Her Story
About Angie
I've been a medical fitness professional for 33 years, and I really felt the importance of where the medical comes in when I was in college working in a cardiac rehab unit for the American College of Sports Medicine, taking care of patients that have gone through strokes and heart attacks phases 1 through 4. I really enjoyed that and loved that, and while I was in college and out of college, I was working in cardiac rehab programs and hospitals until a lot of those programs became nil and void. I also had to do clinical hours for my psychology courses and wound up working at Shriners Hospital as a recreational therapist with handicapped, disabled infants, children, and teenagers. Throughout my years of doing medical fitness, I got certified by Cymbria Health and Rehab to work with our geriatric population, or active aging population, 60 and up, and I still do that today. Because I was raised in an Army family and was married to a Marine, when I had my own gym (which I lost during COVID), I started a program for the Army training Army Future Soldiers and getting them ready to ship out to basic training, and I still maintain that program with Army Future Soldiers and even through their AIT specialty training programs. I teach 12 fitness classes a week, every week, and I do pre- and post-surgical rehab and sports-related injury rehab. I'm a two-time cancer survivor (stage 3 breast cancer 11 years ago and stage 3 endometrial cancer 6 years ago), and I work a lot with cancer patients and survivors because your oncologists tell you that you can go back to living the same life you did, and you can't. As a single parent who raised my son myself after leaving a domestic violent marriage with a Marine who had serious PTSD, I've always been able to practice fitness with medicine. I've been an advocate for women and children of domestic violence, hosting and facilitating 5K races, and I'm an ambassador and volunteer for Autism Speaks and St. Jude for 16 years. I help our veterans with PTSD, whether it's in fitness or just working with them through yoga or just trying to help them navigate through life. I believe that fairness and equality has to be transparent, and you do have to be vulnerable. When you share your story of being in a domestic violent marriage and how you became this Phoenix Rising and rose from the ashes, and you used everything that you've been through to help others get out of their situations, other women and children, working with veterans with PTSD, being a volunteer firefighter and having PTSD and knowing what that's like, I can relate to our fellow police, fire, EMS, military, and veterans. Everything that I've gone through firsthand in life, I've used to help people come out of their situations.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Angie
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would have to say being a medical fitness professional and directing youth all the way to elderly into the environments that they need to be in through fitness, through medicine, through rehabilitation. I involve myself where God tells me to go. I live a small urban life, I'm a servant Christian, and I pray daily, and wherever God tells me to go, that's where I go, and whatever He tells me to do, and whoever I need to help, I help. That's been my life for 33 years, and as a single parent, I felt that that was really important to show my son that kind of a life and lifestyle, too. I've always felt that I needed to make a difference in the world, and I've always felt that medicine had a place in fitness, and fitness has a place in medicine. They both go hand in hand. Everything that I do is based upon prayer. Without God at the center of it, you're in trouble. I also wanted to show my son that no matter what, the importance of strength, and I've been through it as a single parent, raising a kid by myself. I've always held 2 and 3 jobs, and I've always taken positions that serve the community, serve an environment, take care of and educate others. I believe that fairness and equality has to be transparent, and you do have to be vulnerable. When you share your story of being in a domestic violent marriage and how you became this Phoenix Rising and rose from the ashes, and you used everything that you've been through to help others get out of their situations, that is your job to make people feel comfortable and at ease every day. That's just the life that I live.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Life is a school of hard knocks. It's not graceful, it's not easy, and you do have to grind. But you can't do it without being educated. Many people say, I don't want to go to college because of the debt that it puts me in. Yes, it can, it will. I got a scholarship to go to college. I was an athlete, so I did run, swimming, and pentathlon. But you have to get educated. I've always had that servant life since I was young, and I always felt that I needed to make a difference in the world. I believe that fairness and equality has to be transparent, and you do have to be vulnerable. When you share your story and use everything that you've been through to help others get out of their situations, that's what makes the difference. It's your job to make people feel comfortable and at ease every day, whether it's in a business suit or as a fitness person or whatever area of interest or career you're in. If we can just do that every single day in whatever we're doing, that is your job.
03What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The most important values to me are faith, service, fairness, equality, transparency, and vulnerability. I involve myself where God tells me to go. I live a small urban life, I'm a servant Christian, and I pray daily. Wherever God tells me to go, that's where I go, and whatever He tells me to do, and whoever I need to help, I help. Without God at the center of it, you're in trouble. As a single parent, I felt that it was really important to show my son that kind of a life and lifestyle. I wanted to show him that no matter what, the importance of strength. I've always taken positions that serve the community, serve an environment, take care of and educate others. I believe that fairness and equality has to be transparent, and you do have to be vulnerable. When you share your story of being in a domestic violent marriage and how you became this Phoenix Rising and rose from the ashes, and you used everything that you've been through to help others get out of their situations, other women and children, working with veterans with PTSD, that's what matters. Everybody deserves that fair chance. It's your job to make people feel comfortable and at ease every day. That's just the life that I live.
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