A FITNESS instructor has won a prestigious accolade for classes she runs in Rubery, Longbridge and Northfield.
Ellie Hooper, who took the ‘Regional Fitness Instructor West Midlands’ title in the National Fitness Awards, offers a variety of sessions, including Zumba (regular, ‘toning’ and ‘gold’) and ‘Strong Nation’.
Zumba fitness has been part of her life since she was aged 10 after she went along to a class with her mum and fell in love with it,
She built up her reputation as an instructor and business, gaining more skills from training and conventions and kept her sessions going virtually on Zoom during last year’s lockdowns.
Once restrictions eased, the 22-year-old held classes in a section of Longbridge’s multi-storey car park.
As well as ensuring social distancing, the car park’s roof meant the classes could go ahead whatever the weather, keeping people fit, healthy and well both mentally and physically during such an unsettled time.
The classes provided a lifeline for many people and Ellie – who has now done Zumba for more than 10 years and taught it for over five – will celebrate her six-year anniversary as an instructor in January.
After submitting her story, Ellie was shortlisted as a finalist found out she had won at a ceremony in Newcastle.
She said: “It was such a surprise and honour to have received the award.
“Zumba and fitness has been such a massive part of my life and I have been committed to it for most of my life.
“It is always much more than a job for me, its my passion – seeing how my classes bring joy and an enjoyable way of working out to people is just amazing.
“It builds wonderful communities and friendships between people and seeing my people smile when they come to class no matter if they have had a good or bad day is just so special.”
Ellie added Zumba would be a big part of her life for a long time yet and teaches classes for a variety of ages from Monday to Friday each week.
Visit bookwhen.com/zumbawithellie for more on her classes and events.
