WHY THE BLONDE ANIMAL AMBASSADOR?
The name came from my husband, actually. He is always calling me the animal ambassador and I love it! I also keep my hair pretty bright blonde so the title just flowed from there.
YOUR BLOG USED TO BE CALLED MODE DE VIE FIT, WHY THE BRANDING CHANGE?
Because I’m so much more into animals than anything else! If you look at my insta photos, they are covered in yorkies LOL. My life is basically animals… everything else comes second. A bird in the sky or a passing pup will put the biggest smile on my face. I’m obsessed with fitness, travel and fashion as long as my choices represent my love and compassion for animals. My yorkies are my life and go everywhere with me from pilates to the gym to as many trips as I can take them on!
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
Contrary to popular belief, not Russia! I’m a native Southern California girl working hard to create powerful material inspiring others through compassionate choices and hard work.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO BALLROOM DANCE AND FITNESS?
I started dancing at the age of 2 and loved it! Ballet, tap, modern, jazz… I am still in awe with it all. I made the switch to ballroom just after college. I was so passionate about ballroom that after my first year winning as an amateur, my coaches suggested I turn professional. My training included pilates, yoga, and performing in the Core Rhythms fitness dvd series. Thanks to fitness I progressed quickly, giving me a huge advantage over my competitors. As a result I decided to become a certified fitness instructor, helping others succeed with their dance and fitness goals.
DO YOU BLOG FULL-TIME?
Someday soon I hope! I really want to make people aware of their lifestyle choices… we can always make more eco friendly, animal friendly, lifesaving choices each and every day in all aspects of life. I believe one person can change the world because that person will inspire others and others and so on and so forth so eventually, the world will become a much more compassionate, animal centric, happy place. #goals
SO, WHAT’S A TYPICAL WORKDAY LIKE FOR YOU?
Tons of running around from 5:30am to 6 or 7pm. I take quick breaks to eat healthy meals which I’ve usually prepped the day before. I teach on average, 8-10 classes a day and spend the rest of my time working on my blog and Mighty Hearts Project non profit which is working to bring Vasco’s life saving mitral valve repair surgery to the United States!
WHAT IS THE MIGHTY HEARTS PROJECT?
Might Hearts Project is a great passion of mine! I became involved because my Yorkie Vasco went into Heart Failure a year ago and was given a little over a year to live. Devastated, I began researching what I could do to save him because I could not accept his cardiologist’s bleak diagnosis of medication until death. I found this amazing website and group on Facebook which helped me find a surgery option in England. Vasco is alive today and doing amazing because of this surgery! I now sit as Vice President on the Mighty Hearts board with an incredible group of men and women dedicated to brining this fantastic, life saving surgery to the US and helping pup owners like me save their pups wherever they live!
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED WITH THE SAN DIEGO MARDI GRAS PARADE?
I became friends with one of my awesome students who asked me to ‘help out’ with her new endeavor as an investor in the San Diego Mardi Gras event. It sounded like fun to me and before I knew it, I was in charge of the parade from start to finish! After several years of hard work, I am very proud to say our parade became the THIRD biggest Mardi Gras parade celebration in the world! This year I’ve taken a break from parade work to focus on my blog, but many of you may have caught a glimpse of me riding in previous parades as a dignitary for my original Mode de Vie Fit blog!