Today we’d like to introduce you to Elena Gamboa.
Hi Elena, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I was born & raised in Reno, NV. From a young age, I’ve had a hard time sitting still, especially if music is playing. I was a ballet dancer, gymnast, & eventually cheerleader. Rhythm-based movement has always been a passion of mine.
Growing up in the late ’90s & early 2000s left a lot of room for body image struggles & harsh self-criticism. I was made aware of how much space I took up at a very young age.
My junior year of high school, I lost my father to brain cancer. This immense grief & the seeds the diet culture had planted resulted in a decade-long struggle with disordered eating, over exercise & body dysmorphia.
I’ve always loved food even though my relationship to it has ebbed & flowed. Nutrition was original major in college, but I knew quickly that I didn’t want to become a Registered Dietitian. I self-studied nutrition & kept moving my body as intuitively as possible through my 20s. I started teaching barre & pilates in 2018 as a side hustle.
When Covid hit in 2020, I was serendipitously furloughed from my corporate 9-5 job & knew in my gut that it was time for a change. I enrolled in the Nutritional Therapy Association’s 10-month practitioner program so I could finally pursue my dreams of helping other women find their greatest expression of health through intentional, functional, gentle nutrition & feel-good movement.
My partner’s job landed us back in her hometown, so in September of 2020, I left everything I ever knew & made the move from the Sierra Nevada mountains to Dallas.
I found Class Studios pretty quickly after arriving here. They were holding auditions for their Sculpt format & I didn’t have anything to lose. I was accepted to their training program & started on the schedule in April 2021. Between my 9-5, nutritional therapy school, & my Sculpt classes — I was a busy woman!
In Fall of 2021, I found Session Pilates & knew instantly that I wanted to be part of the Session instructor family. By January of 2022, I wrapped up Session instructor training, left my desk job, got my 1:1 nutrition business off the ground, & was a full-time fitness instructor.
I grew up in nature, on trails, in the snow….so DFW has been quite the change from the wide-open spaces that I hail from. But what I’ve encountered here is so incredibly unique. I fell in love with the Dallas fitness community as soon as I got here.
The two studios I am privileged & honored to teach at are both women-owned/founded. They are sanctuaries for thousands of folks around DFW where music & movement come together in an inspiring, inclusive & affirming way.
I still pinch myself because I can’t believe that I get to program & playlist for work. I get to help incredible humans reconnect with their bodies & fall in love with nourishing themselves.
My dad always told me I should be a lawyer like him because I am really good at taking people’s depositions. I feel that in a way I get to do that with my nutrition clients. I work with them to get to the root of the issues that are holding them back from feeling their best. Now, my dad didn’t have the best rhythm so teaching fitness was out of the question, but he was a 5 am spin class & calisthenics while watching the news kind of guy, so I know he’s proud & moving with me every class I teach.
Being an entrepreneur is hard. I can’t say it comes naturally to me always. But at the end of the day, I can lay my head on my pillow & say — damn, I love my job(s).
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?
It definitely has not been a smooth road, but I never lose sight of how privileged I am despite the challenges I’ve endured.
My childhood was lovely. I had a beautiful home, siblings & friends. We travelled & I never went without.
My parents had a rocky marriage & eventually split for good when I was 12. My dad remarried & I was often having to take sides between my parents. When my dad got sick, I was 16. He passed when I was 17. I somehow always managed to stay out of trouble & kept good grades through high school & college.
My partner & I met in 2017 while we both had worked for Patagonia, Inc. in Reno. My sexuality has never been a point of contention in my life. My family has always been loving & supportive of whoever I’ve dated. My partner is from a more conservative, fundamentally Christian family & studied to be a youth pastor in college. When we met, she’d never dated a woman before. We kept our relationship quiet for almost a year & a half. It’s been a long road with her family & her faith, but we’ve been welcomed warmly in Dallas & have the most supportive chosen family.
Building a following in the Dallas fitness community was a challenge at first. I’m grateful that when I started, I had no idea how hard it was going to be, or I maybe would have chickened out (lol). Dallas is a huge city with a lot of people, & when I moved here – I knew about 7 humans total. The fitness professionals here are well-established & so damn good at what they do. My first few months at Class Studios, I was connecting dots & building relationships, but I was teaching a style of fitness & a format that was completely new to me. The sultry, sweaty, & dark sculpt room was a whole new world. It took me about 6 months to really find my people, my voice, my style, my favorite kinds of music & the movements that make the most sense in that environment. Now I’ve got a whole ass crew & vibe. Friday 6:30 AM is always a party.
Teaching fitness is hard on the body & your voice. Part of what I teach to my nutrition clients is to honor their rest & not overdo it with the workouts. Because of this, my own workouts are often sacrificed. I take rest & sleep incredibly seriously. I am often in bed by 8-8:30 on weekdays. I have lots of early mornings. It definitely takes discipline to maintain your health & energy when you teach 15-18 classes a week.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I work with women (sometimes men) locally & all over the country through my 1:1 nutritional therapy services.
I specialize in helping others tune back into their bodies, their symptoms, & help them achieve their greatest expression of health. I work with clients for 3-6 months at a time. I strongly believe that sustained wellness is cultivated through daily habits & not a quick fix.
We’ve lost touch with ourselves, with our hunger & fullness cues, we wake up & immediately drink coffee, we run off stress hormones then get hangry, we feel out of control around food. We don’t know whether to be vegan or keto. We are put on birth control without knowing the risks.
This is where I come in.
I mentor my clients & help demystify nutrition, their digestion, & their hormones. It’s important to be playing on the same team as your body throughout this process, so I help my clients instill trust in themselves & faith in their healing.
I also offer functional GI labs so we can see if what is going on internally is reflected in their symptoms externally. Together we come up with a customized game plan to get them to their goals.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Success is living a life that you don’t need to take long extended breaks from. Or in the off chance, you do have an extended break that you’re excited to get back to.
Maybe I’m just now realizing that I’m successful. I just took an 8-day break from teaching to road trip & visit family. I was gladly doing 1:1 nutrition client work throughout the week & am so excited to get back to my teaching schedule/see my clients this week.
This is success. Finding work that feels life-giving rather than draining – & being able to navigate that balance.
Pricing:
- Hop on my 1:1 client waitlist – as soon as more spots become available we can schedule a complimentary 20-minute Discovery Session
- Nutritional Therapy Initial Session – $285
Contact Info:
- Website: elenaleegamboa.com
- Instagram: @elenaleegamboa
Image Credits
Liza Myers
Jenny Lawson
Paige Martindell
