About Me
How I got here- The origins of fusion fitness
My family is a family of doctors and musicians. My father is a gastroenterologist, and my aunt was a cardiac specialty nurse. My mother is a Persian music singer, and my grandfather was a violin maker, composer and performer in Iran. So healing, health and how to care for your body plus music are big life influences.
At seven I started studying concert piano, continuing for 18 years. I become a network engineer in the early days of computer science and enjoyed 12 years in the tech field. Much to my parent’s chagrin, I decided to leave the corporate world and pursue fitness. For the first half of my life, I was overweight, unfit and diving deeper into unhealth. I hired a personal trainer at age 27, and that changed my mind set about fitness and healthy lifestyle choices.
I educated myself while still working as a network engineer, studying to become a National Academy of Sports Medicine and American Council on Exercise Personal Trainer. I completed the personal trainer certification program through Monterey Peninsula College, through self-education and certification, plus I decided to enhance my career by also completing the massage therapy programs at both MPC and the now-closed Monterey Institute of Touch. Additionally, I’ve done numerous workshops at Esalen for massage therapy, giving me well over 1,000 hours of massage training.
As a personal trainer and massage therapist, I began my business in a 500 square foot facility in Cannery Row. I’m now opening a 7000 square foot facility in Pacific Grove’s Country Club Gate Center. It’s really an extension of my love for fitness and massage and my desire to inspire more people to be fit and experience what an incredible feeling and way of living that is.
I grew up in La Jolla, leaving at 19 to move to Alameda. I moved up the ladder in the network engineering world and ended up owning a consulting firm, but decided I needed a career change. I moved to Monterey Peninsula in 2002, first in New Monterey. I loved walking the neighborhood streets, either riding my bike or running on the rec trail. I then met my daughter’s father, which led to a family with the birth of Ariana in 2010. We planned to grow that family and moved to Pebble Beach in 2012. We split in 2015, but I remained here in Pebble and just love living in this community. Every time I drive in through one of the gates I feel as though I’ve entered an enchanted forest, especially on those foggy days where it hangs on the lace lichen on the tree branches. I love walking these trails, knowing them like the back of my hand and being able to navigate my way within a few miles to downtown Carmel, downtown PG, my gym, or even downtown Monterey-all though trails. Did I mention I love the trails? I love living here and feel blessed to call myself a resident.
I am in love with the way fitness makes you feel, like loving the feeling of a personal record for going faster, or harder or stronger. Or setting strength goals and constantly crushing them, feeling yourself progress forward even as you age. This feeling is addictive, so I seek out ways to make fitness fun. Hiking with my dog Zo-Zo out in the Pebble Beach hills is one of my favorite ways, plus challenging myself by signing up for half marathons—I’ve done over 20. Outside of lifting weights, running was my favorite sport for many years, but I find that as I age, it’s better to temper all that running with challenging hill hikes to help keep my joints pain free.
My daughter Ariana enjoys sports and has been athletic her whole life. She took her first steps in my first gym on Foam Street. She’s grown up in a gym and enjoys playing on the 7th grade PG Middle School Volleyball team, which recently became league champions for the first time in school’s history. She did karate for many years, getting up to the 9th level belt. We just completed our first Monterey Bay half marathon together where she left me in the dust, finishing 15 minutes ahead of me. She also now has started to attend classes at my gym and is always working on her fitness. She is a bright, highly sociable and colorful child who is well liked by everyone at the gym.
I also enjoy travelling with my sweet partner, Jason Bradley. A prolific photographer, he helped set me up with a camera and teaches me the ways of wildlife and nature photography.
Since beginning as a personal trainer and massage therapist in 2002, I have worked with literally thousands of clients, helping them through exercise and recovery methods to get the most of their bodies regardless of age. I see my greatest accomplishments as individual I’ve helped to really inspire to fitness, where I’ve taken someone either intimidated by exercise, in too much pain to exercise, hating exercise and gotten them to love it.
To look at each individual person changing, to see them healing, progressing, getting stronger and healthier is like watching a reverse aging clock and is truly one of my greatest accom- plishments. Each body is like a work of art for me, and I take the greatest pride in taking a part in crafting each one using our services and tools.
My business, Fusion Fitness, is offering a much wider availability of services by opening the expanded facility. Being able to serve our com- munity and keep that tight-knit feeling within our gym culture, with a “we are all in this together” approach is what we’re all about. We are very excited to be expanding into our giant new facility and to bring our community and welcoming approach to the beautiful community of Pacific Grove. We live for transformations and can’t wait to share more with the entire Monterey Peninsula.