'd spend hours on the rowing machines. Guess what? I was terrible...and I hurt my back. To fulfill my sports requirement with my back injury, I took up competitive shooting. I was slightly better at this. And now I'm an NRA Certified Pistol Instructor (If you want to learn how to shoot, hit me up). My back healed up, and my next sport was Cross Country. I was not built for speed, but I needed to improve my running to pass the physical fitness test. About that... guess who failed nearly everytime. It's yo girl. 

Waiiiiiit... why the heck would you want to hire a fitness trainer who is not fit!? Why am I spilling my dark past of fitness failures? Because I know what it is like to try your damndest and FAIL. I know what it's like to put in the time and the effort and struggle. To feel like you've got nothing left, but it's still not enough... To let people down, and worse, to feel like you let yourself down.

Summer 2012 I did a summer tour in Hawaii on an 87' patrol boat. Sound fun? No, sir. I slept on that boat every single night. I had no friends, no car, but I did have the gym on base. When we weren't patrolling, I was working out. I came back from that summer lean and mean. I whooped that fitness test. I DID IT. 

I got all the complements. You look great! You're ripped! My God, what did you do? Teach me! Until... I got back to "normal" life and couldn't maintain my spartan regimen. And the complements stopped. I wasn't back to square one, but I needed something that lasted.

Next stop, Miami Beach. I served as a Deck Watch Officer and Boarding Officer aboard a 210' Coast Guard cutter. Especially as a boarding officer (think drug searches, migrant interdiction) fitness was critical to carrying out my job duties. I spend my duty days on the boat reading about exercise science, diet, different workout techniques. Living on South Beach helped. I biked everywhere. As I learned more through my private study, I got stronger. On my last fitness test I ran the mile and a half in 10 minutes and 49 seconds and completed 60 pushups...on the toes. I was proud. Knowledge and actual training techniques paid off. Before I left the service, I got my personal trainer certification through ISSA.

After the Coast Guard, I worked in the Offshore Oil industry. I taught Les Mills RPM (think spin class) at a local gym, and took on my first clients. When I left Oil, I got certified as an Orangetheory Fitness coach at Uptown New Orleans (shoutout to my OGs!) and trained clients at the New Orleans Country Club (NOCC). At NOCC, I had an incredibly broad clientele. I helped Junior Olympians, stroke victims, senior citizens, clients dealing with diabetes, heart problems and spina bifida. These were some incredible individuals. No excuses.

I moved back to NJ and coached at Orangetheory Fitness Freehold for a short time... then COVID happened. I began training clients virtually and teaching outdoor classes. I also got certified as an ACE group fitness instructor. Over those months I've built a clientele, a family. No really. We are a group of badass, strong, and fun ATHLETES. And I want you to be a part of my pack.