We were lucky to catch up with Lauren Snell recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Lauren , thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
In 2018 I decided to step way out of my comfort zone and quit my profession as an Elementary School Teacher in order pursue my side hustle full-time, in a new city, on the other side of the country.
I have always been active in sports and developed a love for fitness through High School and College. During my first year as a new teacher in 2012, I joined my first CrossFit gym, looking for some consistency in my workout routine, and quickly fell in love with the training and fitness community. I earned my CrossFit L-1 Certificate 6-months later in order to coach some classes and cover the cost of my membership (ya know…as teachers don’t make much money…)
After 5 yrs of both teaching and coaching on the side, it had become clear that I wanted to invest all of my time to teach others about fitness, health, and wellness.
After deciding to make the leap and move to LA to pursue fitness full-time, I gave my notice for the next school year in January of 2018, earned my Personal Training Certification through ACSM, and told everyone possible that I was moving to LA; I knew I might back out if I didn’t spread the news to hold myself accountable.
Here I am 5 years later, the Assistant GM at CrossFit Echo Park, where I am the Head Personal Trainer, resident Nutrition Coach, and a CrossFit Coach for several classes each week. I love the way that I am able to impact people’s lives by teaching them how to move and nourish their bodies, and I am excited for all the opportunities to push myself and grow in my field.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I’m 33 years old and have lived in Los Angeles for just over 5 years now. As I mentioned, I left my teaching career 5 years ago when I moved out here to pursue a career in Health and Fitness.
I was born and raised outside a small town in Southwest, Michigan. I mean, like…two stoplight small. My parents, my two older brothers and I lived about 20 minutes from that town, surrounded by farmland. We were raised playing sports and riding dirtbikes. I’m sure that’s where my love for physical activity originated. It’s definitely where my competitiveness came from. I was competitive in soccer, softball, volleyball, and other intramural sports throughout Middle, High School and College. I think a lot of my drive and determination comes from those early years, finding joy in playing and competing. It also taught me valuable lessons in perseverance.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
Continued education and a growth mindset are a huge necessity in the Fitness, Health and Wellness Industry. Additionally, in my personal experience, truly caring for others will set you apart. As with any person-centered service industry, you’re working with other human beings, with their own successes, failures, frustrations, and insecurities. It’s normal for a client to feel unmotivated or frustrated with their journey at some point. Unfortunately becoming more fit and healthy is not a linear path, it will have its up’s and down’s. But when your clients know that you care about their success, and they trust that you are invested in their journey, they’re more likely to show up on the tough days and give what effort they have.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
During my first 6-8 months living in Los Angeles I nearly gave up, thinking I had made a horrible mistake quitting my teaching career and making the move to pursue my health and fitness passion over stability.
When I first arrived in LA, I began work at a restaurant in Hollywood (The Village Idiot) to make ends meet while looking for a coaching position. I took interviews at several traditional gyms, was offered a couple positions, but ultimately those offers were in settings that weren’t in alignment with my goals. In the meantime I was also looking for a CrossFit gym to train at, but with a lower income in a new city, I didn’t really have the budget to pay for a membership, so I was even willing to trade coaching for a membership.
After living in LA for a little over a month, I stumbled upon a CrossFit gym that had a position opening and I jumped at the chance to have a place to train and coach again. There were some “toxic workplace” red flags early on from ownership, but I just chalked it up to being new in a new city where I would likely need a little “thicker skin” to fit in. After an uncomfortable interview process, I was hired and almost immediately was coaching nearly every class with little introduction to the community and no support from ownership. I burned-out quickly and thought I had made a terrible mistake uprooting my life. I legitimately thought I actually hated coaching and began considering a move back home.
Fortunately a dear friend, who has since passed, saw the struggle I was having and unbeknownst to me, reached out to the managers of his CrossFit gym to see if they would be interested in meeting with me. He approached me shortly after and let me know that he wasn’t sure if there were any positions available, but that the managers at his gym wanted to meet. This was the turning-point. As soon as I walked into CrossFit Echo Park (then Depot Fitness), I immediately felt welcome and at home. They offered me what few hours they had available with the intent to grow my position. I’m now the Assistant GM, Head Personal Trainer, resident Nutrition Coach, and one of our CrossFit Coaching team.
I apprehensively gave notice at the other gym I had been working for, and the response and handling of my notice confirmed I had made the right decision and was leaving a very toxic work environment. I’m grateful for what I learned, and even more grateful to now be in a leadership position in a healthy, supportive environment. 
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @coachldsnell
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lauren.snell2
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauren-snell-3115b31a1/
- Emails: lauren@crossfitehopark.com laurendsnell@gmail.com
- Gym Website: crossfitechopark.com