Erica's Bio

I grew up in New Bedford, Massachusetts, right next to the famous Ma's donuts, which is well-known throughout the Southcoast. It was a great time, and we had lots of families with kids of all ages on our street where we played outside all the time. We ate at Ma's Donuts all the time. We also ate a lot of pizza, fast food, fried food, soda, ice cream, sugar, and processed junk food. Cigarettes were everywhere, and so many people around us smoked – it is just what everyone did, and it felt normal, not a big deal. This was before the Internet and cellphone days – before all the information that is out there now was readily available to everyone.

By the time I was 19 years old, I was overweight, smoked cigarettes, and made a lot of poor food choices. I had a fun job, worked all day, and then came home to lay around and eat, feeling tired and lazy. I decided I wanted a change in my life. I wanted to feel better and look better, so I started working out at a local gym and tried their classes. I stopped smoking and slowly started making better food choices. I loved my new life, met many new people, learned about better eating habits, and started seriously lifting weights.

I became so interested in the human body, performance, and nutrition that I started competing in bodybuilding competitions and fitness and powerlifting competitions. I became a personal trainer through International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA) and started working part-time as a professional trainer in addition to my full-time career as a hairdresser. All of this changed after I had my first child. My vision and fulfillment in life had changed. I wanted to help people become healthier and happier through lifestyle changes. I was lucky to have the support to completely change my career and went back to school to become a Holistic practitioner.

After I had my second child, I entered the world of endurance sports while finishing school. I started with 5ks and then went on to half marathons and full marathon events. I have completed running five marathons - including two Boston Marathons - and many half marathons, CrossFit events, obstacle course races, and hope to complete a half iron man competition one day. The mistakes that I have made along the way have been incredible learning moments and teaching tools that I use to help others to have even better success with their challenges.