Coming Full Circle
2006. As a self-proclaimed infomercial junkie, I actually remember the moment quite vividly. I was sitting on my couch with my bowl of cereal, surfing the channels & eating breakfast as my boyfriend (now husband) was getting ready so that we could go to work. And there she was. So petite, blonde and cute. The woman on TV was talking about a new workout that combined kickboxing with dancing…ok, you have my attention… I grew up overweight. I like to eat. Strike that. I LOVE to eat. And, as for exercise? Well, I knew it was good for me, but my goodness it is so darn boring. Until I found Chalene Johnson & Turbo Jam. Seeing her on TV was the turning point. Sure, I was skeptical. Were those success stories in the infomercials real??? Or were they just actors that were paid? Nothing on TV ever was as good as it appeared. But, I gave in and ordered it…and the rest is history. Many of you know my story. I love all things Chalene Johnson and TurboFire was the program that I fell head over heels for after having my twins & it was the catalyst to help me shed the baby weight. I’d also done ChaLEAN Extreme and gotten great results with that too. If Chalene was selling, I was buying. Except when it came to this “PiYo” workout. PiYo has been around for years – but it was only ever available to take as a class in gyms & health clubs. In 2013, when I got certified to teach TurboKick, there was a PiYo certification the next day but there was no way I was “wasting my money” on that because I hate Pilates & Yoga and I know I’d never like it. Snap judgment much? When it was announced that PiYo was coming to DVD, I was excited because I knew a lot of people wanted it…I just wasn’t one of them. How could a program that is Pilates and Yoga inspired help me get into better shape??? But it’s Chalene – so I was willing to give it a try.
As the release date got closer, I started to hear some testimonials that peaked my interest. Not just about weightloss, but people having their back pain essentially HEALED. Ok, now you really have my attention. I have suffered from severe back and neck pain for 30 years. I’ve tried just about everything. Could this really help my back? Then came Beachbody’s Coach Summit. I wasn’t in attendance this year. I chose to stay home to be here with my mom as she was fighting her cancer battle. But, I stayed tuned in. I watched all the live feed. And I remember at one point, Carl Daikeler saying something to the effect of “if you see all these cameras around it’s because we’re filming some footage for the PiYo infomercial that’s going to be released later this year.” Huh. Haven’t filmed the infomercial yet. And for some reason, that fact stuck in my head. Over the next few days, I noticed Carl & Chalene really hinting and stressing the importance of taking your before pictures for PiYo. And then it hit me…
Eventually, they made the announcement. That there was going to be a “Defined by PiYo Casting Call” and all you had to do to enter was submit your before and after pics. If chosen, you’d get to go to LA to film the PiYo infomercial. YES PLEASE!!!
So, when my PiYo kit came in the mail, I took the dreaded before pictures. 8 weeks later, I took my after pictures & I sat at my computer. I closed my eyes & prayed. I wanted this so bad. I prayed that if this was the path God wanted me on, that he would have to open the doors. I opened my eyes & hit SUBMIT.
Fast forward a few weeks. My kids & I been sick and I was taking a nap. I woke up to get a drink of water & happened to look down at my phone. Oh crap! I’ve got a missed call & voicemail from a phone number in Santa Monica. My whole body started shaking. I called the number back and Olivia answered. And then, the news that rocked my world…I was going to LA to film the infomercial. I cried…a lot. I was shaking. Still in complete disbelief that this was happening. Stuff like this happens to other people…not me. But it was now my reality.
After some last minute shopping, getting my hair done and frantic packing, I was ready to go. I was excited. But, I was also nervous. I didn’t know ANYONE.
I landed in LA, was picked up by Matty in the Beachbody van and we picked up one other winner too, Courtney. We chatted the whole way to the hotel. She was gorgeous, a fellow mommy & super nice. I like this chick. Don't let that tough face fool ya, Matty is our teddybear & a total sweetheart. I had some time to kill, so I walked down to The Grove, took in the sights and got some much needed coffee. Later that evening, my friend Aarika was picking me up and we had dinner at Coast in Santa Monica. The view was gorgeous, the weather perfect and the company was comforting. A piece of Pittsburgh in California as I was about to embark on this adventure.
After dinner, I headed back to the hotel and a few of us met up in Breanna’s room to get to know each other. I’m so glad we had this time. It gave us a chance to talk, share our stories and mentally prepare for the upcoming week. We had an early call time, and after a long day of travels, we were all tired. Time to sleep.
The next morning, we all congregated in the lobby of The Orlando at 6am. This was the day. THE DAY that we’d been waiting for. We were going to be working out with Chalene. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKK!!!!! We arrived on set and just took it all in. Once the crew arrived, things started rolling. We got weighed in, had breakfast & then started the process of hair, makeup and wardrobe. Wardrobe change after wardrobe change after wardrobe change…we were finally ready to go. We took our places on our yoga mats…and then in she came. Cheers erupted and a few of us got a little teary eyed. Chalene spoke with us and kind of gave us a rundown of how the day was going to go and then we were ready. The lights were on. Cameras were rolling. The room with filled with the entire crew. No pressure, right??? Throughout the workout, we’d rotate places. The director wanted to make sure he had good footage of everyone. I didn’t make it to the front until the end. We were all hot, sweaty and tired…and now I had to bust out Beast. Good Lord…I suck at Beast - that’s the only thing that kept running through my mind. And the kick throughs???
