I remember being fascinated by my dad's home gym, which consisted of a bench with a rack for chest presses, a bar, and sand-filled plastic plates and hand weights. Later on, I became enamored with my mom's stationary bike. After that, I filled notebooks with exercises I made up as a kid... Complete with stick figures and highlighted areas of where I felt it working. Back then I would've been horrified if someone had come across them! Now, I wish I could find them.
At the recommendation of a friend, I took a year-long anatomy-intensive yoga training course, and followed that up by getting my trainer cert. Currently, I'm working toward a nutrition cert.

I've watched countless people suffer due to eating poorly, not being active, and the resultant poor health. Blaming them for living the way they were taught seemed ineffective. It's how you grow up, how you were raised but it doesn't excuse poor choices now. But that's why some of us are in the fitness industry, and some people aren't. I became devoted to learning when I realized I was following in their footsteps. I didn't want to perish (too strong?) the same way. It's become my responsibility to help people find their way, away from unhealthy, toward fit, toward strong, toward well... And inevitably toward happy. That feels good to me. How can I not LOVE bodybuilding??