Rising Stars: Meet Christine of Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine.

Hi Christine, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
How I started as a Group Fitness Instructor? I’ll try to make it short as possible, but no promises. Delano CA, I grew up watching my mom teaching Dance and Step Aerobics from a being baby to 12 years old. She was working a a full-time job, raising 3 kids, and her fun side hustle was teaching fitness. At the time, I didn’t think of following her foot steps yet, but I remembered how fun it was going to her classes. Her energy was unbelievable. I knew at home, privately, she was always tired, stressed, and was going through a rough time dealing with her ex husband/my father, mentally and physically. But when she went to the studio, she was wonder woman, and she made a difference/impact to the women who took her classes. This part of the story changed my life because instead of looking at this as trauma and sadness, I looked at it as my mother being a survivor, and part of her journey that healed her was from Fitness. Years of me, taking dance classes from jazz, tap, and ballet age 3 to 20s, I’ll be in my room sometimes watching workout videos of Jane Fonda, Paula Abdul, some Tai Bo, and of course, Saturday mornings with Richard Simmons with my brother. Myself and my older 2 siblings grew up with dance, watching my mom teach, and having dance parties with the cousins on holidays. We were very fortunate to be involved with the arts and my mom made sure that we were busy, especially keeping up with our grades. So the business and survival of Fitness started with my mother but the adventure begin in 2014. I moved to the Central Coast. I was teaching dance classes and worked as an After School teacher for the Y. I saw an add online that a private studio was hiring a Barre Instructor. (Will train and Pay) I heard pay so I decided to go for it. It was my first teaching Group Fitness job and I’ve learned so much, and it got me curious to try more things with Group Fitness. But I didn’t see the whole picture yet because at the time, I just needed food and rent to survive. My mom kept insisting I teach dance aerobics, but I told her that it’s not trending right now. She didn’t believe me, and I’m glad that I was wrong. A gym in Morro Bay was looking for a Zumba Instructor. I wasn’t able to afford a Zumba certification. But they were able to take any Group Certification as long as I was qualified. Thankfully PlyoJam found me when Instagram started. PlyoJam is a High-energy dance Fitness class and it was because of them that I got my huge break. I was able to pay and get certified through their company and since it was associated with AFAA ( Athletics and Fitness Association of America) I was able to teach Group Fitness Dance at the gyms including the Cal Poly Rec Center. At first it was slow, because I was one of the first ones to teach this instead of the usual yoga and pilates. I used my mother’s business skills. Yes, social media helps. but the marketing my mother did was making fliers, going door to door at local businesses. It was hard the first year and I almost wanted to quit. I only had 2 or 3 students taking my class. One of them told me that she would take the bus to take my class after a long day of work and school. She told me it was her great escape. It reminded me of mother. That’s when I knew that teaching fitness wasn’t about making extra cash or acting like a pop star with the mic, I had a responsibility to make sure that it was a safe space for these students. From that moment, I didn’t care if I had 1 or 20 students in my class. I was going to make sure that each of my students gets the best workout experience. Whether it was to lose weight or improve their health, or just dance. I wanted them to feel safe and free. That’s how I started.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Forgive me, I answered a few of the struggles from the first question. But I can add more. Yes, the first year was tough. I was playing it safe by playing appropriate music at the time or what I thought it was appropriate. And I wasn’t showing my real self yet. I wanted a clean good girl image…I don’t know how to explain this but basically. back in the day, there wasn’t a
lot of diverse instructors in that community and at the time, I was trying hard to fit in. From teaching ballet Barre to pop/hip hop fitness, it was scary for me. I was subbing for a silver sneakers class and I was playing songs from the Beach Boys and ABBA music. A couple of ladies had a request for me. They were in their 70s and they begged me to play some Pitbull music and Christina Aguilar song, Dirrty. This was 2015. I was surprised, but I decided to change the playlist and they were having a great time. Like if they were on their Spring Break. I realized I had to be brave, and take a chance. I remember telling my mom this story and she said that I have to stop being scared. She gave me the idea of turning my classes into a club environment. Slowly but surely.

2016, No one knew me still and I had to practice being patient. I remember we had an open house for everyone to try fitness classes for free. My class was empty. I was desperate, so I cranked up the volume and played California Love by Tupac Shakur. I got everyone’s attention. The whole building heard and everyone showed up. I introduced myself, told them what the class was, gave them modifications, and started the warm up. From 3 student’s, the classes started grow. Word of mouth was key and being patient helped. Even though I was certified through other fitness companies, I was still the Brand so I had to put in the work and show up. It was a struggle but it was worth it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
In 2016-2020, I felt like my work has completed in the central coast. From 3 students to a sold out classes was great and I also became one of the master choreographers for PlyoJam. I have to give that credit to my students in Morro Bay and Cal Poly, They believed in me. I’ll never forget them. 2020 hit, I decided to pursue and challenge more of myself in Los Angeles. I could of settled, but I’m a true believer of learning more what’s out there and even for my age, there’s always more to learn and grow, for yourself and your brand. But when I moved to LA covid hit. But I still taught online classes, made connections in the LA community, and did some pop up classes. I slowed things down in 2023 after I got married. I took a little break, but no surprise, I hopped back into Fitness and was introduced to Kinrgy. Kinrgy is a dance and fitness platform created by Emmy Award-winning dancer and actress, Julianne Hough. It’s been a blessing journey, and it’s something I’m so proud to be a part of and everything from my past experience has made me the woman that I’ve become, and brave enough to start something of my own. Never too Late with Christine – a dance fitness and strength content (starts in 2027, Private Group Fitness Classes, and Pop ups) What sets me apart is what I know now than what I did back then. Your students come first. Extra cash and having a stage to yourself is nothing. The people who are taking your class, it shouldn’t matter if they’re on a free trial, class pass, or if they have a membership; Everyone is treated equally and should always feel welcomed and safe. No status. All levels.

How do you define success?
It will sound cliche, but it’s true. Having the tools, the knowledge, learning from the community that supported me. Also, success to me, is having choices. I chose to do what I love to do. I did make some huge sacrifices and I knew the pros and cons, but the choice and having the freedom of it is my hallelujah. It’s never too late to be successful. I stopped comparing myself to others, and focused on my own path. Success is not about fitting in. It’s standing out.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dancefit87?igshid=OGQ5ZDc2ODk2ZA%3D%3D
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/christine.hernandez.5437?mibextid=wwXIfr
• LinkedIn: https://www.facebook.com/christine.hernandez.5437?mibextid=wwXIfr
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@never2latewithchristine