Samantha was a former competitive softball and basketball player her whole life. She had never learned a thing about nutrition or strength training her entire athletic career until her senior year of college when she quit playing sports and started lifting weights. She was essentially a human garbage disposal: She could eat healthy… or not at all. Most of it had to do with whatever it was that her parents gave her and the habits she learned growing up. It made a huge impact because while she was active with sports, she was not very active outside of practice hours.

Once she was a senior in college, she decided to take back her health (as she had become a pretty overweight “athlete”) and deep dive into what it meant to actually fuel your body (She still actually didn’t learn her lesson because she became a chronic under eater that sabotaged her own metabolism and created a slew of hormonal imbalances and overuse injuries). Which led to her discovering Active Life in pursuit of relieving her own ailments.

She discovered that as it turns out if we just eat real food (who would have ever thought of that) and less processed garbage, it’s way more filling, satiating and less confusing than all the diet foods that are still marketed today. Diet culture sucks & somewhere along the way, she finally realized carbs are actually your best friend and exercise is much more exciting when we intake the food our bodies require for the type of training we enjoy doing. Her current life’s mission is to help create happier, healthier, stronger and more knowledgeable and resilient humans.

Sam went to school for Marketing at Ball State University and didn’t know a lick about anything else after graduating.. except how to make a really great drink from bartending for 4+ years. She began coaching CrossFit in 2015 and has gone from managing a gym in Indianapolis, Indiana to Spokane, Washington and finally landing here in Long Beach, NY after vigorously pursuing the path to become a Professional working for Active Life.

Sam is currently working on getting certified as a Women’s Coaching Specialist to specialize in women-specific topics (such as Hashimoto’s, PCOS, perimenopause, pelvic floor dysfunction, body image and disordered eating, menstrual cycle struggles, hormonal imbalances and so much more).

She can only imagine what it’s like for most people who don’t have the background and education, because she was also once there wanting guidance, mentorship, education and the best exercises for what her body needs in order for her to get what she wants. From dealing with chronic back pain for over 5 years, chronic shoulder pain for 2 years and on and off overuse injuries from over the years, she is well-rounded in understanding what the journey to reclaiming your physical freedom and active life can look like from many angles.