March 2012

Name: Shanna Tokarsky
Age: 28
Occupation: AdvoCare Advisor, CrossFit Coach, Digital Marketing Lead

Last month Stephanie Vincent of Radical Hateloss hosted the second  Ladies Discussion Series RX - Real Conversations About Living Our Own Version of "As Prescribed".  I was invited on as the "special guest" and had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with a diverse group of women from across the country.

First of all, how great is the name Radical Hateloss?  In a world where so many women are still obsessed with the number on the scale, Radical Hateloss is an important reminder that the problem is not always the weight we carry on our hips or in our bellies... it is the weight we carry on our shoulders.  Obsessing over the scale or clothing size is nothing but a burden.  And while it may seem like perfectly reasonable motivation to get into the gym, such an obsession can actually be detrimental to your fitness and your happiness.

The theme of our discussion was "Accepting Ourselves and Wanting More".  Stephanie and I both agreed that this topic is synonymous with "Live, Love, Lift" and embodies what Fashletics is all about: Enjoy your life, love yourself, and find your strength inside and out. 

February 2012

Name: Shellie Edington
Age: 47
Occupation: Owner of Tumblin4Kids Mobile Gym, Mother of 3, CrossFit Games Competitor 

"Tumbling, swinging, jumping, has always been a joy to me. I am still amazed at what feats the human body can do and I believe anyone can do it. I understood at an early age that in order to do all those cool tricks I had to eat, sleep and train smart."

Q. What is your Earliest athletic memory?

A. Impossible to say, my parents hung me from the clothesline while they hung laundry and I have pictures of myself at age 18 months standing on my tricycle seat. I always had a ton of energy and my parents were constantly challenging me, believing in me when other parents would have fainted. My parents enrolled me in dance and acrobats at the age of 3. I wanted to go every night!

I was consumed by a drive and passion to be Olga Korbut! To do the cool things they did on TV. No matter what it took. I was unable to get into a gymnastic center until age 13 but began competing 6 months later. I went from school to dinner to the gym everyday M-F and Sunday for 4 hours each day. I loved it, it was what I desired. When you love something, discipline comes easy.

Building Her Family

"As I grew into adulthood, I married a wonderful man, and we had 3 beautiful daughters in less than 4 years."  

January 2012

Name: Amy Albert
Age: 31
Occupation: Firefighter, Palm Beach Fire Rescue

As a mother of two, an accomplished athlete, and a Firefighter, it is easy to see why Amy is the perfect choice for Fashlete of the month.  But what makes Amy's selection extra special is that she was nominated by her twin sister Amber. As tough as this duo is, Amber's pride and love for her sister is touching and even brought a tear to my eye (okay fine, more than one tear). After all, success means so much more when you have someone you love to share it with...  Amy and Amber have the LIVE LOVE LIFT thing down! Here is Amber's tribute to her sis...

 “You don’t always have to give 110%” our mother would say to Amy all the time while growing up.  My identical twin sister Amy is by far one of the most remarkable athletes and human beings I know.  As long as I can remember Amy has been the most determined, compassionate, and hard working individual.  There are many stories of Amy’s athleticism that I could share, so I will give you a few examples of some of the good ones.  Amy is like a pit bull, she has no cut off, a high threshold for pain and will go to complete exhaustion.  Our mother would always tell her that “you don’t have to be the best” Amy would just smile and do her best, which was always above and beyond what most could accomplish.

Amy and I played water polo in high school, when we arrived at Florida State University our freshmen year we both realized that there was no women’s water polo team.  So you ask yourself, what did Amy do?  Amy played with the men’s water polo team, not an easy feat.  Amy took it upon herself her sophomore year to help establish the FSU women’s water polo team and become the first President.  After many water polo games Amy would complain that her arm would become numb, most would probably stop whatever physical activity they were doing if something like that occurred, not Amy!  In fact Amy was swimming half the game with her shoulder dislocated!  She would just push past the pain.