I’ve been getting a lot of questions about landing gigs in the fitness industry. How did I first get hired by CorePower Yoga and Y7? What were the steps I took to get here?
Know that everyone’s journey to teaching yoga or fitness is SO different. Don’t look at my personal journey as a blueprint for getting hired. It’s just one way of getting there.
I’m really open about all this — the ups and the downs — because I SO wish people would have been open with me when I started in the fitness industry 6+ years ago.
Flashback to 2012:
After graduating college I knew I wanted to pursue fitness professionally while I also auditioned as an actor. I thought I was SO original combining theater and fitness. Little did I know 99% of people in the fitness industry are former theater and dance majors. Oops.
The first step for me was attending Zumba instructor training. Hey, it was 2012 and Zumba was still popular! The process of becoming a Zumba instructor is pretty easy: Attend a one day workshop, pay some money, and BAM you’re a Zumba instructor.
I’m happy I did the training but as you can probably imagine there wasn’t a huge demand for Zumba instructors, even in 2012. I did teach kiddie Zumba as the dance counselor at a day camp in my hometown, which was a ton of fun. I also subbed zumba classes here and there over the years.
Getting Certified
Shortly after graduating college I became a NASM certified personal trainer. I’ve previously written about that experience here and why I chose NASM versus other certifications out there.
A portion of the costs were covered by my job at the time — a big box gym hired me as a personal trainer right out of college. I lasted less than two months as a personal trainer in that setting because the role was super focused on sales. As an awkward introvert nothing terrified me more than approaching people at the gym and striking up a conversation with them. Ugh.
Around this time I also did my group fitness certification with AFAA, which you can read about here. And I did additional trainings in spin, kettlebells, and the TRX suspension trainers.
Auditioning All Over Town
After completing all these certifications and workshops, I spent my first year out of college auditioning at what felt like every major studio in Manhattan (and some in Brooklyn too…).
At this time I had already started this blog but my career wasn’t something I really talked about. It was a struggle and I was getting rejected left and right. The only fitness gigs I got were sales-y personal training positions at big box gyms and offers to teach children’s programs at gyms in far out Brooklyn.
And then I left the fitness world
I burned out hard and fast from auditioning alongside juggling the six side jobs I had to make ends meet while waiting for my “big break” in the fitness industry. Around this time I also gave up on acting as well.
Being the impatient, go-getter that I am, I decided to change my focus.
A year after graduating college I went back to school to take the prerequisites to go to physical therapy school. It seemed like the logical next best step as a total anatomy nerd.
Ultimately I decided to drop out of school after getting offered a job in marketing at a major fitness start-up. That job introduced me to the marketing world which is where I stayed career-wise at a few companies until 2016.
Yoga teacher training
In 2016 I lost my job as the marketing lead at a fitness fashion company. The company could no longer afford to keep me on as a full-time employee. I took it as a sign to finally do my yoga teacher training, something I had been thinking about doing since college but the timing never worked out.
Completing my yoga teacher training changed EVERYTHING. I never thought I’d be most successful as a yoga teacher — I’m not even that “good” at yoga whereas I can burpee for DAYS. But it’s funny how things work out.
After completing my yoga teacher training with Yoga Vida in June 2016, I launched Holistic Happening with my friend Leslie and started teaching yoga classes as a part of our wellness events. That fall I started grad school as well for marketing.
Holistic Happening and other yoga gigs
My first year as a yoga teacher I didn’t audition anywhere. I wanted to refine my skills as an instructor before putting myself out there. And my life was already crazy enough as a full-time grad school student.
I taught a few yoga classes a month thanks to Holistic Happening but was itching for more. I started to reach out to yoga studios in NYC that matched my style of teaching to ask if they were hiring instructors.
Auditioning at CorePower Yoga
I knew I wanted to teach Yoga Sculpt at CorePower Yoga since I took my first sculpt class in Los Angeles a few years ago. The high-energy fitness meets yoga class seemed like the perfect match for my loudness.
When I found out CorePower Yoga was coming to NYC I got in touch with the then regional manager to learn more about auditioning. Because CorePower Yoga was new to NYC, they were hosting a weekend-long intensive to prepare instructors to teach the various formats they offer. I ended up attending intensives for both C1, their basic yoga class, and Yoga Sculpt.
During those weekend intensives we learned the class sequence and things CorePower looks for in instructors (CPY is super specific about how we deliver cues.) The intensive culminated in an audition. And after that we had a second round of auditions at which point I got hired to start teaching.
My story with CorePower is unique. Most people go through one of their formal trainings, which costs money, followed by extensions which is CPY’s version of mentorship. After that people are allowed to audition. In many ways I lucked out being at the right place at the right time. To my knowledge CPY is still hosting intensives in NYC before new locations open.
I’ve now been teaching 4 or so sculpt classes a week at CorePower for the past year.
Auditioning at Y7
I auditioned at Y7 for the first time in 2017 but didn’t get hired after the second round of auditions. I’m super honest about this because know that if you don’t get hired the first time you audition at a studio, most will allow you to come back. I know a lot of people that got hired after their second or third try at CorePower and Y7. Don’t let rejection discourage you from trying again.
It ended up being a blessing in disguise that I didn’t get hired last summer. It allowed me to focus on getting real confident in CorePower’s style of teaching. Now that I’m confident there it’s been a lot easier to add Y7 to the mix.
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My advice
I don’t have some magic secret to getting hired as a fitness instructor or yoga teacher. In many ways I lucked out that the timing was right and my style is what the studios were looking for.
My biggest piece of advice is to put yourself out there.
Share your passion for fitness or yoga on social media. I’ve been invited to teach at various events (and in Costa Rica!) thanks to social media and blogging.
Start going to auditions, even if you don’t feel ready. Auditioning is stressful. I still get nervous every time I audition at a new studio. But know that the more you put yourself out there, the less scary it will become. The feedback I have received from at auditions have shaped me as an instructor. So don’t be afraid to put yourself out there! You’ll only get more and more confident in your voice, your style and what makes you unique as an instructor.
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Your Turn:
- Fellow instructors: what was your journey to reaching fitness:
- Aspiring instructors: what other questions do you have about getting started in the fitness industry
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