10 of Austin's Fittest Couples
by Drex Earle
Editor-in-Chief
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Fitness and love are definitely a potent potion; just ask any of the 10 couples we’re featuring this month. Whether hitting it off at the gym, falling in love with fitness together or prioritizing it in their everyday lives, these couples are not just super fit; they exemplify the loving, supportive and healthy relationships we all aspire to.
With a little help from your votes, we proudly present our inaugural list of Austin’s 10 Fittest Couples. Here are their stories, in their own words.
BROOKE STACEY and AHMAD WATSON
We firmly believe that at the heart of every good relationship is support in all aspects of life. With Ahmad’s background as a personal trainer and my passion for sports and fitness, it was definitely a fitness match. At the end of most work days, we can’t help but find ourselves sharing time at the gym. And by supporting, coaching, encouraging and just spending quality time together, we’ve created an unparalleled bonding experience.
We’re so thrilled to be one of Austin’s Fittest Couples. Austin is such a fit, hip and happening place, it’s truly an honor to be featured among such a healthy community. Part of our New Year’s resolution is to continue to explore even more fitness options throughout this wonderful city. Our lifelong goal is to continue to inspire, encourage and help others fulfill their health and fitness aspirations, just as we’ve done with each other.
DIANNE and MARC FERGUSON
Staying fit is certainly a lifestyle for us — in fact, a day rarely goes by when we’re not running the trail, training in the gym or stand-up paddle boarding. If we can find a way to make something active and fun, we will. As a personal trainer and lululemon athletica ambassador, I’ve been in the fitness industry for more than 25 years, teaching group fitness classes at The Hills Fitness Center and training clients at Wild Basin Fitness. Marc, on the other hand, has competed in several triathlons and most recently returned to playing squash.
As a couple, we’ll be celebrating 30 years of marriage this year, and can’t recall a time when we weren’t active together — either as multi-sport athletes in school, snow skiing, water skiing, swimming or biking with our two daughters, Brittany, 26, and Ashleigh, 23. Now empty-nesters, we’ve moved downtown to enjoy an even more active lifestyle — walking, running, riding our bikes and participating in as many local running events as we can fit into our busy schedules. Our new goal is to be among Austin’s fittest at age 80.
CHARDONNAY POOLE and JONATHAN WEEMS
Fitness is not our life — it’s just one small piece of our jam-packed schedule. One that includes forensic evaluations, recruiting, mentoring youth, drug counseling, coaching, patient care, completing a doctorate degree and building a private practice. These all demand hours and hours of face time, leaving us physically drained by the end of the day. Perhaps our biggest challenge is giving equally to all of these demands without letting our fitness suffer. This year, we’ve managed to keep it all in check and achieved tremendous gains as a result; including a combined 17 percent body fat reduction, while hanging with the best in the sport of CrossFit.
The greatest lesson we’ve learned, however, is that we don't have to be a part of the fitness industry to have the body of a trainer or perform at our peak potential. Though it’s a constant struggle to stay committed, we've made a pledge to each other to stay in tune physically, mentally and professionally. We've experimented with making healthier decisions and focused on a fitter lifestyle as the cohesive part of our relationship. We hold each other accountable, support, compete and believe in each other. It's like we both have a personal trainer with us at all times!
TRICIA and CHARLES MINNICK
We aren’t personal trainers and we don’t work out for a living; we’re just average people. So average, in fact, that like most Americans we found ourselves pretty overweight. We had our excuses for gaining extra weight — we chose convenience and immediate gratification over healthy living. And when we became parents, our bad habits continued. So, it’s no surprise that at 278 pounds it was difficult for me to keep up with my son. Our wake-up call was realizing what a bad example we were setting for our own child. Our life and our health were spiraling out of control. Our son deserved better, and so did we.
Determined to set a healthy example, we started making changes. We committed to eating fresh, nutritious foods. Along with making better food choices, we started working out together. As the pounds came off, we started running, trained for, and eventually ran a full marathon. Already, we’ve lost more than 150 pounds collectively (I’ve lost 128 pounds and Charles has lost 30). We’ve conquered obesity, but more importantly, we found a new, healthy lifestyle, together.
Be sure to check out their blog, Endurance Isn't Only Physical
TAMMY WALTERS and DINA JACKSON
I’ve been a casual runner and cyclist since the early 90s. While I was busy exercising, Dina’s idea of a workout was walking in and out of stores on Fifth Avenue in New York City. This was before she moved to Austin eight years ago and we started jogging and cycling together. Since then, we’ve participated in numerous local cycling and running events. We love to see each other progress physically, whether it’s running a mile, doing half marathons or completing 70-mile bike rides. We both decided to give triathlons a try in May of 2009 and this year our goal is to complete a half Ironman together. We definitely integrate fitness into our daily lives by selecting events that require a training program for accountability.
