Today we’d like to introduce you to Erica Giovinazzo.
Erica, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I had always been involved in teaching sports of some sort or yoga, so it was a natural progression when I found CrossFit that I wanted to share my love for it and teach it to others. It was one of the most empowering things I have done and still is today. You realize how limitless your abilities are, how age doesn’t matter, and how you can learn to love what your body is capable of instead of just what your body looks like. And that goes hand in hand with nutrition, my other business.
I got my Master’s in Nutrition and my RD from NYU and the NYU Medical Center Internship, and from my education have created and refined a nutrition process that works so well for people, especially athletes or active people. One of the things I’m most proud of is that I live by my core value of growth. Never resting on what I know, I try to know more and improve my process year by year.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The quote that I give people when they start my Food & Fitness Challenge program is “If It Doesn’t Challenge You. It Doesn’t Change You.” It’s never a completely smooth road. I have certainly kept my eyes open and my brain active so that when opportunities arose I took them, but there have been struggles. I’ve had both ends of the spectrum. I’ve had people publicly criticize my approach for not getting the results they wanted (and also not following the program, but that’s another story), and that required a lot of confidence in what I do to realize that everyone is going to have a different perception and a different emotional response to the choices you make.
It is important to be confident in what you have chosen and why you chose it. I’ve also struggled with people valuing my program so much that they have essentially copied and reproduced it as their own. They say imitation is the best form of flattery, but it’s hard to not get upset about it, especially when I had offered my services to them. I dealt with that by just moving on and focusing on my own progress and knowing that what I offer cannot truly be replicated if I’m constantly refining it.
Erica’s Edge & Brick Los Angeles – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I have 2 lives. I have a private practice called Erica’s Edge as a sports dietitian and nutritionist. I like to say that I provide the map for the person to follow on their journey to optimal wellness and low percent body fat. I work with all types, but probably 95% of my clients are CrossFitters looking to gain the “Edge” in their performance, or just lose body fat so they are lean but still strong. I’ve also enjoyed working with professional athletes, most recently a boxer needing to make weight in the healthiest way possible.
My other life is as the General Manager and a Head Coach at BRICK Los Angeles where I, along with my team, run a highly successful functional fitness group training gym. There, I’m most proud of the community we’ve created, where everyone is supported and encouraged, where community events have created a “family”, and where coaching quality is high.
What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The whole reason for why I do what I do is to get people as healthy and as fit as possible.
For them to realize that they are capable of health and athletic feats beyond their imagination. At this point, I have helped literally thousands of people do that. Each time someone comes into my office at the end of a Challenge and loses 5% body fat, or when one of the athletes I coach jumps on the rings to do something they never before thought possible, or when someone says they just came back from the doctor and they no longer have fatty liver, I am full of pride. Keep it coming!!!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ericasedge.com
- Phone: 917-656-0778
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @ericasedge
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ericas-Edge-574981589207654/
- Other: https://brick.fit/los-angeles/
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