We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Amy Jacobs. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Amy below.

Amy, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. If you had a defining moment that you feel really changed the trajectory of your career, we’d love to hear the story and details.

I completely lost myself. Movement and connection to my body had always defined me. I spent most of my life dancing, even going so far as to pursue dance performance and education for my undergraduate degree and going on to study in some of the best dance studios while auditioning and performing in NYC. But the life of a dancer is hard, and without any familial support I needed a job. I took a position teaching dance and gymnastics to young children in my early 20s that truly stole my heart. The culture of the organization was fantastic – it felt like a family and my leaders were fully invested in my growth. I learned to lead, to manage and to develop others. I took on challenging new roles and positions, climbing the ‘corporate ladder’ so to speak as the organization grew.
About 6 years into my career I got married and my husband and I moved to DC where I took a job with my favorite brand, lululemon. I just needed a break from working with children and was finally ready to stop auditioning and performing. A career in fitness was calling my name and lulu seemed like the best place to kick that off. During my time there, I got certified as a Barre Instructor and CPT. I picked up running and began training for my first half marathon. I began studying nutrition and it’s impact on training and longevity, however, I missed NYC very deeply and we were financially struggling in DC. So when my old company offered me a position to come back, I did.
I kept running and taking group fitness classes whenever I could in NYC. I continued growing my corporate career and ran my first half marathon, but soon after my return I became pregnant with my first child and the downhill spiral began. I had an extremely challenging pregnancy from start to finish and gained over 60 pounds. I stopped working out, stopped moving really at all. When Remy was born, I threw myself into working mom life and my unhealthy habits that I’d picked up during pregnancy stayed with me.
It was only a year later that I became pregnant with my 2nd daughter. I hadn’t lost any of the weight from my first and even packed on a little more. After Sydney was born, I hardly recognized the woman I saw in the mirror anymore. I bought clothes that hid my body, avoided cameras and sunk into a depression. Something needed to change. I was now the mother of two little girls who would learn from what I was doing – and what I was doing wasn’t healthy.

So I quit my job.
I bought my first home workout program through Beachbody on Demand, gathered up everything I knew about anatomy, kinesiology, nutrition and coaching and applied it to myself. It took almost a year but I lost 75 pounds, gained so much strength and found myself again. In that process I launched my own business as a Health Coach, providing virtual services to other moms who were experiencing exactly what I had.
My first year was successful and we decided that now that I was no longer tied to NYC through dancing or my corporate career, my husbands long-time dream of moving to Miami could be realized.
Our third child was born in Miami and it was a much healthier and more active pregnancy. We faced many challenges during the COVID pandemic, but I was able to keep growing my coaching business during that time. As restrictions lifted, I got back into group fitness again with Kickboxing and felt the urge again to get back on the mic. I began teaching classes and picking up personal clients again that were flowing to me naturally. The past two years have seen that in-person side of my business explode exponentially. I have a full portfolio of incredible classes and clients, I’m honored to teach on the teams at CKO Kickboxing and Rumble Boxing, and I’ve led huge group events on the wharf, the rooftop of the panorama building and the mondrian beach club.
And the greatest full circle moment came when I was cast as the lead kickboxing instructor for an on-demand streaming workout platform – BodyFX. Home workouts once brought me back to life and I know can create that impact for thousands of others.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I think my journey into Health & Fitness holds its roots in dance. I grew up dancing and spent my 20s studying and dancing professionally in NYC. But I also craved stability that I didn’t always have growing up, especially financially, so the life of a struggling artist was never my calling. Waiting tables and working odd jobs while I auditioned was simply not for me – I have IMMENSE respect for those who are able to do it. It’s not an easy life to live. Thankfully, the positions I’ve held in my corporate life (while maintaining the soul of an artist and athleticism of a dancer) challenged me to immerse myself in the worlds of coaching, leadership, management, operations, sales and marketing. I gained a massive amount of skills that I’ve translated into building and scaling my own brand/business in Health and Fitness.
I am now proud to occupy space as a strong female in a very male-dominated field, especially niched-down into combat sport as I am. I am the dancer turned kickboxer and group fitness queen. I bring high energy, motivation and transformational coaching into every class I teach, to every client I work with, and every business I build.
I believe in the group fitness experience. Humans are social creatures and we crave village and community. There is nothing greater, to me, then a community of badass humans (especially women!) coming together in sweat, in personal development, in individual challenge, and in growth.
My mission is to make as big of an impact in this world as I can – to change as many lives as I can. I’ve grown multiple facets of my business in order to do just that: virtual health coaching, in person kickboxing and boxing classes with CKO and Rumble, 1:1 personal training for women and my newest business in partnership with my friend Alaina Sinopoli – the Polaris.Co – will launch in 2023 offering curated wellness events and experiences in Miami and beyond.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

When my husband and I moved our family to Miami in 2019, my coaching business was thriving. I had just learned that I was pregnant with our third child and my husband had a career that he enjoyed while also building his own business on the side. In short, we were primed for growth. This was our moment.

No. This was COVIDs moment.

I’ll never forget March 2020. The day my husband came home, laid off from his job. Brakes slammed on his new business. All income and health insurance ripped away. Two months away from giving birth.

We were in a new city with no family or real support system around. We had ONE friend in Miami at the time and hadn’t lived here long enough to really find and connect with our people.

We both fell into depressions – disconnected from the outside world in lockdown, caring for a newborn, toddler and preschooler with no help. Sleep deprived and struggling to pay rent and feed our family.

It’s shocking to me that this was all less that three years ago. We somehow pulled ourselves out of all of that. Working out, honing our nutrition and focusing on how we could help others and impact the world around us has built the business that are now thriving for both of us. It’s taken an insane amount of hard work. Very early mornings, very late and sleepless nights, sacrifices, saying yes to things that are intimidating and no to the easy road. But I wouldn’t change any of it.

Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?

Two things:

1. Relationships. Person to person relationships are everything and without honesty, authentic communication, consistency and honoring your word – you’re lost. You have to be willing to share what you know, your knowledge & expertise, and your time without expectation. You also have to be willing to ask for and accept help and guidance where you need it. When one of us succeeds, we all succeed.

2. Practice what you preach. The health & fitness game is lifelong and requires dedication to consistency and discipline. The best coaches are the ones who KNOW the keys to success and IMPLEMENT them in their own lives. We’ve struggled. We know and understand the pain of our clients. We’ve overcome challenges in our own lives. and continue to do so. What we teach therefore comes from the most authentic place. We are constant students.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @coachamyjacobs