Trainer of the Month
Hey Fusers!
This year we wanted to shake things ups a bit and let you get to know all our trainers a bit more! We thought it would be fun to highlight a different trainer each month so you can learn more about who they are, where they originally come from, how they got into fitness, and what inspires/motivates them.
Up first!! The strong, beautiful, loyal and loving Gail Hotten. This amazing woman has been with Fuse the longest, and we are so honored and grateful for all that she contributes to Fuse.
Gail steps up to help out and goes above and beyond for us--always making herself available for subbing at the last minute, helping us build and open the Albany studio (we could NOT have done it without her and her husband Scott--we are forever grateful to them both), taking towels home to wash and always offering to fold them when we haven’t been able to get to it. She’s known for creating some really tough, challenging workouts, despite her sweet, calm and innocent-seeming nature ;)
Originally from Seattle, Washington, Gail moved to the Bay Area when she was just 2 years old. Like many things in her life, she sort of just fell into becoming a fitness professional--we like to think of it as serendipitous :)
She started taking classes at Berkeley Iron Works, an indoor climbing gym, and was a regular in their spin class program. One day the instructor asked if she wanted to teach 1 class each week. Despite already knowing everyone in the class from having taken it, she wasn’t sure she wanted to do it because she was fearful of having to speak in front of a group of people. She decided to take on the dual challenge--doing something she hadn’t done before, as well as face her fears of being in front of the class teaching.
“I couldn’t get over myself, but that led to my own personal interest in fitness. I started to workout more often, and eventually learned more about boot camp style classes.”
Believe it or not, one of her first bootcamp classes that she took was Kristin’s Monkey Ninja BootCamp at Iron Works. See what we mean by serendipitous :)
“I got my by butt kicked and realized that I have no business in this class, and I never went back.” Ok, maybe it wasn’t serendipitous at first….;)
She never went back until Kristin actually needed a sub for one of her classes, which Gail agreed to teach. Eventually one thing led to another and she was asked to take over an early morning bootcamp class at Iron Works. However, she didn’t want to do so until she was certified. Thus, she made the decision to become a Certified Personal Trainer, took over the early morning class, and with the help of Kristin and Pascha, she developed her own training style.
Here’s the good stuff….what inspires Gail to be in this industry?
“I’m a people person and if I didn’t end up doing this, I would have gotten into some type of social work or therapist work. I love helping people find the right resources to help them get through the challenges in their lives. I learned to be resourceful at a young age. I remember wanting a pair of Guess jeans, that was the style back then, and my dad had a great idea for me to work to get them. I would do introductory piano lessons for students that were on the waitlist to get into my mom’s piano class, and I enjoyed helping them prepare for it. I love working with people and seeing them make strides to get closer to their goals is rewarding for me.”
Fun Facts
Guilty Pleasures:
Corn Chips and Guacamole.
Margaritas
Peanut butter and dark chocolate.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
“Mountain biking, hiking, trail running, cooking, and having people over for some dinner and wine. Carnitas for bigger parties with a good green sauce, then you can break out your margaritas. Apple cider braised pork shoulder recipe that I love to do, depends on the people coming over.”
If you could be an animal what would it by and why?
A cat. No particular reason, it was the first animal to come to mind.
