Canvas Rebel Feature: Meet Rachel Elberts
Rachel, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today How did you come up with the idea for your business?
During my time living in San Francisco, I was deeply immersed in the outdoor industry, specializing in PR, Marketing, Media Relations, and Communications. It was during this period that I acquired a necklace bearing the word “Stoked,” a powerful emblem that perfectly captured my essence. To me, being “Stoked” meant embodying a perpetual enthusiasm for life’s endeavors.
One afternoon, while out on a run, thoughts of my necklace and recent work experiences flooded my mind. I had been involved in the launch of a women’s outdoor event, where the participants reveled in the opportunity to gather in a safe space, embracing vulnerability, adopting a beginner’s mindset, exploring new outdoor activities, reconnecting with nature, fostering connections with like-minded women, pushing their physical limits, and relishing in the joy of being sweaty, dirty, and happy. Witnessing the magic of that event, combined with my musings during the run along the San Francisco Bay, sparked a realization within me—I aspired to become a Stoke Coach.
In my mind, a Stoke Coach is a holistic personal trainer that coaches people on fitness and wellness approaches that create mind/body shifts that help people feel more strong and confident, reconnect with nature, and feel like a badass by training to be fit for life’s endless adventures and pursuits all in an approachable way something I like to call approachable badassery.
Driven by this newfound vision, I embarked on the path of becoming a certified personal trainer. While I had previously frequented a dim, sweaty, and somewhat unpleasant gym, I found solace in taking my workouts outside. The captivating landscapes provided an unmatched source of inspiration and allowed me to forge a deeper connection with myself. I began moving my body outdoors in a more purposeful way carrying light weights with me to this outdoor gym that had functional fitness equipment, or to the stadium seating staircase at Aquatic Park where I gazed upon the seals breaching. I reveled in this novel experience of joyful movement, liberating myself from the monotonous cycle of gym workouts. Recognizing the need for people to feel their best selves, I understood that achieving physical fitness alone was insufficient. True wellness encompassed mental fortitude, and it revolved around discovering the essence of “stoke”—that inner fire that motivates individuals to seek their “whys.”
I refused to confine myself to the label of just a personal trainer. Instead, I yearned to guide my clients toward setting goals rooted in outdoor pursuits, empowering them to reach their own level of badassery, whether it involved conquering a nearby hill or scaling a majestic mountain. Setting myself apart from other trainers, I aimed to emphasize the role the mind plays in holding our bodies back. I sought to illuminate the path toward finding flow, nurturing creativity, and attaining peace. After all, it is within the confines of our minds that our bodies find true liberation—a starting point for cultivating a healthy existence.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
I was born and raised in Manhattan and grew up as a city kid, navigating the streets and the subway at an early age. I was always a lover of sports, physical activity, and movement, and played on my high school field hockey, softball, and track teams. I learned how to ski at 2, snowboarding at 15, and was a lover of surfing and the power of the ocean. After graduating from the University of Michigan with a degree in Kinesiology, I made a crazy fork-in-the-road decision to move to Vail, Colorado with dreams of being a ski bum. Call it an unorthodox path for a U of M graduate from NYC kid, but that move gave me six glorious years of exploration, challenges, and inspired living in the Rockies. Those years set the foundation for one of my core values – AWE/WONDER.
During my journey in Vail, I met my now husband. Where after dating for 3 weeks I said YES to a grand adventure of traveling around South East Asia with a man I barely knew who I would be meeting in Phuket, Thailand after he sailed across the Indian Ocean. This trip set the foundation for a lot more hell yes’s and inspired me to continue to learn more about who I wanted to be. After coming back to Vail from our adventure and after much deliberation and yearning for growth, we relocated to San Francisco, where I built a career combining my love for the outdoors with personal connection.
