Thriving Student: Sandy Seitz

An athlete from a young age, Sandy’s career in fitness could have been straightforward.

But as is typical in real life, it wasn’t.

When she was 12 years old, one of Sandy’s brothers (Renee) was tragically hit and killed by a drunk driver. After her highschool graduation, Sandy decided to go off to LA to escape the pain. But she wasn’t gone long before she learned a hard lesson.

“I realized you can’t run from trauma; you have to deal with it and you have to work on it,” she recalls.

This knowledge, though difficult, would later become a hugely valuable part of her coaching practice.

After she returned from LA, Sandy knew she was headed for a career in fitness, but with a new mission: to help those who needed it the most.

“I decided I not only wanted to be a personal trainer but I wanted to work with people who are sick or suffering”

So, after her brief hiatus in Los Angeles, Sandy got her degree in Exercise Science, followed by her Masters in Exercise Psychology and Physiology, along with her personal training certification.

As a trainer, Sandy naturally developed strong relationships with her clients. There was just one problem — every time she moved (and due to other life demands, she moved a fair bit) — she had to say goodbye to her clients.

“Clients kept saying, ‘I miss you, I want you, I can’t have you’. And my response would be, ‘sorry you guys, I can’t be everywhere at once’.”

Not sure what to do, she got some advice from her brother Joe.

Joe was a special person in Sandy’s life. “He really believed in me,” Sandy says. “He always saw my light.”

And it was Joe who encouraged Sandy to take her business online.

Though she was hesitant at first, Joe helped her see the potential of online training. With his support, she took the plunge, bought the Online Trainer Academy and made a commitment to herself: she would work steadily through the Academy program and within a year’s time, she would be an online trainer.

Sadly, soon after she started, Sandy got some terrible news.

Joe had passed away.

Naturally, she stopped working on the Academy for a while. And yet, Joe’s voice echoed in her head. “I heard him saying, ‘Sandy, you can do it’. So I said to myself, ‘I’m going to put it on hold, but I’m not going to give up’.”

In the summer of 2017 — nearly a year later, with her personal deadline approaching — Sandy decided it was time to launch her online training business.

“My goal was to get 10 people and I got 10. It gave me such a buzz. I thought: I can really do this.” From there, her business has continued to grow.

The Academy helped Sandy find her niche, and serve them better.

“My focus now is helping those suffering from physical or emotional trauma find healing through exercise and improving health,” she explains.

At first she was concerned that goal might not translate to an online environment. Turns out, “online creates a better space for people who are really suffering. When you’re suffering, you don’t always want to to train in-person, or be out in public. Online training gives people the opportunity to go at their own pace, with someone who will meet them where they’re at.”

By training online, Sandy is able to fulfill her personal mission to help others.

“You get the scars, you sweat it out, and you shine on.”