Influential Woman · Fitness & Wellness
Adriana Ferns
Head Trainer, Director of Community Outreach/Partner/ Motivational speaker/Author, Bristol Total Fitness
Bristol, RI 02809
Her Story
About Adriana
Adriana Ferns is the Head Trainer at Bristol Total Fitness and Director of Community Outreach and Partner at Soulfriend Yoga, as well as a published author and motivational speaker. Her path into fitness and wellness began during a period of incarceration, where she turned to exercise as a way to manage severe ADHD and childhood depression while coping with the realities of prison life. What started as a personal transformation grew into a mission to inspire other women, leading her to write and self-publish a memoir. Years later, a publisher she had originally approached returned with an offer to release her story exactly as she had written it, without diluting it with additional fitness content, a full-circle moment she considers one of the most meaningful of her career.
Beyond personal training, Adriana has built a specialty in supporting women through perimenopause and menopause, a subject she became passionate about after experiencing symptoms herself and recognizing how little guidance is available to women navigating this stage of life. She holds certifications through MovNat as a Level 2 Natural Movement instructor and through the National Council on Strength and Fitness as a Certified Personal Trainer and Sports Nutrition Specialist, and she is also a certified yoga instructor. Her outreach extends into advocacy work as well, including motivational speaking engagements for incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women, among them an invitation to speak at Hope Court, a federal court program, arranged through her former probation officer.
Outside of her professional pursuits, Adriana finds balance through surfing, hiking, reading, writing, and traveling, with international travel and cultural exploration standing out as some of her greatest passions. She describes herself as someone shaped as much by hardship as by achievement, and she credits much of her success to resilience, self-motivation, and a refusal to let setbacks define her. Looking ahead, she plans to expand her public speaking work and continue using her story to encourage other women toward healing, self-worth, and lasting change.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Adriana
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to resilience and an unwillingness to settle for less than I know I'm capable of. I've always had a deep drive to keep growing, even when success isn't measured in money but in the people I'm able to help. I've dealt with chronic pain and difficult days, but I've learned to practice positive self-talk and remind myself that hard moments pass. Life will knock you down, but every time I've gotten back up, I've come back stronger.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Make time for yourself so you don't burnout.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
My advice is to get clear on your "why," because that purpose is what will carry you through the hard days. You have to make yourself a priority, even when it means saying no to people or plans that pull you away from your goals. Do the uncomfortable things anyway, whether that's lifting weights or facing a hard truth, because avoiding them only costs you more later. And when life derails you, don't sit in it. Put yourself back on track instead of using setbacks as an excuse to stay stuck.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
One of the biggest challenges I see is how little support and education women receive around perimenopause and menopause here in America. So many of my clients, especially older women, don't understand their own bodies because we're conditioned not to. I see a real opportunity to change that by helping women learn about what they're going through, even though I don't expect that kind of support to come quickly on a larger, systemic level.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Self-motivation and resilience matter most to me, along with staying kind, even in small everyday moments like holding a door for someone. I value putting myself first so that I have something to give others, and I believe in using my own story to help other women, especially those who've struggled the way I did. Curiosity about the world, through travel and other cultures, and honesty with myself are also central to how I try to live.
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