I worked with many brands and agencies in the outdoor industry, fostering relationships through marketing, PR solutions, social media campaigns, and in-person events. And, through that work, I found that I loved bringing people together outside of the office. I wanted to help people elevate their health and wellness through connection to nature and physical movement. I wanted to walk with people on their journeys, comfort them if they fell off track, and guide them back toward their goals. Thus, my second value was born: COMMUNITY
Finally, I reflected on what motivated me. Since childhood, I always sought out new experiences and people. My parents still tell stories of my many escapes from the crib. I never wanted to stop playing sports, going to camp, rock climbing, surfing, snowboarding… you name it. As an adult, I love being strong and fit. I love testing my body’s ability, but I also love just sitting in nature. Going for a simple walk outside nourishes my soul. Hence, I aligned all three of my values with this final step: MOVEMENT
And with that, my personal training and health coaching business Stoke Coach was born.
I began creating wellness programs to help others improve their overall health. I started outdoor personal training to reduce the stress and anxiety of a gym. And people began to rediscover their childlike awe, wonder, and playfulness. It’s about helping people find their inner badass from wherever they are starting, something I like to call approachable badassery.
That feeling of being stoked on life, stoked on what your body can do, lifts you up and pushes you out of your comfort zone helping you to reconnect with the joy of movement.
So What is a Stoke Coach you might ask? I create custom fitness and wellness programs that help people get outside, connect more deeply with nature, and find mindfulness, gratitude, and celebration in their lives. I’m an activity partner, helping people to step out of their comfort zone in an approachable way.
I am an adventure concierge identifying goals and pursuits, that people would like to accomplish. My coaching is about having a beginner’s mindset and taking yourself on a journey to mindfully progress, trying new things, and getting uncomfortable because that is where the change happens. That’s where you build confidence and strength in your body and mind to accomplish goals and just, start. Because it all doesn’t happen overnight – it’s a progression.
I help my clients identify where they are in their health journey and where they want to be by bridging that gap. I specialize in creating fun outdoor workouts that help make fitness and getting into nature a priority because moving our bodies is a privilege and a necessity.
By getting back to nature in our fitness routines, we can be more present, feel awe and wonder in our everyday lives and take small approachable steps to be the best and badass version of ourselves.
My “why” is to get outside to move my body and to help people recognize the power of movement, and what their bodies can do to overcome challenges, try new things, and feel strong and confident in their bodies and minds.
I created my business because I found healing peace and confidence in movement, sports, backpacking, and hiking, I sometimes can’t believe the places my body has taken me. I find the STOKE when I accomplish an objective or just try at least – where there is a feeling of excitement and enjoyment that lasts for weeks, months, years – of I can’t believe I did that or tried to do that. And that’s what perpetuates my fitness mindset – of wanting to continue to do these activities.
I am a supporter of shifts in my client’s lifestyle. When we make feeling good our priority, everything else can flow. To me, fitness is not about how you look. It’s about becoming stronger than you were yesterday.’ Healthy to me is when all of the parts of your life can coexist in a harmonious manner. Healthy living isn’t just food and exercise; that’s only part of it.
I am based in beautiful Park City, where we have access to world-class outdoor spaces. I meet my clients on the trail, at a lake, park, on the slopes, or anywhere that’s convenient for them. BUT, I also work with clients remotely creating programs for winter sports conditioning, surfing, hiking, upcoming travel, or how to live well during their daily lives by researching trails and activities in hometowns and places they’re traveling to. I’m currently creating an online program that will take clients through the many dimensions of wellness that will have physical fitness components and mindset activities in correlation with each wellness dimension.
I’m also deep into my yoga teacher training course that will help create new shifts in my coaching and help my clients connect even more with the joy of movement and finding flow in the present moment
I’m with my clients every step of the way on their journey. I can’t promise it won’t be challenging at times, but I can promise I’ll have your back. Everything I do is bespoke with custom packages of 11 sessions, 3 months, or 6 months. I find that committing to an extended program helps people stay on track and invest in themselves.
