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

Hi Mary, career-wise, where do you want to be in the end?
I am so fortunate to absolutely love what I do in my field. I am past retirement age, but helping people become stronger, more independent and moving well improves their quality of life, and is so rewarding for me.

What should our readers know about your business?
My Bachelors Degree is in Nursing. I practiced until I received a diagnosis of Stage 4 cancer in 1999. I had young children I did not want to leave without a mother. My treatments left me thin, weak and in a wheelchair. However, I did not want my diagnosis to determine my destiny. I began studying all I could on science-based lifestyle habits that promote wellness and vitality. In the process I eventually obtained numerous certifications to effectively train adults-over-50 on land or in a pool setting, depending on their preference. Although I have been training Active Aging Adults over 30 years, I am a lifelong learner in this field. I have learned that age is just a number, it’s our lifestyle habits that will determine our quality of life as an Active Aging Adult. I am most excited to empower other people with illnesses or injuries to gain greater control over their health and wellness.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We would take a tour of Sedona and the Grand Canyon-who doesn’t love to be blown away by how gorgeous the areas are and the history of the areas! Superstition Mountain Museum is wonderful, if my friends were interested in fishing there are so many spots to choose from. The Meteor Crater is fascinating! Food and drink opportunities abound in this area. For Italian we would go to Bottega Pizzeria Ristorante in Glendale. For steaks we would head to The Stockyards Restaurant & 1889 Saloon-amazing food! We love Chico Malo for great Mexican food in Phoenix. For brews too numerous to begin to mention we found the Cactus Taproom in Peoria as a favorite unwind spot close to home!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have two shoutouts. The first is to Gray Institute’s curriculum on Functional Science. This helped me look beyond the background I had from my nursing education and look at how the body moves from the ground up. What happens in the foot impacts the neck.

Secondly, I owe a huge shoutout to Tyler Valencia, President of KIPS and Time2Train fitness. Tyler has assisted me with the transition to utilizing a virtual platform to train clients at a distance. He also is an amazing coach for effectively building brand and utilizing social media to expand my reach. This has been so critical since I moved to Arizona just 4 months ago.

Website: www.restoration-fitness.com

Instagram: @ restorationfitnes

Facebook: @RestorationFitness4U

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UC-m_klGATlyRp7Ks_rgsDZA

Image Credits
Tyler Valencia, President, KIPS and Time2TrainFitness

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutArizona is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.