Our Team
sammy jo
Sammy Jo fell in love with group exercise when she joined a gym after her daughter was born. After being encouraged by the gym owner to take her exercise to music qualification she never looked back. She started working for Embrace in 2016 and immediately fell in love with what Embrace meant to the community. After working for the company for 5 years an exciting opportunity arose, she was offered to buy the business and become the owner and jumped at the chance.
Sammy Jo believes passionately that exercise should be available, affordable and fun for everyone. Totally inclusive and free from judgement. Body positivity is something she champion’s, encouraging people to feel comfortable in their own skin is hugely important to her.
She loves to see people progressing and challenging themselves in class but most importantly loves to see them smiling when they leave.
As you may have guessed from Sammy Jo’s pic she is great lover of the sea and is also a paddle board instructor.
Sammy Jo is a Level 2 Exercise to Music instructor, 300 hour level 1 yoga, pre and postnatal yoga and also trained in Clubbercise, Pound and Veraflow. She teaches Clubbercise, and strong girls club in the studio and also runs in school dance and PE sessions with local primary schools.
eloise
Eloise has enjoyed dance, theatre and performing her whole life. After studying Theatre and Performance at Falmouth University she began her professional career performing and travelling with an established Cornish theatre company. She has also co-captained her University Cheerleading Team, attending national competitions all over the country. Since then, Eloise has taught Musical Theatre to children, and leapt at the chance to work at Embrace teaching dance and cheerleading.
Eloise’s teaching style focuses on having fun and building confidence, as she believes learning through play and imagination is the best way to learn! She aims to create a supportive, kind environment where children can grow their skills and feel proud of what they achieve.
Eloise is part of children’s team.
elisabeth
Elisabeth is a native of Washington D.C., and began dancing at a young age. Her passion for Ballet, Jazz and Modern dance led her to pursue a career in fitness, becoming a Personal Trainer and Group Fitness Instructor in 2005. Her favourite classes to teach are LBT, Pilates, Cardio Kickboxing, Barre, Stretch, Total Body Conditioning and Pre-/Post-Natal fitness.
You can often find Elisabeth at Gylly Beach, training groups of mamas and their little ones in what has become a lovely Buggy Burn community of friendship and support.
Elisabeth also studied Romance Languages and Literatures in Spain and Italy and now finds herself in Cornwall, lured here by the love of a good man.
amy
Amy is 24 years old and started teaching when she was 16 years old. Amy qualified as a Zumba instructor on her 16th birthday and would teach after school Zumba classes to her teachers. She is qualified as a level 2 fitness instructor and also has her Exercise to music, an A level in human biology and a Double Btec in Exercise, Sport and Nutrition.
Amy went on to teach in Greece for Mark Warner in 2017 and worked at Merchants Manor in Falmouth covering classes for other local instructors.
Amy has taught a range of classes from stretching / calming, to ab attack, legs bums & tums, Zumba, low impact dance & aqua fit. Amy has experience in teaching ages from 16 - 80 years old and is able to adapt exercises/moves to make her classes super inclusive and fun for all.
Amy recently qualified as a Clubbercise Instructor and so excited to be teaching Clubbercise in Stithians. Being able to create a fun, friendly environment is her favourite part about being an instructor.
”Classes for me aren’t just about the exercise. It’s about meeting friends, smiling, laughing and forgetting about your worries. It’s about making people feel epic, safe, comfortable and absolutely capable of achieving anything they set their minds to.”
Amy teaches Clubbercise in Stithians Centre and dance at the young women’s group in the Dracaena centre.
joanne
Joanne comes from a theatre performance background; training at Bretton Hall and the London Centre for Theatre Studies. She has been teaching theatre performance since 1999 and was first introduced to Pilates way back in ‘92. Joanne has always enjoyed using Pilates methods to support her performance practice and teaching, and she later found Pilates to be invaluable throughout her twin pregnancy and postnatal recovery.
