Today we’d like to introduce you to Angela Recine
Hi Angela, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Everything started for me when I first started my freshman year of college at the University of Connecticut, fall of 2019. In high school, I was used to playing field hockey in the fall, and did fencing in the winter. When I got to college I no longer had sports to keep me active, and my roommate introduced me to the gym on campus. I had never stepped foot in a gym before, and didn’t even know how to use the machines. At first, I only stuck to the elliptical. I didn’t understand the difference between resistance training/weightlifting and cardio! I was scared of trying new movements in the gym because I was worried the other members would see me fail or somehow knew I didn’t know what I was doing. There was even one time where I hopped on the StairMaster, looked down at the control panel, and immediately got off it & went back to my dorm because I was so in my head about “looking stupid”. I now know how silly that sounds! Slowly I built more confidence in the gym as I explored new machines and styles of training. I would spend hours on YouTube searching workout ideas, how to use specific machines in the gym, and how to work the dumbbells, barbells, and kettlebells. I then realized that no other members are paying attention to me – everyone is so focused on themselves that they don’t have time to look around judging others! I quickly fell in love with working out as well as gym culture as a whole, and the community I’m able to find in gyms. The gym turned into a place where I could focus on me & my health. Soon after, Covid hit and all the gyms shut down. I did my best to keep up with at-home workouts until the gyms opened up again, where I then continued my journey. Fast forward to January of 2021 and this is really where my weight lifting journey began. I transitioned from going to my college’s gym on campus & Planet Fitness while on breaks from school, to then getting a new gym membership at a gym local to UConn’s campus. EastBrook Fitness in Connecticut is where I really flourished. There, I got comfortable training with free weights and stopped relying solely on machines for my lifts. I found an amazing community between the staff and the members at that gym. In March of 2021, I started an Instagram account @angelar.fit where I would post videos/photos of my workouts, track my progress, share tips I’ve learned along the way, what challenges I face, how I overcome them, and so much more. I fell in love with the community I found of young girls my age who were in the same boat as me. I found that although I felt new to the gym, I was still able to inspire and help so many people by posting my journey online. I would get messages from people from my hometown or school asking for advice on how they could start their own fitness journey, and I made so many friends through my Instagram account that I never would have imagined! As my fitness journey progressed, I realized lessons I was learning in the gym started applying to all parts of my life. When I hit a new personal record in weightlifting, it built my confidence to aim higher in my education and relationships with not only those around me but the relationship with myself as well. When I persisted through a hard gym session, I learned that I could persist harder in other challenges I was facing. If I lacked motivation one day yet still made it to the gym, I found my discipline grow in all other areas of my life. My self esteem grew along with my confidence, ability to problem solve, overcome challenges, take on a larger work load, and so much more. I started working at EastBrook fitness my senior year of college at the front desk, kid care center, and also got my certification for personal training! I realized my passion for training when I reflected on how much I had grown mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually through weight lifting. After sharing successes with my first few clients, I was hooked. I graduated from the University of Connecticut in May of 2023, and by the end of June 2023 I moved down here to Austin, Texas! I was drawn to Austin because of the balance between city and nature, as well as the energy from it’s people as a whole. I visited Austin for a week in August of 2022 and absolutely fell in love. The people are so kind, there is a huge culture around healthy living, and on top of it all, the food is AMAZING! I instantly knew this was my city. When I moved down here, I started working at 24 Hour Fitness as a front desk employee, and one month later progressed to being a full time personal trainer! I was 22 years old, in a new city halfway across the country from where I was born & raised, with a new job, trying to meet new people, finding my place post-grad, all while keeping up with my social media accounts. It was hard, but I’m so grateful I persisted. Balancing work, my mental health, social life, etc. was a big learning curve for me since it was my first time in the “real world” since graduating. I had plenty of ups and downs in all areas of my life, but my constant was weight lifting & my Instagram community. I’m