I’m most proud of Stoke Coach for really helping people take their health to the next level, be it their fitness and strength or just finding an hour or two for themselves to just be.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
I’ve found the most effective strategy for growing my clientele is being my true authentic self and strategically placing my narrative in different side hustles. For example, I do some freelance writing for the Park City Chamber of Commerce (plus other publications) and the articles I write are mostly based on wellness and outdoor activities, and in my bio, I share about being a Stoke Coach, and how I can help create custom outdoor fitness experience for people visiting the area. Another example is being involved in a local women’s business networking group where I get to meet up with incredible women in the community. I try to seek out these opportunities to have authentic connections with people that really show my passion and joy for movement, nature, and outdoor pursuits.
I think one of the things that I really struggle with is comparing myself to other trainers who have similar ideologies as me and (I feel) sometimes do a better job at expressing what I am feeling and what I am doing. I find once I silence that noise in my head and tell myself there is plenty of space for all of us and that it shouldn’t be about comparison but collaboration, and lifting each other up, I can truly focus on my self, my work, and silencing the negativity by leaning into my true authentic self and what I want to give to others so they can be the best version of themselves.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
I think a story that illustrates my resilience is entering into motherhood and showing up for my daughter but also wanting to continue to create this business I’ve been building around health and wellness.
Becoming a mother is HARD – it’s physically and emotionally demanding, confusing, and damn right frustrating sometimes. Our culture is all about bouncing back physically and emotionally with articles that tout exercises to get your body back, our society only giving moms 6 months to spend with their baby until they are requested back at work, the shame around not wanting to sacrifice your own self-care for spending time with your child, the list really goes on.
At the time I am writing this, my daughter is 18 months old, and I just read something that said this is the age where moms finally feel they are physically back to their “old selves” and it’s not till their child is 2 years old where you feel mentally and physically back together. I mean I believe it. It’s been hard looking in the mirror and not wanting my old body back. It’s what is expected of me – or what I expect of myself. But I’ve really tried to lean into it as a progression, knowing that I am someone who loves to be active, who loves to play sports, and pursue outdoor activities, thinking about how amazing the body is for birthing another human and all the tiny movements it does on a daily basis to keep me alive and breathing this beautiful air. A couple of months after giving birth, when I looked at my body and felt discouraged that it was taking so long to “bounce back” I tried to give myself grace and self-love and coached myself on the beginner’s mindset and progression of starting small knowing I would get to do all the things I loved to do again because of my fortitude, resilience, and determination to snowboard, mountain bike, and be able to carry my daughter on my back when we hiked. I will be stronger mentally and physically for this experience. I will learn to surrender, let go of outcomes, and be present in the moment, because when I do not surrender to the present moment that is when all my expectations of what I could be doing, should be doing, what I should look like make me feel unsatisfied with myself. My daughter is amazing – she’s so joyful and I truly try to lean into that, but when she is being a typical toddler it throws me off and I need to lean into my mental practice.
The resiliency of being a mother is something that I am taking into my business, how to roll with the punches, lean into the present moment, surrender to what is happening, and to let go of my expectations. If I expect a client session to go a certain way and the client shows up hurt or in a bad mood, or the weather decides not to be ideal I need to flow like water and pivot and just react to the situation that has been thrown my way. This is all about mental mindset, and I can feel the calm in my body when I let things go, I am not as tense or stressed, and that helps aid in my own physical fitness practice.
Contact Info:
Website: www.stokecoach.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stoke_coach/
I’m excited to announce the upcoming launch of an online community centered around fitness, wellness, nature, creativity, and stoke. Within this community, I will be hosting remote coaching courses that cater to various interests and goals. These courses include a winter conditioning program, a surf conditioning program, and a comprehensive wellness coaching program. The latter will focus on the nine dimensions of wellness and guide participants on the path to happiness, health, and strength. If you’re intrigued by what I have to offer, I invite you to sign up for my newsletter, follow me on Instagram @stoke_coach, or reach out to me personally via email [rachel @ stokecoach.com. Let’s embark on this inspiring journey together!