We did some abs, planks & then PiYo flips. I was dead tired. As I’m upside down in PiYo flip, I’m literally ready to collapse (all while smiling because the camera is on me). It’s been almost 2 hours of PiYo under the hot lights and I don’t have anything left in me. I’m physically shaking trying to hold position and just as my arms and legs are ready to give out, I hear her voice. “Come on, my warriors! Thousands of people tried out for this casting and YOU are here!!! There’s something special about YOU! Now, come on! Show me what you’ve got!!!” The energy in the room was electric. I choked back tears because those words hit me right in my heart. In so many areas of my life, I’ve never felt good enough. But somehow, I was good enough to be here. She knew exactly what to say and when to say it. The pain started to fade and everyone pushed themselves outside of their comfort zones and just went for it. It was a beautiful thing to witness. That moment will stay with me for the rest of my life.
Once we wrapped the workout portion – it was time to EAT. We inhaled our food and enjoyed just sitting around chatting with one another. Then it was time for us to go film some more. It was a group interview setting and it was another beautiful thing to witness. No one held back. Everyone put themselves out there…made themselves vulnerable…and opened up to one another. I think this was the moment when we really started to bond as a group. Once we wrapped – after almost 12 hours – it was time to head back to the hotel and grab dinner. The next 2 days were different for everyone. Some of us had photo shoots, some had on camera interviews. So everyone was coming and going to set at different times. Each day, we’d go through hair, makeup and wardrobe & then hang out until it was our turn. I had photo shoots the first day. Now, I know this isn’t nice, but I’ve always kind of made fun of models in my head because like they just stand around and people take pictures of them. How hard of a job is that??? Let me tell you. They. Earn. Every. Penny. I am totally serious when I say that the photo shoots were harder and more challenging than the 2 hour PiYo workout. I never realized how technical it was. There is so much attention to detail put into each and every shot. I have a whole new respect for anyone involved in that line of work. The next day I had on camera interviews. Now, that was the fun stuff. Still a very technical process, but this came much easier to me. I was essentially just talking to our director, Jonathan (who was AMAZING), about my journey with PiYo. That’s it. Just talking…only cameras happened to be rolling.
The first major highlight of this trip came that first day that we were doing photo shoots and interviews. Andrea was one of the winners chosen. She’s a mom of 3 and a military wife. Her husband was deployed and she wouldn’t be seeing him until he got home. He’d not seen any of her PiYo transformation because she wanted to surprise him. Well, being the cool company that it is, Beachbody flew in her husband and surprised her during her interview. Not a dry eye in the house. To see Andrea after was like seeing a new woman. The smile on her face was so heartwarming.
Our final day in LA was another fun one. Some ladies had more filming to do (in a mansion) and for those of us that didn’t have to film, we had a free day. We grabbed breakfast and decided to hit Runyon Canyon Park for a hike in the hills. The hike up went fast and the view from the top was breathtaking. I stood there with tears in my eyes and a grateful heart. 2013 had sucked. Sucked so bad. And 2014 had been filled with so many beautiful things. My mom is cancer free. My back pain is all but gone. My kids are thriving in school & speech therapy & I have a supportive husband who took time off of work so that I could go chase a dream & now here I was…standing on top of the world with the sun on my face and a group of new friends by my side. Life is good.
After the hike down, we headed over to Beachbody Headquarters in Santa Monica for a tour. It was so cool to finally see that place in person. We got to meet some familiar faces, have a Shakeology, and we even got to meet Carl. This company has been such a blessing to my life and I wanted to make sure I had the chance to tell him that. It’s so fulfilling to work for a company that really cares. This company has heart.
We headed back to the hotel. We were all going to go out for one final dinner together. As I was in the shower, I broke down. Tears streaming from my face and gut-wrenching sobs. I was overcome with sadness. I was so excited to go home to see my family – especially my husband and kids – but I didn’t expect to be this sad to leave LA. Like legit heartbroken. Over this past week, I had been with this group of ladies (and Zach) and we were inseparable. We talked the whole time. No one was sitting around reading books or magazines…we were talking. Getting to know each other. Bearing our hearts and souls and bonding over this one thing that had brought us together. I felt like I’d known them all for years. There was never a dull moment or a lull in conversation. We were one unit. A family.
Dinner was beautiful and filled with a few tears. We celebrated, toasted to our amazing week and shared the highlights of the trip. Some of us said goodbye that night. Some of us would see each other at the airport the next morning. My final goodbye came at the airport with Steph. We were on the same flight into Denver, but she had to board first. We hugged, cried a bit and then off she went. And I sat there. Alone. Sad that it was over, but so grateful that this happened.
After some eventful flights filled with medical emergencies and running to catch connections, I made it home…and somehow, so did my luggage. I couldn’t wait to come home & hug my husband and kids. I missed them terribly. Saturday night was filled with the best hugs, kisses and snuggles. And pizza. I wish there was a way to accurately capture the emotions, friendships & bonds that were created. But there aren’t words to properly explain it. Pictures don’t capture it. It’s something that’s in our hearts and those that were there know it.
This trip & experience has meant so much to me. I learned so much. I feel like I rediscovered myself. I found new limits to push my body to. I found new dreams. In 8 years, I went from watching a Chalene Johnson infomercial to being a part of one. I’ve come full circle and there isn’t anyone I would have rather had by my side than the incredible group that was there with me. It was a once in a lifetime experience that will stay in my heart forever.
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