Today we’d like to introduce you to Kamryn Thiel.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Kamryn. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I found my passion for health and fitness during my junior year of high school. I was on the cheer team, and I was tired of feeling weak during all of our practices. My boyfriend had just started going to the gym, and seeing him grow physically and mentally made me finally invest in my own membership. For the first few weeks, all I was doing was core exercises and the stair master because that’s the only thing I was comfortable doing. The gym was intimidating, and I felt lost. I wanted to give up. I began to get discouraged and was losing my motivation. Luckily for me, I was driving to school one day and saw a grand opening sign for an F45 Training. I decided to do a one week trial, and I fell in love! So much so that I woke up early every morning for the 5am so that I could go before school. I trained with the same coach every morning, and it quickly became my favorite part of the day. I was dealing with a lot of family issues at the time and was falling into a very dark place.
My mom was suffering from mental illness, and it took a heavy toll on my own mental health. Fitness was a light at the end of a dark tunnel. One day Kevin, the F45 trainer, messaged me and asked if I would be interested in learning how to weight train. He saw something in me that I didn’t, and he wanted to help me push myself to become the best version of myself. After learning the basics of weight training, my confidence in the gym began to grow. I felt strong and powerful. After about a year of consistent training, I told Kevin that I wanted to become a certified personal trainer. There was a fire inside of me that I never had before, and I wanted to share it with others. I told him that I wanted to be an F45 trainer and help others the way that he helped me. I was determined and driven, and that’s exactly what I did. I still work as an F45 trainer to this day, and the members have become like family to me. I love my job more than I can explain.
However, I knew that I wanted to help people, specifically girls my age, on a larger scale. That’s when I decided to start sharing my life on Instagram. I was able to reach a bigger audience, and help them on a more personal, day to day basis. I started sharing workouts so that they could walk into a gym feeling confident. I post recipes and fitness tips that I wish I had when I first started. When I began to notice how huge the fitness community was online, I knew I had to be apart of it. Even if I only help one person a day, I feel like I am making a difference. I love connecting with other people and getting them started on their own health and fitness journeys. After witnessing what it has done for my mental and physical health, I realized that my purpose was to help people live a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Nothing worth having is every easy, but I have learned that anything can be done if you have passion and consistency. Almost everyone faces challenges, and I realize I’m not alone in this. However, I think the biggest struggle for me was the people I was surrounded with, and the environment I was living in when I first started. Like I said before, my mom struggled with severe mental illness after my dad passed away. Anyone that has ever experienced this within their family knows how hard it is. I won’t get into the severity of my mom’s case, but it’s fair to say it took a toll on me and my siblings… I felt like I didn’t deserve to focus on myself when my mom was struggling, and my siblings needed someone to be there for them. With my dad gone, and my mom trying to fight her own battles, I felt alone a lot of the time.
However, fitness helped me find strength every day to be there for my siblings, and be patient with my mom. The gym also became a mental dump that I could pour all my emotions out into. The gym quite literally saved me, and I want to show other people that it’s possible to pull yourself out of dark circumstances. When I chose to follow this passion, no one I was hanging out with looked at it as a real career, suggested I continue on my original path, and keep fitness as a hobby. However, I knew deep down that it was never going to just be a hobby to me. It was life-changing. For the first year or so of getting into it, I only really had my mentor Kevin in my corner. He pushed me to be vulnerable with my journey online and share my experiences with others.
Kamryn Thiel Fitness – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I am a certified personal trainer and currently a group fitness trainer at F45 Training. However, I am more known for my online platform that I share workouts, recipes, and lifestyle tips on. I am proud of the fact that I have been able to help struggling young women learn how to live a balanced lifestyle, and feel confident in their bodies. My ultimate goal is to always inspire people to be the best versions of themselves, and to provide a safe space for them to come for any help that they may need. I give them guidance and work to inspire them wherever I can.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I feel successful at the end of each day when I know that I was able to help at least one person make a positive change to their life.
Contact Info:
- Email: kamrynthiel@gmail.com
- Instagram: kamryn_thiel
Image Credit:
Adrian Salgado
Suggest a story: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
