Life & Work with Eleanor Wiersma of San Diego

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eleanor Wiersma.

Hi Eleanor, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! My name is Ellie, I am 28 years old, and I am originally from Olney, Maryland. I have been an active person my whole life. When I was young, my parents put me into a gymnastics class after they found me constantly climbing all over the furniture. Quickly, I fell in love with the sport. The intensity of the sport grew my discipline. It made me constantly challenge myself. The sport showed me that hard work paid off. It wasn’t just physically tough though…there was a whole other ballgame when it come to the mental fortitude of gymnastics. Growing up was hard – I was trying to be the best I could at the sport I dreamed of doing in college. 32 hours of practice a week, catching up on school work, trying to make friends with a non existent social life…and then my mother was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer when I was 12. I have two younger siblings, so I felt the need to step up and be there for my family at such a young age. It was hard. Sometimes I didn’t feel like I was doing enough; at home, at school, at the gym. It all stacked up.

I planned on competing gymnastics in college. As injuries crept into crucial parts of my college athlete journey, that dream of getting a scholarship quickly faded away. I struggled mentally. I feel like I put in all of this hard work for that final destination that I just never got to. Feeling lost, I turned to find something to give me that spark of life and a sense of purpose. I became a member at my local fire department, and my senior year of high school I completed the state EMT program. I spent that summer after high school volunteering many hours on the ambulance. When I went to college in Arizona I decided to stay active as an EMT on campus. Junior year of college I found a fire district just north of the border down in Sonoita, Arizona, and I became an active volunteer with that department. They sponsored me through a Fire Academy Program and by my second semester senior year I was picked up by a fire department in Arizona where I spent 2 years working as a firefighter/EMT, and bought my first home when I was 21 years old.

Arizona was never going to be my permanent home. Growing up by the coast, I always craved being back by the ocean. I had visited San Diego a handful of times in college and knew this was going to be the place I called home. Finding myself struggling on that purpose of life again, I switched career paths from fire to fitness. Fitness is something I’ve been involved with since I was a gymnast, so I was eager to learn more. The gym was that place I could go and my brain would turn off. All the noise, all the chaos, would quiet. The gym is where I got to see all that hard work pay off. The gym is where I could show up for myself time and time again. It helped me rebuild myself; it still does. My goal is to keep empowering people to show up for themselves and witness their growth—not just in the gym, but in every aspect of their lives. I know what fitness has done for me, so why not do that for others?

I felt the draw to group fitness, because I felt like that outcast kid. The kid that would get picked last for elementary kickball or eat lunch in the bathroom. Group fitness can be beautiful because it’s inclusive. It is a place to show up for yourself, but it is also a place to connect with like minded people. Our society needs more connecting because connecting is healing. So bringing people together to workout, let loose, work hard, but also have fun…it’s my jam!

I started my fitness career at Orangetheory in Arizona. I decided in April 2021 to sell my house and live my dream of moving to San Diego. I coached at the Orangetheory’s here in San Diego for 2 and a half years full time. I wanted to challenge myself and move into more strength and conditioning based programming and I found the perfect gym through a friend: Performance 360. I started out as a full time coach in June 2023. The relationships I have made in that gym, make my heart sing. I’m passionate about showing people that they are stronger than they think. All it takes is a little confidence, a “you got this” and before you know it they are lifting and doing more than they thought they ever could. I became general manager of the Pacific Beach location in January of 2024, and now I am the operations manager of our headquarter locations overseeing Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, and Bay Park.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I feel like I’ve lived a lot of lives. Through the tough times I’ve had, the things I’ve seen, things I’ve been through…it’s an overwhelming amount for someone who is only 28.
I am hard on myself. I really do want to be the best person I can be and I hold myself to a high standard. But sometimes I let my negative self talk eat me rather than fuel me. I think a lot of people struggle with that sometimes.

The challenges and obstacles are endless, but I have learned lessons from every single one of them. I am so proud of the person I’ve become, and it’s those experiences (both positive and negative) that shaped who I am today.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am the operations manager and full time coach at Performance 360. I work for our headquarter locations (we have franchised locations as well all over San Diego). I oversee Bay Park, Ocean Beach, and Pacific Beach.

I am known for having a lot of energy, especially early in the morning (which is so funny because growing up my parents really had a hard time getting me up before 8am).

I coach 18 classes every week. My first class is at 5am. People are usually waking up at 4:55am to be at the gym at 4:59am so they are asleep for the most part, and its my speciality to be dancing and hyping everyone up- my members know I love to dance!

Other than being energetic, I am known for making class personal for every single member, and remembering names. Like I said at the beginning, my goal getting into group fitness was to make everyone feel included. I want every single person in class to feel seen, and feel like they matter.

I am most proud of being apart of a special community that takes care of one another. I’m also very proud of our coaches we have, who are incredibly talented and passionate as well.

Do you any memories from childhood that you can share with us?
My favorite childhood memory was going to sleepaway gymnastics camp. It was called International Gymnastics Camp, aka “IGC,” and I made MANY amazing friends and memories at that place. I went for 8 summers!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://perform-360.com/