extremely grateful I had the discipline to manage everything, and kept in mind all of those lessons I had learned when I first started my weight lifting journey. Now, I have a full time job outside of the gym, and I’m able to stay consistent by waking up at 5:30am every day to workout before my 9-5:30 shift at work Monday-Friday. I’m still active daily on my Instagram account as well as my TikTok @angela.recine. I’ve expanded my online brand to not only include gym-related content, but to branch out into lifestyle content including fashion, exploring new restaurants/spots in Austin, sharing updates on my mental health, travel, friendships/relationships, and sharing my experience as a girl in her 20s in a new city figuring it all out. I’ve found my niche and am still learning new things about myself every day as I continue to grow into being an adult. Although I’ve faced ups and downs with my social media presence, I have always been grateful for the community I found. I have partnered with brands like 1st Phorm, MyFitnessPal, CoverGirl, Good American, countless Amazon brands, small businesses, and local Austin businesses and restaurants as well. Through each partnership I learn more about social media marketing and am opened up to new opportunities and meeting new faces, whether it be online or in person. Today, I balance my full time job, going to the gym 5-6 days a week, my relationship, my friendships, my hobbies, trying new activities and classes, and continuing to explore Austin & Texas as a whole. I have big goals for this year and years to come, and I’m grateful for every milestone I’ve achieved along the way!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I would be lying if I said this was a smooth road for me. I have faced countless struggles yet always seem to come out stronger from everything I learned through them. One struggle I faced with building my Instagram account was when I moved post-grad and started working a full time job. I realized it’s a lot easier to manage a social media presence while in college where I had a lot more free time! I learned that I had to be very intentional with my time management, and with the help of my planner started better managing my days and weeks. I’m such a visual person, so physically writing everything out really helped me get my priorities straight and figure out how to get everything done in the timeframe I had. As for my workouts, I haven’t missed more than maybe 6 days in a row of training since I started. I genuinely love weight lifting, so it’s “easy” for me to stay consistent, especially once I built my discipline up. However, there were plenty of times when it felt harder to get myself into the gym. Whether I was low on sleep, having a bad mental health day, or having a poor body image… I knew that skipping out on the gym would only do more harm than good for me. As all other areas of my life fluctuate, the gym is my one constant, and I can confidently say it’s lead me to be the person I am today.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In my career, I am now a preschool teacher. I found my passion for childcare when I took a summer job at the preschool I went to back in Connecticut while on summer break in college. I love being able to foster creativity, teamwork, leadership, problem solving, and emotional intelligence in young kids to set them up for success in all parts of their life, not just in school. I feel as if having a full time job away from the gym sets me apart from other fitness content creators. I’m able to show my followers online that you can still have a full time job, stay consistent in your workouts, and still have time for yourself, family and friends. I definitely keep busy but I would have it no other way! I’m the type of person where I always need to be doing something, and I feel as if my lifestyle and career choice demonstrates that well. I’m proud of the fact that I can “do it all” at the age of 24! Being in your early 20s is overwhelming and daunting at times, but I’m able to showcase my ups and downs online and how I manage it all.
Any big plans?
I’ve always dreamt big! My whole life I constantly had big plans for my future and still do. I would love to transition to being able to make content full-time. I understand this is a big goal, and I am willing to, and do, work at it daily. I’ve also had dreams of opening my own gym someday. My boyfriend and I share this goal, and he has been taking steps to see that happen in the future. He is also a personal trainer and would love to open a training-focused gym local to us. As for goals outside of this, I want to explore more countries! So far I’ve traveled to about 8 different countries, and some on the list I’d like to visit are Japan, Greece, and Prague. I consider myself to be a lifelong learner, and one way I love learning is through experience. I’m grateful I’ve had the opportunities so far to travel as much as I have, and don’t plan on stopping that anytime soon.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/angelarecine
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/angelar.fit/profilecard/
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@angela.recine
