I was born and raised in Connecticut (go Huskies) and recently moved to the Key Largo. My career started in 2009 when my best friend asked if I was interested in becoming a personal trainer. He saw that I felt lost working on an associate degree in Business Management at the local community college. School was difficult for me at that time because my father had just passed away. My dad owned a plumbing business, which allowed me to be his “gofer” during the summer months. I built a strong relationship with him and had the opportunity to observe how to interact with customers and how to be respectful towards them.

Having some knowledge on what it was like to work for yourself, I studied to become a certified personal trainer. I went into business with my best friend, and we owned a small training studio in my hometown of Oakville. After leaving the studio, I next worked for a corporate gym, built up experience, and moved on again to my next adventure. In 2011, I began working for a health and wellness center. Both physical therapy and cardio rehab businesses shared space with the fitness center. Most of my knowledge was learned from interacting with the doctors and physical therapists. Roughly 75% of the members were 65 and older and many of them were there for pre- and post-surgery assistance. Every health and wellness professional in the facility shared their expertise with each other. For me, that was priceless because I would not be where I am today if we did not work as a team.

A year into my new job, I began shadowing my soon-to-be AIS mentor and great friend, John. I had stretch questions for him almost daily. This process went on for many years and with every year that passed, I learned a little more. I practiced the technique on my training clients and eventually mastered several stretches. Every few months he asked when I was going to get certified in the stretch. Then October of last year I made the decision to fly down to Florida for my AIS certification. My mentor was ecstatic and eager to brainstorm his techniques with my updated knowledge.

The most important month of my stretch journey began in January of 2022 – a fellow AIS instructor suggested I move down to Key Largo and work as a stretch therapist and personal trainer. It did not take much convincing and soon I found myself looking for open positions. Although it was easy to say yes to the idea, it was a difficult decision to make because I would leave my family in CT and move 1,500 miles away for an opportunity that not many have a chance to cross paths with. I now live in Key Largo and have a position as your next AIS therapist at ORC. Thank you for reading my journey in a nutshell. I look forward to meeting you and potentially working together.