For example, we’re doing the MS150, Ragbrai and several triathlons this season. We also just have fun together and try not to make every activity a structured workout. In between our regular fitness, there are many walks and hikes with our dog, bike rides to the local coffee shop, kayaking at Pure Austin and our new hobby, roller skating.
JESSICA SHARRATT and RYAN STEPHEN
We've been together for more than eight years now, and recently got engaged over the 2010 holiday season. Throughout our relationship, fitness has been a top priority, and we’ve challenged ourselves to adapt workout programs to accommodate the demands of work and our lifestyles.
I’m currently a CrossFit coach, competitive athlete with CrossFit Central, and recently launched my own company — Strength and Beauty. Ryan is an ex-collegiate football player, who now works in technical consulting sales, but has stayed fit over the years by blending strength training, running and various CrossFit programs into his workout routine. We both have demanding careers, and unfortunately most days don’t allow us to workout with each other. But there are those opportunities we do spend together training — running at Town Lake, hitting a CrossFit workout or taking our dog Kane to the park. Those are some of our favorite times together.
ADRIEN RUDESAL and LANDON ADAMS
Our love for each other and for fitness goes way beyond every day workouts. For us, it’s a way of life that revolves around coaching and guiding others in the same direction we see for ourselves. After meeting at the gym almost six years ago, we quickly learned how much passion and love of life we had in common. Not long after, we decided to make our relationship official by opening our very own CrossFit training gym. The running joke is that my engagement ring came in the form of a 2,000-square foot training facility we now call our office.
At CrossFit Round Rock, we spend countless hours building a health and fitness family. We push ourselves to the limit with each and every workout and will stop at nothing to be the best we can possibly be. When we aren’t flipping tires or working on Olympic lifts, we love to cook, relax with each other and spend time with our dogs.
PAUL and SHEILA CARROZZA
Fitness, and running specifically, have always been an instrumental part of who we are — personally, with our work and now at home with the kids. There’s no doubt in our minds that the family unit is the most powerful fitness force possible. So, as a couple, we’ve made it a priority to be on the move on a daily basis and to eat only healthy, wholesome foods. (For example, we work hard to have an 80/20 diet; which is 80 percent plant-based.)
As parents, if we require the daily discipline of being an athlete and living by example, we know our kids will be strong in the modern environment. Together we’ve taken on the responsibility of making healthy food choices and requiring real daily workouts, not only to maintain our own health, but to strengthen the health of our family. Instilling what it takes to maintain a high quality of life and maximizing your natural talents is what it’s all about.
LISA and JEREMY THIEL
Our love story was built on the trails of Town Lake when we met at a workout under the MoPac Bridge in 2006. It continued from there as our paths crossed at RunTex, local 5Ks and triathlons. It was as if Austin’s original fit couple — Paul and Sheila Corrozza — set the stage for us!
Today, we’re both active athletes and CrossFit competitors. We’ve each placed in the top three, of the elite division, at multiple CrossFit competitions and regularly take on marathons, 5Ks and relay races together. Along with CrossFit Central co-founder Carey Kepler, we own and operate CrossFit Central, CrossFit Central RunTex and Relentless Boot Camp. Not surprisingly, among our most profound contributions is empowering other couples and families to get fit. It’s so rewarding to look around and see all of the couples and families who’ve been brought together through fitness. We hope to continue to help hundreds of people realize their true potential and reach their goals inside and outside of the gym.
NATE and KRISTEN TURNER
We met 20 years ago at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Kristen was a Division I swimmer and I captained the Waves’ club soccer team, while working as a lifeguard. We got married in Kona, Hawaii and then settled in Austin in 1994. For the past 16 years, we’ve had a constant presence in the Austin fitness industry; Kristen, as a two-time Ironman finisher and former world champion at the Olympic distance in triathlon, and myself as an avid mountain biker and wilderness guide. As PowerBar Team Elite-sponsored athletes, we now balance our love of training and competition with a passion for helping young people make the most of their athletic potential through a program called Sport Speed Austin.
Together we offer private instruction for athletes across a variety of sports, run speed and agility camps for teams and small groups, and offer spring and fall developmental and competitive swimming programs. Fitness has transcended our personal lives into something that gives us joy each and every day. Our personal definition of fitness incorporates so much more now that we are parents, coaches and athletes all at the same time. We strive for balance in life in the way we train and coach: mental, spiritual and physical fitness for ourselves and those we’re privileged to work with.
