About ME
Hey, I’m Christian — personal trainer, nutrition coach, and the founder of Firebird Fitness. I help people build real strength, confidence, and sustainable habits that stick for life not just for a season
My mission
To help others become the best versions of themselves.
My mission isn’t to train someone for the rest of their life or chase a number on the scale. It’s to teach people how to take control of their health—physically and mentally—so they no longer need me.
I want to help each person discover what being truly healthy means to them, and give them the tools, confidence, and knowledge to sustain it for life.
long Story Short
For most of my life, I struggled with my weight; trying every diet, quick fix, and program I could find. But nothing stuck. Between caring for my mom as she battled Early Onset Alzheimer’s and dealing with my own cycles of stress, anxiety, and depression, my health took a backseat. Eventually, I realized I didn’t want to just lose weight, I wanted to take back my life and learn what being truly healthy meant to me.
The journey wasn’t easy. After losing 50 pounds, I shattered my ankle in a freak accident and was told I’d never walk unassisted again. But I refused to give up. Step by step, I rebuilt myself physically, mentally, and emotionally.
That experience inspired me to create Firebird Fitness, named in honor of my mom and my own rebirth.
Today, my mission is simple: to help others rise from their struggles and become the healthiest, happiest versions of themselves.
my training style
My coaching style is fully personalized and built around your unique goals, lifestyle, and mindset. I don’t try to eliminate your “bad habits” I help you transform them into better ones by working with what you already do.
I focus on:
Customized programs built around your goals
Finding exercises you enjoy so consistency feels natural
Habit-building over restriction
Mindset work learned through my own personal growth
Teaching you to understand your body, not rely on a trainer forever
I train people who:
Are beginners or returning to fitness
Want structure and accountability
Struggle with consistency
Want to build confidence and strength
Prefer a coach who teaches, not just instructs
Need a plan that fits real life
My ultimate goal is to give you the knowledge, confidence, and tools to take care of your health independently — no matter what life throws at you.
🏅 CERTIFICATIONS
ISSA Certified Personal Trainer
ISSA Certified Nutrition Coach
CPR/AED Certified — Red Cross
Multiple Black Belts in Traditional Martial Arts
🧩Speciaties
Weight Loss & Body Recomposition
Beginner-Friendly Strength Training
Injury-Aware + Mobility-Focused Exercise
Habit & Mindset Transformation
The Longer Version
My Struggle with Weight
My story is probably one you’ve heard before — and maybe one you can relate to.
All my life, I struggled with being overweight. From a chubby kid, to a husky teen, to an obese adult I’d been called all the terms. Like many, my weight constantly fluctuated. I’d lose it, then gain it back in what felt like an endless cycle. I tried countless fad diets, even invented a few of my own. Few were healthy, and none ever stuck.
Around 2008, my mother began showing signs of Early Onset Alzheimer’s Disease a condition deeply affected by health and lifestyle. She was a wonderful person and an even better mother, but she too struggled with her weight. After college, I moved back home and helped to care for her. The stress, anxiety, and depression that followed took a toll. I turned to food and bad habits to cope. Things that I continued to struggle with years after her passing in 2014. Until one day I stepped back and I found myself heavier, unhealthier, and more lost than ever.
My Turning Point
I didn’t have an “aha” moment or a sudden burst of motivation. What I had was a slow realization that I didn’t want to live the way I was anymore. I wanted to be healthy and happy in this life.
So I took control. I started learning everything I could about health, nutrition, habits, and mindset. I failed more times than I can count, but each time I learned something new. Slowly, I began to understand what being healthy really meant to me.
The Fall and Recovery
Just as things were improving, life threw me a curveball. Six months into my journey, after losing 50 pounds, I signed up for a local charity 5K obstacle course to celebrate. Near the finish line, I fell from a 10–12 foot climbing wall, shattering my ankle.
Multiple doctors told me I’d never walk unassisted again. That hit hard. I slipped back into depression, gained some of the weight back, and questioned if I’d ever get back to where I was.
But I refused to give up. Eventually, I found a surgeon willing to “try something different.” With a little luck, a lot of metal, and about a year of intense therapy and training, I re-learned how to walk. One painful, determined step at a time.
Rising from the Ashes
Starting over wasn’t easy. But this time, I had knowledge, experience, and purpose. I learned to adapt workouts for my limited mobility. I learned when to rest and when to push.
Through patience and persistence, I lost a total of 90 pounds. But the real victory wasn’t the weight I lost; it was what I gained: confidence, resilience, and a deep understanding of what health truly means physically and mentally.
Nearly ten years after that accident, I earned my second black belt in martial arts, ran multiple 5Ks, and even a 10K at Disney World. Today, I strive to be the person I wish I’d had by my side during that journey.
The Birth of Firebird Fitness
In 2023, I founded Firebird Fitness a name that honors both my mother and my journey. Her maiden name, Cardinale (Italian for “cardinal”), and her beloved Pontiac Firebird inspired the name. Combined with the transformative imagery of the phoenix rising from the ashes, it became more than just a name, it became a mission.
My goal isn’t just to help people lose weight or hit a number on a scale.
It’s to help them rise from who they were, to who they’re capable of becoming.
Being healthy isn’t about perfection or size. It’s about discovering what health means for you.
My Mission
I don’t just want to tell you what to do.
I want to teach you how to live stronger, feel better, and become the healthiest, happiest version of yourself — for life.