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

Hunter, appreciate you joining us today. Was there an experience or lesson you learned at a previous job that’s benefited your career afterwards?

The most important lesson I have learned through my careers in both the fitness and dance industries is that your results are a reflection of your work ethic.

With dance I see MANY students these days lack the drive to succeed. If a dance move is too hard they say they can’t do it before even trying it.

With training clients I am here to guide them and give the best workouts for their goals, and educate them on nutrition. However, I can’t do the work for them outside of our 30minute/hour sessions. It is up to the client to be disciplined and put in the work necessary.

If a dance is flawless it shows you put in the work.

If you lost the 30lbs you wanted to it shows you put in the work.

So keep putting in the work. The world needs more people that are dedicated, driven, and producing results!

Hunter, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I started dance at the age of 3 at my mom’s dance studio. I went to college at Wichita State University and graduated with a BFA in dance. Upon graduating I was accepted into City In Motion, a professional dance company in Kansas City.

I used to teach the City In Motion Children’s theater and at various dance studios around Kansas City.
This year I was asked to choreograph a piece on the professional company at City In Motion; through that experience I have found that my passion with dance has become choreographing. I love choreographing contemporary/modern dances for dance studios that compete, dance studio recitals, or other dance companies.

Because of dance, health and fitness have always been apart of my lifestyle. After college I earned a 200hr yoga certification, NASM nutrition coach certification, and my NASM personal training certification.

Currently I am the lead trainer for AKT Leawood; a dance based fitness studio in Leawood Kansas. At AKT we offer four formats; Dance, Bands, Tone, and Circuit. We offer the hype music, dark lighting, and a disco ball!! If you are into group fitness AKT is the place for you!

I am also personal training at Element Fitness, a newly renovated gym in Lenexa Kansas! I am accepting clients for one on one or small group training Monday through Friday! Element is the place to be! I have worked at MANY corporate style gyms and it is easy to feel overlooked as a member or feel like people are just out for your money, but not at Element! At Element we truly care about each individual that walks through the door whether you are interested in hiring a trainer or not! We are there to help you stay accountable, reach your goals, and have fun while you’re at it!
Element is affordable, the equipment and turf are awesome, and the atmosphere is motivating! Come by and say hi!!

When it comes to my work… I just want to help people. I want to educate others on nutrition and fitness. I want to help them hit their goals, feel confident, and develop a healthy relationship with fitness. I know it can be hard. For years it was so hard for me to gain muscle or any weight for that matter. I had to really dive into learning about nutrition and working out. I also had to accept help. It’s okay to ask for help. We all need a guide when it comes to kickstarting something new!

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Back in 2020, I had been dating someone for four years. We went through a rough break up and I was practically left homeless. Luckily, I had amazing friends that took me in. For a solid year I woke up at 4am to drive to Kansas City (I was living in Lawrence at the time). I would work from 5am to 9pm 5 days a week and then I would work a few hours on Saturdays and Sundays. I hustled my ass off to make enough money to finally move to Kansas City and become financially stable.

After the move I suffered horrible depression. I still do sometimes, but each day I wake up and fight for the life I want to live because I never want to be in the place that I was a few years ago. My life is precious and so is yours,

Never give up.
Hustle hard.
Stay disciplined.

Any advice for managing a team?

The best advice I can give is to build trust, do the dirty work, and be collaborative.

Managing a team is hard. I got promoted to lead trainer at AKT at the end of 2021 and it hasn’t always been smooth sailing. You have to build trust with each team member. They have to feel safe coming to you with the good, the bad, the small stuff, and the large stuff. If you don’t have trust, you don’t have a team.

You have to do the dirty work too. I see so many managers that think because they are a manager that they are exempt from doing the nitty gritty…. No you’re not. You have to be doing the dirty work and every little thing you are asking of your employees. You have to lead by example. If you don’t, you create carelessness amongst the team. To have a team that cares, you too have to care about the business, the product, the clients and do the damn work.

Be collaborative! Invite ideas from your team! Let them create and host and event or come up with an idea or a pop up. Ask your team members for advice or what their thoughts are. This is how you keep the creativity flowing.

In conclusion, my best advice for ANY manager whether you are a small business or a corporate business; build trust amongst your team, do the nitty gritty work, and be collaborative. These three things are the main keys to building a caring, trusting, and open minded work place.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Instagram.com/hunterleafitness