120. Bree Branker, NYC Trainer & Fitness Model
Ali on the Run Show
Ali Feller
4.9 • 3.7K Ratings
🗓️ 21 February 2019
⏱️ 70 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
"I said I want to be the best. But at what?" —Bree Branker
Baby Bree Branker dreamed about growing up and becoming a professional dancer. By 19, after attending a performing arts high school, she'd made that happen, as a Rockette and on Broadway in West Side Story, Spamalot, Memphis, and Big Fish. But by her early twenties, everything changed. Bree finally accepted the nagging hip dysplasia that had been plaguing her body for years — even getting her fired from her dream job at Cirque du Soleil — and found fitness instead. On this episode, Bree, now one of New York City's top trainers and a Wilhelmina model, opens up about the mental side of injury, the state of the fitness industry, and what it's like navigating the New York City boutique fitness scene. She talks about her Instagram pet peeves, luck, determination, a cross-country move, and why she was "a terrible Rockette." Plus, she shares why she got turned down for a SoulCycle audition, what terrified her as a Flywheel instructor, and why she's currently training for a half marathon.
Thank you to AfterShokz for sponsoring this episode of the Ali on the Run Show! CLICK HERE for $50 off your wireless headphone endurance bundle!
What you’ll get on this episode:
- Bree’s road to becoming a professional dancer (2:45)
- Why Bree got fired from her dream job at Cirque du Soleil, and the injury that ended her dance career (14:15)
- How Bree finally hit her dance career-ending breaking point (26:50)
- How Bree broke into the fitness industry (28:00)
- Bree’s take on the current state of the fitness industry, on Instagram and in real life (38:15)
- Why Bree felt like a fraud in the fitness world, and the a-ha moment that made her realize she’d made it (42:00)
- How Bree got into modeling — and met her now-fiance along the way (47:30)
- How and why Bree learned to “chill out” about fitness (51:30)
- Why Bree is training for a half marathon (59:30)
What we mention on this episode:
University of North Carolina School of the Arts
"Influence vs. Expertise: The Dangerous Rise of the Fitness Influencer" via The Sweat Life
"An Injury Left Me in a Dark Place — Until Working Out Got Me Out of It" via Women’s Health
FitOn app (use code BREE50 for 50% off)
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This episode of The Alley on the Run Show is brought to you by Aftershocks. |
| 0:08.2 | Welcome to The Alley on the Run Show. |
| 0:10.6 | I'm Allie Feller and every week I talk with inspiring men and women who lead |
| 0:14.9 | interesting lives on the run and beyond. |
| 0:17.9 | And while running is what brings us all together, on these episodes I'm looking for more. |
| 0:22.7 | So join me every Thursday to learn about the decisions people have made to get where they are today, |
| 0:27.4 | the good ones and the bad ones, and how getting sweaty has factored in. |
| 0:32.2 | My guest today is Bree Brinker. I know I say this every week, but this may be one of my all-time |
| 0:37.7 | favorite episodes. Here's why. Bree is a trainer in New York City. She's a model and she's a former |
| 0:43.2 | professional dancer. And this chick is no BS. You're going to love how honest she is on this episode. |
| 0:49.7 | Particularly when we get into the current state of the fitness industry, |
| 0:53.4 | her Instagram pet peeves and why she insisted on getting certified instead of just being a fitness |
| 0:59.0 | personality. We talk about the persistent injury that ended her booming dance career. She was a |
| 1:04.4 | rocket. She was on Broadway and she landed her dream job in Cirque du Soleil, but was fired because |
| 1:10.4 | her body was breaking down and as she explains she was in denial about it. So if you've ever faced |
| 1:16.4 | or denied a major injury, there's lots in here to cling to. And of course we talk about big picture |
| 1:22.1 | stuff, regrets, life-changing decisions, cross-country moves, breaking off an engagement, deciding to wait |
| 1:28.5 | until marriage to have sex. Bree is a breath of fresh and funky air and I'm obsessed with her. |
| 1:34.0 | You will be too, so let's do this. |
| 1:41.9 | Bree, welcome to the Alley on the Run Show. I'm so excited to be sitting here with you today. |
| 1:46.7 | We have a lot to cover. Yes, let's jump right in. Let's do it. I have to imagine you start your |
| 1:51.1 | classes the same way that we start the Alley on the Run Show with a warm-up, right? Always. |
... |
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