We were lucky to catch up with Whittney Anela Soares recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Whittney Anela thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you ever experienced a times when your entire field felt like it was taking a U-Turn?
As a personal trainer I’ve watched mainstream diet/fitness culture make women feel inadequate in their own skin. With the insurgence of “body positivity” we’re seeing more and more women ditch these limiting, harmful fitness norms. It’s still very fresh and I encounter these backwards ideas of health and wellness daily when I work with clients. For that reason, I’ve built it into the framework of my platform to change these narratives. Shifting the idea of fitness being purely based on the exterior; how a woman looks, has been a mindset game changer in my gym. We celebrate what these ladies can DO. The shift came when I put more of an emphasis on health and real bio marker metrics of progress and less on weight loss per say. The weight for many still poured off, but the focus was shifted to a health standard not a limited, non-inclusive beauty standard.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
At FitbyWhitt, I believe fitness should be accessible to everyone. My mission is to keep fitness affordable + provide quality training and education to everyone who walks through these doors. My motto is “I’m not Exclusive…I’m INCLUSIVE” Every woman is welcome here regardless of age, fitness level or budget. Making fitness accessible to ALL bodies in my community is the number one driving factor for this space. The biggest thing I hear from women who’ve been to conventional gyms is feeling uncomfortable and judged. I remove that barrier by showing up authentically as myself. All my trainers here hold that standard too. We all look different, are all shapes and sizes, and we all still perform athletically at a high level. I want women to look at me and think “wow if she can do it why can’t I?”.
I’ve been a group fitness instructor since 2012 here in my hometown of Hilo, Big Island Hawaii. I got my CPT in Women’s health and fitness + Prenatal/Post Natal fitness in 2014. It’s my entire life. Training women in all stages of their journey is my thing. I’m a mama of 4 children ranging in ages 17, 9, 7 and 2. My husband and I run 3 businesses full time. It’s a lot of hard work, late nights and sacrifices. My kids see it daily and they understand the grind. They are 100% apart of the entire process. Our motto since day one in the space has been “Just come!” – that means don’t worry about the cost. If you need this, I will make the price work with your budget. And we do. And it’s beautiful.
Myself, I have a background in soccer and surfing. I did both since I was a kid. I still surf and it’s truly my passion. I try not to put too much lables on my athleticism. I dabble in it all: jiujitsu, boxing, Muy Thai, weight lifting, sprints, all of it. It’s all my jam!
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Contact Info:
- Website: https://fitbywhitthawaii.com/
- Instagram: @fitbywhitthawaii
Image Credits
Kii Kalo Photography