Meet Kathy Donatto | Animal Flow Master Instructor/PaddleFit Instructor/Fitness Professional

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kathy Donatto and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kathy, have there been any changes in how you think about work-life balance?
I’ve been in the fitness industry for over 25 yrs and I have definitely seen a shift in my work life balance throughout the years. During the beginning of my career, I was a fitness competitor. Practically every breathe I took was either about my clients success in fitness and my training for competitions. My life was built around my meal times. Therefore my social life was limited.

Then I started changing my priorities when my best friends son was born. I, and others, helped during the diaper and toddler years and beyond. I stayed active, but I allowed myself to loosen up my schedule to incorporate social activities with friends and clients.

Then Animal Flow came in the picture. This was a new practice that I had was fortune to see and partake in the beginning of this now global company. I was also running a fitness studio on top of my own clientele. As my life shows, there are times when my career goes full throttle and I love it. But during this time I realized I was working over 14 hrs a day. It began to wear me down a bit.

So this is when I shifted and added water sports to my fitness “menu”. I became a certified PaddleFit instructor and an assistant coach to a paddle board racing team. Mentally spending time on the water brought calm and peace to my hectic life.

With Animal Flow and PaddleFit I could offer the best of ground and water training.
Also weight training, kettlebell, steel mace, club bells, and a variety of recovery techniques.

Now in my 50’s, I moved near family and balancing a successful work life and a much needed family/social life is still a struggle. But I’m happier with where I am. I will never stop working on educating myself but I have learned to put just as much value in taking time for myself, family and friends.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I am in the fitness industry. I started over 25 yrs ago. I was introduced to a group of fitness professionals that competed in the Tri-Fit Competition. I couldn’t afford a trainer at the time, so through the guidance of my coach/mentor, Sylvia Ferrero, and my own studies, I changed my physique and placed 3rd in physique in my first competition. People were amazed with my progress and asked me to help them. I became certified and that is how my journey started.

My success started when I worked for a personal training facility as contract labor. The business closed and I had a great base of clients that followed me. From then on I was extremely fortunate because all of my business was word of mouth. I worked hard to help my clients live a better life, get ready for big events, and/or to help them in their older years move and have strength to live the life they wanted.

Education is key to a successful fitness career. I found that I was drawn courses for
recovery and muscle tissue work for about a decade. I sprinkled in Kettlebell, steel mace, and of course weight training courses as well. But I focus on the older population, pregnancies, and knee and lower back challenges.

I became an educator myself. I am an Animal Flow Master Instructor. I never thought that I would enjoy teaching workshops as much as I do. Sharing a practice that I believe will help the general’s population to the elite athlete fills my soul. It’s a 2 day 14 hour workshop that I wish was longer.

I added the PaddleFit Core certification to my tool box of fitness. I first started out on a racing team and teaching indoor Stand Up Paddle classes. Now I have the obtain to take my boards out and train my clients on the water. Having them perform calisthenics and sprint paddles on the boards.

My journey has had a lot of smooth transitions, but the lock down made it difficult. I took whatever fitness jobs came to me. I taught a classes in a pool deck of a condo building with a camera and mic on me so that the tenants could still move and get in a good workout. I took more people out in the water for a PaddleFit workout. I also switched to online training. Today the majority of my business is online because of that time.

A lot of my clients thank me for seeing where they are that day. I can tell how they interact and move at the beginning of the session if I can push them or if they need a bit more recovery work. So I don’t just listen to them, I acknowledge what their bodies are telling me. Some of my clients have been with me for 10-15 yrs. They are strong and are able to move freely to live their lives the way they want to.

My best advice is to try different things. If it doesn’t speak to you move on. And most importantly, the company you keep should be positive, supportive, and inspiring.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I live in Anthem, about 35 minutes north of downtown Phoenix. Living in Anthem, I try to support the local businesses. Actually wherever I travel, I do the same. Here there is a taco food truck with fresh ingredients and polite service called Tacos La Katrina. For a delicious burger, I get it lettuce wrapped, go to Tru Burger. For Greek food, Mr. Gyros is the place to go. If you want to watch sports with a healthy menu, you can always get the typical bar food as well, head to Legends. For donuts, Sweet Hearts is it. Amped is a great place to work while enjoying their coffee and other drinks and eats. But at night it comes to life with live music, line dancing classes, or just a chill place to hang with friends. The Bearded Barber is a speak easy that serves cocktails late into the night.
For some excitement, the North Valley Escape Room is for you. Also ISwing indoor golf is a great way to get out of the 100 degree temperatures of the desert.

Anthem also has great hiking at Daisy Mountain. It’s a short drive to Montezuma Castle, Montezuma Spring, Prescott and The beautiful red rocks of Sedona.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people that have touched my life throughout the years. But I’ll stick to those in my fitness career.

Sylvia Ferrero was my first mentor and coach. She is the reason that I’m in the fitness world. She pushed me to my limits to do my best in a 2 day competition for a few years. She encouraged me to read books like The Mind Gym as part of my training. It wasn’t just about the body. If you can’t focus then we can’t be at our best.

Mike Fitch and Karen Mahar are a huge part of my life. The took me in to become the first group of Master Instructors for their Animal Flow practice that is Global. Mike mentored me, crating the presenter I am today. I am forever grateful.

My friend Melina, has a way of bringing things out of you that you never knew you had. Because of her I was on her paddle board race team, became an assistant coach, then I became a PaddleFit instructor bringing more people into the paddle board world.

My brother, Terry Donatto, is a huge supporter of mine. He encourages me to do what’s best for me. He is my inspiration because of the hurdles that he has had to go through as an entrepreneur. And he still pushes through with a positive spirit.

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Image Credits
Animal Flow