With a little help from your votes, we proudly present our inaugural list of Austin’s 10 Fittest Couples. Here are their stories, in their own words.
BROOKE STACEY and AHMAD WATSON
We firmly believe that at the heart of every good relationship is support in all aspects of life. With Ahmad’s background as a personal trainer and my passion for sports and fitness, it was definitely a fitness match. At the end of most work days, we can’t help but find ourselves sharing time at the gym. And by supporting, coaching, encouraging and just spending quality time together, we’ve created an unparalleled bonding experience.
We’re so thrilled to be one of Austin’s Fittest Couples. Austin is such a fit, hip and happening place, it’s truly an honor to be featured among such a healthy community. Part of our New Year’s resolution is to continue to explore even more fitness options throughout this wonderful city. Our lifelong goal is to continue to inspire, encourage and help others fulfill their health and fitness aspirations, just as we’ve done with each other.
DIANNE and MARC FERGUSON
Staying fit is certainly a lifestyle for us — in fact, a day rarely goes by when we’re not running the trail, training in the gym or stand-up paddle boarding. If we can find a way to make something active and fun, we will. As a personal trainer and lululemon athletica ambassador, I’ve been in the fitness industry for more than 25 years, teaching group fitness classes at The Hills Fitness Center and training clients at Wild Basin Fitness. Marc, on the other hand, has competed in several triathlons and most recently returned to playing squash.
As a couple, we’ll be celebrating 30 years of marriage this year, and can’t recall a time when we weren’t active together — either as multi-sport athletes in school, snow skiing, water skiing, swimming or biking with our two daughters, Brittany, 26, and Ashleigh, 23. Now empty-nesters, we’ve moved downtown to enjoy an even more active lifestyle — walking, running, riding our bikes and participating in as many local running events as we can fit into our busy schedules. Our new goal is to be among Austin’s fittest at age 80.
CHARDONNAY POOLE and JONATHAN WEEMS
Fitness is not our life — it’s just one small piece of our jam-packed schedule. One that includes forensic evaluations, recruiting, mentoring youth, drug counseling, coaching, patient care, completing a doctorate degree and building a private practice. These all demand hours and hours of face time, leaving us physically drained by the end of the day. Perhaps our biggest challenge is giving equally to all of these demands without letting our fitness suffer. This year, we’ve managed to keep it all in check and achieved tremendous gains as a result; including a combined 17 percent body fat reduction, while hanging with the best in the sport of CrossFit.
The greatest lesson we’ve learned, however, is that we don't have to be a part of the fitness industry to have the body of a trainer or perform at our peak potential. Though it’s a constant struggle to stay committed, we've made a pledge to each other to stay in tune physically, mentally and professionally. We've experimented with making healthier decisions and focused on a fitter lifestyle as the cohesive part of our relationship. We hold each other accountable, support, compete and believe in each other. It's like we both have a personal trainer with us at all times!
TRICIA and CHARLES MINNICK
We aren’t personal trainers and we don’t work out for a living; we’re just average people. So average, in fact, that like most Americans we found ourselves pretty overweight. We had our excuses for gaining extra weight — we chose convenience and immediate gratification over healthy living. And when we became parents, our bad habits continued. So, it’s no surprise that at 278 pounds it was difficult for me to keep up with my son. Our wake-up call was realizing what a bad example we were setting for our own child. Our life and our health were spiraling out of control. Our son deserved better, and so did we.
Determined to set a healthy example, we started making changes. We committed to eating fresh, nutritious foods. Along with making better food choices, we started working out together. As the pounds came off, we started running, trained for, and eventually ran a full marathon. Already, we’ve lost more than 150 pounds collectively (I’ve lost 128 pounds and Charles has lost 30). We’ve conquered obesity, but more importantly, we found a new, healthy lifestyle, together.
Be sure to check out their blog, Endurance Isn't Only Physical
TAMMY WALTERS and DINA JACKSON
I’ve been a casual runner and cyclist since the early 90s. While I was busy exercising, Dina’s idea of a workout was walking in and out of stores on Fifth Avenue in New York City. This was before she moved to Austin eight years ago and we started jogging and cycling together. Since then, we’ve participated in numerous local cycling and running events. We love to see each other progress physically, whether it’s running a mile, doing half marathons or completing 70-mile bike rides. We both decided to give triathlons a try in May of 2009 and this year our goal is to complete a half Ironman together. We definitely integrate fitness into our daily lives by selecting events that require a training program for accountability.
