Since I can remember, sports, movement, fitness, and wellness have always been a part of my life. As a kid I was involved in cheerleading, musical theater, opera, singing, dancing, soccer, gymnastics, and more. I loved music and movement. When I was in my single-digit years, my mom would drop me off at the daycare at the local Gold's Gym she attended. The daycare bathroom that had a door that led to the gym floor. Sneaking out that backdoor was my favorite thing to do. I would scare the daycare sitter and go find my mom on the gym floor! I was enamored by the equipment, the intensity, and the excitement that came from the gym floor. It was like a shopping mall for really jacked people. This was back in the day when gyms would put neon lights above the mirrors, there was a huge smoothie bar, television screens everywhere playing music videos, and crazy carpet with three different colors and patterns all mixed into one.
This gym shaped my love for fitness, it inspired me to want more! When I was old enough, my mom added me to our family membership so that I could work out on the gym floor Inside the gym, there was a ringside fitness center - I was attracted to the loud music and energy that came from the customers, the coaches, and the heavy bags. I began taking classes in this Ringside Boxing studio three times a week, and the rest is history.
After finishing up my undergrad, I took off in my Toyota Corolla to Philadelphia for a graduate degree at Philadelphia University (now Jefferson at East Falls). The first thing I had to do was find a new fitness community. I got a part-time job working as a front desk sales associate for Sweat Fitness, which turned out to be the start of my career. Within two years' time, I became the Regional Director of the Burbs for Sweat Fitness. This promotion was still not enough, I was missing the excitement and passion I had felt back home at Ringside Fitness and I was determined to find it.
Sweat Fitness had a great group fitness program with a classic open-concept setup — a big room, a mirrored wall, small weights, and great music on a CD. I took as many classes as possible. The Groupex coaches became my friends, and that feeling of excitement started to come back. My favorite class was cardio kickboxing for an hour straight of total body cardio that included kicking and punching - all to the beat of music. One of the coaches, Gerianne, took me under her wing, I hired her as a personal trainer, and we started to work on counting 8’s and hearing the natural transitions in pop music. I met once a week with one of their coaches while I worked out, she would have me count 8’s out loud and explain the exercise we were doing. The time finally came when she asked me to be a substitute for one of her classes. I was beyond excited but also nervous. These classes typically had 45 or more women in them - all roughly 20 years older than me - it was certainly the debut! The class went great and thus my Group Fitness career had begun. I continued to teach classes, expanding my class format capability to all types. In addition to coaching classes, I met my first amateur boxing coach, Phil. He paved the way for the next level of boxing for me. Together we won my first two amateur fights at Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn. My first time in the ring made me realize that the sport of boxing would be with me for life.
10 years later, I had been managing box gyms full time while finding my passion at various group fitness brands around the city. The work was exhausting. Coaching from 5am to 9am, heading to my full-time job, and then repeating that coaching from 7pm to 9pm - it was fun but not something I could maintain.
One day, the news on the block was that Rumble Boxing was coming to Philadelphia. I immediately filmed my YouTube audition and submitted it. I still remember the sheer excitement I felt when I got that first email from Rumble’s Vice President of Talent and Programming, Andy Stern saying: “We want you to come visit us in NYC.” I continued to drive to NYC for roughly 8 months while the Philly studio was under construction and Rumble was like nothing I had ever seen or been a part of. It offered the opportunity for me to wrap all of my passions into one warm blanket. Rumble is the one brand that gives you the ability to challenge yourself as a coach in each and every class. I can’t think of a time that I have stepped on the Rumble stage and not been able to grow as a trainer in some capacity. Whether that be with my ability to cue the music, practice my vocal range, use new analogies for boxing and strength that click with the customer. There is an art and science behind Rumble that IS the best of the best when it comes to group fitness.
Coaching another trainer and providing them with the tools they need to successfully stand on the Rumble stage is a gift. When you see a coach truly come into their own, and the personality on stage is uniquely theirs, it’s rewarding! The Rumble stage refines you. Through the ups and downs - you learn who you truly are as a coach.
Rumble customers are BUILT DIFFERENTLY. They are about that life, they show up ready, and desire more. They want to know their strongest version of themselves. They are not just looking for a workout, but an experience. They want to feel something while they hit that bag. I’ve had customers share some of the deepest experiences with me. I will never forget one that has made a lasting impression. A customer shared with me that he found Rumble shortly after his mother passed, and that it was his weekly grieving routine. He told me that the studio reminded him of his love for his mother, but that it also reminded him of his personal strength and ability to keep going- THAT is what it is all about.
My Rumble career incorporates everything I love in life: Music, performance, movement, boxing, strength training, and community. I have been coaching classes now for 12 years, and have worked for over a dozen different brands, there is only one Rumble experience. It cannot be duplicated anywhere else. When you put on that Britney Spears mic, hit the lights at the right time and see people step into their strongest version of themselves, it’s truly a dream come true as a coach. It’s a feeling I will chase for the rest of my career! I am so thankful that Rumble found me.
Find Alyssa at Rumble Boxing Westfield or on Instagram: @alyssaannewilmarth
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