Trainers

March Trainer of the Month - Jeremiah Spires

Meet Jeremiah Spires, MUSC Wellness Center Trainer of the Month for April.

Jeremiah is originally from Hilton Head, South Carolina, where his personal fitness journey began in 2008. By age 20, he’d started his own business, “Jeremiah’s Personal Coaching LLC.” This is when he first started working as a personal trainer.  

He attended the Technical College of the Lowcountry several years later, where he earned his Associate of Applied Science in General Business while continuing to grow his personal brand in his local community. After working in Hilton Head for several years, he moved to Boston, Massachusetts, in late 2018, where he managed and directed personal training at a Boston sports club facility. He recently moved to Charleston in 2020, and his official start date is March 1 at the Wellness Center! 

He has experience working with clients of all ages and abilities through his business. He’s a certified Personal Trainer, Nutritional Advisor, and Sports Conditioning Coach under the American Fitness Professionals and Associates (AFPA). He is also certified in several Pilates techniques with the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA).  

Jeremiah focuses on helping his clients set attainable goals they can reach at a comfortable pace while also challenging their bodies to reach their full potential.  

He has experience working in senior fitness, after-school programs, trigger-point therapy, and much more. He’s an experienced professional fitness coach, sports conditioning specialist, and senior fitness advisor.  

When he’s not changing lives through fitness, Jeremiah considers himself an avid outdoorsman. Pickleball, hiking, water recreation and living his life with his toes in the sand is how Jeremiah approaches his downtime. He considers spirituality as the sand upon which we travel and incorporates it into every fiber of his life.  

 

MUSC Personal Trainers

 

Alicia O'Connor

The center’s Director of Personal Training and exercise physiologist has over 25 years of experience in all areas of personal fitness and wellness training.  She specializes in helping people stay injury free and pain free while improving fitness and lifestyle habits. She loves working with post-rehab and disease management.  Alicia is an athlete spending many hours on the ski slopes the past 20 years as a professional ski instructor. She also surfs, hikes, and stays active as she “walks the walk”!

James Johnson

Voted #1 Personal Trainer in Charleston, James has been a personal and group exercise trainer at the Wellness Center for two decades. James designs, implements, and teaches group exercise programs and The Next Wave Performance studio training sessions. 

Chris-Ann B. Streeter

 

Education:

M.S. in Sports Management Military.

 

Specialist certified trainer with 28 years of personal training and group exercise experience. Focuses on strength and conditioning training, weight training, compound exercise training, strengthening with Band exercises, interval training, functional training, one-on-one training and group exercise (Bootcamp, HIIT, and Core). "My clientele's experience ranges from ages of middle school to late 70's". Chris-Ann worked with CADETS at Virginia Military Institute (VMI) training for RAT line, worked as Supervisor of Military fitness facility at VMI, and trained Marines and families. 

Training Motto: "I believe living a healthy lifestyle is a mindset; Find the workouts you enjoy and push yourself to keep moving." "It's important to me to listen to the needs and goals of my clients first and find the best plan that meets their fitness lifestyle". 

Brooke Sease  

Education: Southern Methodist University

Certifications:

Athletics & Fitness Association of America (AFAA) Certified Personal Trainer. Rock Steady Boxing Certified Trainer.

Training Motto: Live a better life through exercise.

Cindi Day 

Education: Fitness Specialist Certification, ACE Certified Personal Trainer, IFTA Certified Group Fitness Instructor, Rock Steady Boxing Certified Trainer, 200 hour YTT. 

Training Motto: "If my mind can conceive it, and my heart can believe it, then I can achieve it" - Muhammad Ali.

 

Galen Bennett

Education: B.S. Kinesiology: Exercise and Sport Science from Coastal Carolina University, ACSM Certified Personal Trainer, Youth fitness instructor at the Charleston Air Force Base Youth Center. 

Training Motto: Do something today that your future self will thank you for.

 

David Ruef 

Education: Over 10 years of experience helping a wide variety of clients meet their health & fitness goals: Stuck in a rut of the same exercises and want to move to the next level? Ready to work with a successful certified behavioral coach on a healthy weight management plan? Want to get stronger, more mobile, improve a nagging injury? Certifications: ACE Personal Trainer; Medical Exercise Specialist, Behavioral Coaching Specialist, Mature Fitness Training Specialist, Kettlebell Instructor, TRX Training, SCW Pilates Matwork, Integrated Stretching, Functional Movement Screen, etc. Masters degree in Organizational Psychology.

Training Motto: Success = Assessment, Goals, Customized Strategy, Expertise, Effort, Enjoyment and Partnership.

  

Sheila Dawson

Education: B.S. Nutrition Science, University of New Hampshire; Certified Personal Trainer - NASM; More than 20 years of Industry experience. Life-long fitness/wellness enthusiast and former competitive runner; Focus on corrective exercise, while delivering a creative approach for optimal results. I put my personal beliefs into practice and encourage others to do the same to achieve their goals.

Training Motto: Focus on overall Well-being, including mind, body and spirit. As your Fitness Coach, I provide the tools you need to generate results for the rest of your life.

Jeremiah Spires

Education: Certified Personal Trainer, Nutritional Advisor, and Sports Conditioning Coach under the American Fitness Professionals and Associates (AFPA).

Jeremiah is also certified in several Pilates techniques with the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA). He has extensive experience working in senior fitness, after-school programs, trigger-point therapy, and much more. He’s an experienced professional fitness coach, sports conditioning specialist, and senior fitness advisor. 

Training Motto: I believe that approaching goals with a positive outlook will heighten your chances of succeeding, and that consistent commitment to health and wellness will drastically change your life in various positive ways. When someone can understand how to approach their fitness as a lifestyle, I believe they’ll be more successful in the long-term of their life.

Sarah Grace Brodmann

Education: Georgia Southern University, Bachelor of Health Science with an emphasis in Human Performance and Fitness Management. 

Training Motto: Training clients and working toward their personal fitness goals. These can include a multitude of things, such as demonstrating proper workout techniques to clients; serving as an instructor for clinical programs, such as Rocksteady Boxing; and assisting clients with body composition tests, to name a few. 

 

 

Deiontre Nixon

 

Education:

B.S. Kinesiology (Charleston Southern University)

 

Certifications:

NASM Certified Personal Trainer

NASM Performance Enhancement Specialist

NASM Certified Sports Nutrition Coach

 

Training Motto: “ Determination, Commitment, Effort and Patience are the foundation for achieving one’s goals/success and experiencing the process makes the results more rewarding.”