Since I was a kid my father told me, “You don´t have to be the best, but it is important to be one of the best.” That advice was probably my first step on the road to being named the winner of the 2014 Life Fitness Personal Trainers to Watch.

When I entered high school, I hated physical education classes. The problem was that the teacher would ask us to run for a few minutes and then play any game or sport we wanted and he never explained why. I loved sports and movement and started thinking that I wanted to become a trainer to teach people things that are involved in sports and physical activity. Things that my “teachers” forgot to do. So I decided to start studying to do something much better than I experienced a few years before.

When I received the email that I was one of the finalists my enthusiasm was so high that I almost couldn’t sleep. The opportunity to put my work on display and show that trainers are able to change people’s lives was exciting.

Before the competition, the other finalists and I created a Facebook group to share our experiences and get to know each other. As we messaged back and forth, I thought, “No matter who wins, to talk with the best personal trainers in the world can improve my knowledge. So I need to talk to these guys as much as I can.”

The day of the actual event, I told the other finalists, “We are the fitness dream team!” Between training on SYNRGY360 and going through a session with clients, the day flew by. David Barton Gym in Manhattan was an incredible place to have the event. The atmosphere was like none other I had experienced before. After I was done with my client session, I thought it was the most incredible experience in my whole career.

During the awards dinner, I could tell everyone was happy just being there. When Chris Clawson, the president of Life Fitness, announced the winner, he mentioned that we were all winners and then suddenly, I heard my name. I remember I got up, but for what felt like a few minutes, I wasn’t able to say a word. To win is one thing. To win competing against those other nine awesome trainers made me feel even better. Any of them could have won.

The night before the event I called my dad and told him, “Tomorrow I´ll do the best I’ve ever done. I won´t make any mistakes. Thank you for all the support my whole life.”

It’s an honor being considered one of the best. And a big congratulations goes out to Isaac, Ryan, Adrian, Rachel, Nick, Fiona, Matt, Austin and Andreya. You are all winners!

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