Why MAEVE40 Fitness? Why now?
Hey y'all. I am sitting in my hotel room in Las Vegas writing this since it is the last thing I need to do before bringing my heart and soul to you all through this new website.
Growing up as a classically trained ballet dancer, being active has always been center stage for me. I danced through college but then life took over. I decided to attend law school and I did my best to stay active through pilates (which I love!) and other activities. Once I started practicing law, I got back into the swing of fitness with spin classes and strength classes and over time fell in love with Ashtanga yoga. For many years now (more consistently at some times than others), I have practiced Ashtanga yoga and love the challenge and opportunity for inner and outer transformation it provides me.
After recovering from a back injury in 2013 and getting some very nasty injections (thanks to my friends at Midwest Orthopedics), I kind of fell into bikini competitions. My father had passed away from small cell lung cancer earlier that year and I was not OK. So, I poured myself into competition prep in 2014 for the first time and fell in love with it. Because you see, I am a true competitor--it can be getting up on a stage in hooker heels or playing cards, but I love to WIN!
And so I did. In 2015, I won an entire Bikini competition--not just Masters (which is still no easy feat let me tell you). It was exhilarating and I really wanted to dive into the professional circuit but my coach told me I needed to drop yet another pound for the next show and I couldn't process that. No honey, I could not. I was 113.8 pounds in my last competition and he wanted me to get down to 112. And let me tell you...the only 112 in my life would be the R&B quartet from Atlanta, Georgia. The competition circuit can be great but I knew it would always be more I would need to do so I decided to pivot.
What if I took all of the experience I had from competitions and coupled that with some sure fire accreditation? Mediocrity was still not an option but this time I wanted to really serve and help other people in their health and fitness journeys, but in a holistic way--resistance, balance, flexibility, core and cardiovascular training integrated. And so, MAEVE40 Fitness was born.
People always ask me what does MAEVE40 come from? MAEVE was a warrior queen in Ireland and my real first, middle and last name are super IRISH. And yes, I am #blackgirlmagic all around but America is a melting pot so the concept of bringing the warrior spirit to my clients really spoke to me. We are all warriors in life and specifically in fitness it is critical to have someone preparing you for battle--the everyday battle of staying healthy and fit.
So that's MAEVE40 Fitness. Tell me about your health and fitness journey.