Meet Amanda Driscoll | Personal Trainer, Fitness Instructor, & Confidence Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amanda Driscoll and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amanda, how do you think about risk?

Don’t get me wrong- risk is SCARY! But I’ve always had the mindset that staying in the same place feels much scarier. The only way you’re guaranteed to not make the life you dream of, get the job you want, move to the city you want to live in, etc. is to just not take any action. Sure you might “fail”, that’s always a risk, but even if the result isn’t exactly what you imagined, it will most likely push you into something even greater, or at least teach you something.

I’m lucky to have had parents who always encouraged me to dream really big, and as I get older I realize how impactful that was in me  thinking about a greater life for myself. I’ve never really understood the people who complain about their lives, but never make any decisions to change it (although I can understand that maybe they weren’t lucky enough to have grown up in an environment which fostered dreaming big or taking chances).

I wouldn’t be where I was today if I didn’t take risks. I moved to Boston right out of college, even though I was only making like $35k a year and could barely pay any of my bills, but I knew this is where I wanted to be and where opportunities were. I felt like I had no business leaving my corporate job to pursue a new career path in fitness, but I knew the life I wanted was on the other side, so I took a leap. Take the risks!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I always get a little pit in my stomach when people ask, “so, what do you do?” because I feel like one title or phrase can’t really sum it up. I’m a group fitness instructor, personal trainer, podcast host, and confidence coach. I guess you could say my main “title” is personal trainer, but I feel like I do so much more than “just“ that. Through training, I help my clients gain confidence in and out of the gym, improve their relationship with movement, and many times, their relationship with food and their bodies as well.

Getting here wasn’t easy! I jumped feet first into the fitness industry before I really knew exactly who I wanted to be within it. When I first entered the industry, I looked to a lot of my peers to mimic what they do, but a lot of it just didn’t feel right for me. I’m not going to lie, it brought back a lot of insecurities and disordered patterns with eating, exercising, & how I viewed my body. So throughout the years, and especially over the last two, I’ve realized how much I want to change the industry and change how people view exercise altogether.

So much of the fitness industry plays into toxic diet culture, and it actually deters people from exercise and becoming healthy. I would rather foster a welcoming and inclusive community & help people realize we can ALL find movement that we love & create a healthy lifestyle that works for them, rather than tearing people down, focusing on weight loss, and making people feel bad about themselves. I don’t think people realize how much power their words & actions have, and the amount of clients I’ve seen that have been really negatively damaged by the culture is alarming. You’ll never catch me preying on people’s insecurities to get them to work with me, but you’d be surprised at how many trainers & gyms are still doing that.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh man, that’s a tough one! I love this city, and there are so many amazing spots, and each neighborhood has such a different vibe. We would definitely be eating our way through the city! Okay, how about this:

Friday: We go to SRV in the South End for dinner and go all out with the chef’s tasting menu – trust me, it’s an absolute MUST.

Saturday: We’ll start the day at the Handle Bar Cycling Studio for a fun, energizing class, followed by brunch at Lincoln. Basic, I know, but she’s got to experience their crazy pancakes and delicious breakfast pizza. We’ll spend the day exploring the city – maybe hitting up the ICA and bopping around the Seaport, or heading down to Fenway to go to the MFA and Isabella Stuart Gardener Museum, followed by walking through the Fens & over to Back Bay for some shopping. We’ll finish the day with dinner in the North End, and of course espresso martinis (and maybe a cannoli) at Modern Pastry.

Sunday: We’ll grab breakfast sandwiches (or a cinnamon roll the size of our faces) at Flour before heading over to the SOWA market in the South End. Then, go blade around Castle Island & end the weekend with a lobster roll from Sullivans!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Eliza Shirazi, the creator of Kick It By Eliza, deserves the biggest shout out! She has created such a welcoming & empowering community, and if it weren’t for that I would not be where I am today. I was so damn shy & timid when I came across Kick It, but with her encouragement, I became an instructor & woke up a whole side of myself I had always wanted to find. Shoutout to the women out there that are helping other women find their voices!

Website: www.buildwithbrabec.com

Instagram: @Amanda__driscoll and @buildwithbrabecpodcast

Image Credits
Emma Corbett Chris Leighton Rachel G. Photography