Meet Our Kettle Coaches: Liz

Sick of the Chicago weather and in need of a serious change, four years ago, Liz Din and her boyfriend, Conor, moved to Seattle. Prior to relocating to the Pacific Northwest, Din worked as a graphic designer for ten years before realizing that along with a location change, she wanted to make a career change.

Although Din has been with Seattle Kettlebell Club (SKC) for about two years, when she met the club’s owner through classes he used to teach in the park, fitness and competitive sport has been a big part of Din’s life for some time now.  Back in Chicago, she competed in roller derby for four years.

“When I tried out, it was the most mentally and physically challenging thing I had ever done,” Din said.

Although Din loves roller derby, for it helped her define herself as an athlete, the sport is notoriously dangerous and has a high injury rate. While she no longer competes in roller derby, Din has not hung up skates for good. Last winter, she practiced with Seattle’s Team Lightning speed skating team.

When she is not teaching GAP and Sport classes at SKC or training clients at Sync Fitness in Queen Anne, Din still does some freelance graphic design work. She also enjoys hiking, which is another reason she moved to Washington.

Din recalls that when she first started training at SKC, like all beginners, she faced many of the same insecurities that people new to kettlebell training face. 

“I felt much uncoordinated at first, but you keep practicing and figure out how your body moves,” Din said.

Her favorite parts of her are job are working with clients and seeing them progress. She is also pleased to see people compete when they never even considered it as an option.  

“We always joke that we’re a rag tag group of weirdos,” Din said.

Along with helping others on their physical journeys, Din is also competing in the 2017 Seattle Kettlebell Pro-Am Competition on Dec. 9.  She claims that when she first joined the SKC team, she was not sure if she wanted to compete, but she deeply missed the competitive environment that roller derby brought. However, Din would like to note that she loves competition as a way to challenge herself.

“When you’re competing, you’re not against other people. You’re definitely trying to improve your last lift,” Din said.

Overall, Din’s time at SKC has clearly been a positive one. She loves helping others improve, and being part of such an amazing team where the members and employees can relate to her struggles.

“I love watching other succeed, and remembering what it is like to be new to fitness” Din said. Being there to be their cheerleader is always my biggest drive."

For Liz’s class schedule or the club’s complete schedule in general, visit www.seattlekettlebellclub.com/calendar. 

-Camille Borodey