For example, we’re doing the MS150, Ragbrai and several triathlons this season. We also just have fun together and try not to make every activity a structured workout. In between our regular fitness, there are many walks and hikes with our dog, bike rides to the local coffee shop, kayaking at Pure Austin and our new hobby, roller skating.
JESSICA SHARRATT and RYAN STEPHEN
We've been together for more than eight years now, and recently got engaged over the 2010 holiday season. Throughout our relationship, fitness has been a top priority, and we’ve challenged ourselves to adapt workout programs to accommodate the demands of work and our lifestyles.
I’m currently a CrossFit coach, competitive athlete with CrossFit Central, and recently launched my own company — Strength and Beauty. Ryan is an ex-collegiate football player, who now works in technical consulting sales, but has stayed fit over the years by blending strength training, running and various CrossFit programs into his workout routine. We both have demanding careers, and unfortunately most days don’t allow us to workout with each other. But there are those opportunities we do spend together training — running at Town Lake, hitting a CrossFit workout or taking our dog Kane to the park. Those are some of our favorite times together.
ADRIEN RUDESAL and LANDON ADAMS
Our love for each other and for fitness goes way beyond every day workouts. For us, it’s a way of life that revolves around coaching and guiding others in the same direction we see for ourselves. After meeting at the gym almost six years ago, we quickly learned how much passion and love of life we had in common. Not long after, we decided to make our relationship official by opening our very own CrossFit training gym. The running joke is that my engagement ring came in the form of a 2,000-square foot training facility we now call our office.
At CrossFit Round Rock, we spend countless hours building a health and fitness family. We push ourselves to the limit with each and every workout and will stop at nothing to be the best we can possibly be. When we aren’t flipping tires or working on Olympic lifts, we love to cook, relax with each other and spend time with our dogs.
PAUL and SHEILA CARROZZA
Fitness, and running specifically, have always been an instrumental part of who we are — personally, with our work and now at home with the kids. There’s no doubt in our minds that the family unit is the most powerful fitness force possible. So, as a couple, we’ve made it a priority to be on the move on a daily basis and to eat only healthy, wholesome foods. (For example, we work hard to have an 80/20 diet; which is 80 percent plant-based.)
As parents, if we require the daily discipline of being an athlete and living by example, we know our kids will be strong in the modern environment. Together we’ve taken on the responsibility of making healthy food choices and requiring real daily workouts, not only to maintain our own health, but to strengthen the health of our family. Instilling what it takes to maintain a high quality of life and maximizing your natural talents is what it’s all about.
LISA and JEREMY THIEL
Our love story was built on the trails of Town Lake when we met at a workout under the MoPac Bridge in 2006. It continued from there as our paths crossed at RunTex, local 5Ks and triathlons. It was as if Austin’s original fit couple — Paul and Sheila Corrozza — set the stage for us!
Today, we’re both active athletes and CrossFit competitors. We’ve each placed in the top three, of the elite division, at multiple CrossFit competitions and regularly take on marathons, 5Ks and relay races together. Along with CrossFit Central co-founder Carey Kepler, we own and operate CrossFit Central, CrossFit Central RunTex and Relentless Boot Camp. Not surprisingly, among our most profound contributions is empowering other couples and families to get fit. It’s so rewarding to look around and see all of the couples and families who’ve been brought together through fitness. We hope to continue to help hundreds of people realize their true potential and reach their goals inside and outside of the gym.
NATE and KRISTEN TURNER
We met 20 years ago at Pepperdine University in Malibu, California. Kristen was a Division I swimmer and I captained the Waves’ club soccer team, while working as a lifeguard. We got married in Kona, Hawaii and then settled in Austin in 1994. For the past 16 years, we’ve had a constant presence in the Austin fitness industry; Kristen, as a two-time Ironman finisher and former world champion at the Olympic distance in triathlon, and myself as an avid mountain biker and wilderness guide. As PowerBar Team Elite-sponsored athletes, we now balance our love of training and competition with a passion for helping young people make the most of their athletic potential through a program called Sport Speed Austin.
Together we offer private instruction for athletes across a variety of sports, run speed and agility camps for teams and small groups, and offer spring and fall developmental and competitive swimming programs. Fitness has transcended our personal lives into something that gives us joy each and every day. Our personal definition of fitness incorporates so much more now that we are parents, coaches and athletes all at the same time. We strive for balance in life in the way we train and coach: mental, spiritual and physical fitness for ourselves and those we’re privileged to work with.
Fairway to Fitness, June 2009 Issue
Get Stoked to Get Soaked: 15 Austin Lake Activities, May 2009 Issue
Austin's 10 Fittest, August 2009 Issue