With a teaching style that is calm and focused, Joanne's classes are accessible with a balance of challenging and restorative exercises. She has an awareness of individual responses to movement and allows time for personal attention and explanation. In addition to group classes, Joanne is qualified to teach Mama’s Pilates for pregnancy and postnatal recovery and Better-Bones for osteoporosis. She is also available for 1:1s.
Joanne teaches Pilates at Kea Community Hall in Playing Place, Tremayne Hall in Mylor Bridge and Stithians centre. Joanne is also available for Pilates 1 to 1’s.
jess
Jess started her fitness journey by training to be a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Gradually adding to her qualifications over 10 years with group exercise, Les Mills BodyCombat, gym based exercise, personal training and is now a qualified Physical Therapist.
Jess’ true passion in fitness is Martial Arts based exercise and training. She feels benefits and the wellbeing within herself when teaching it because her class participants really let go, punch some air and smile.
Jess’ classes concentrate on all fitness levels offering high and low intensity options of mixed Martial Arts and fitness! She will work you hard but you will certainly reap the benefits and box to some banging tunes.
Jess teaches Drum n Blitz in the studio.
stacy
Stacy our Studio Manager, started as an Embrace member a few years back and absolutely loves all our classes. She jumped at the opportunity to work here too!
Stacy is here to help you with any Embrace membership questions, class queries or anything you need support with.
Since working here at Embrace, life has totally changed for Stacy as she got the bug for teaching fitness! She is now a trained yoga teacher (300 hours) and qualified as a level 1 and 2 cheerleading coach.
Stacy is head coach of our Cheerleading Team The Shooting Stars and teaches Yoga in our studio. Also runs a Chair Yoga class in Tremayne Hall, Mylor Bridge .
shakira
Shakira started at Embrace over 6 years ago with the focus to improve her fitness & well-being, as these improved her weight dropped and confidence grew. Embrace very quickly become a big part of Shakira’s life!
“I made great friends and it became about more than just exercise, this was becoming a lifestyle.
Fast forward 6 years and I was encouraged to take my exercise to music qualification & since have qualified in GetLow a programme by The Jungle Body, Beatz & Glow Beatz.
I can't wait to start teaching and I want to see all of your beautiful faces there!
This is a new chapter for me, so if you're thinking of joining us at Embrace, why not start your journey with me, we can take on the challenges together. I would love to see you there
We are going to have great fun! LET'S DO THIS!!!”
Shakira teaches Beatz in the studio and low impact dance in Tremayne Hall, Mylor Bridge.
jeni
Jeni started attending classes with Embrace a few years ago, with a view to improving her fitness levels. As the classes in the timetable grew, she attended more classes enjoying the variety of styles and the Embrace ethic of FUN. An opportunity arose to qualify in FitSteps, which was the first class she taught with us, shortly after achieving her Exercise to Music qualification.
Jeni has since qualified in Boogie Bounce, Boogie Booty Bands, Konga - The Jungle Body, Veraflow and Soulsa.
Jeni strongly believes that age and ability should never hold you back from exercise. Whatever your age and fitness level, don’t be afraid to book into a class. They should never be a barrier. Your fitness goals can be achieved with belief and determination.
Jeni teaches yoga in the studio.
eve
Eve started her fitness journey in 2000 when she fell in love with "old-school" Aerobics. In 2007 she discovered Zumba and became instantly hooked on the music, energy and atmosphere. It was unlike any fitness class she’d ever attended! The awesome Latin music, the smiles, and the workout! It ignited her passion to do her Level 2 Exercise to Music and then Zumba Instructor training and so she could share her love of dance fitness with others.
Since then Eve has trained in a wide range of fitness disciplines from Body Conditioning and Step Aerobics, through to Combat and Street Dance, but it’s Zumba that’s always been closest to her heart.
Eve's classes are fun, lively and energetic. Seeing people shine and be carefree on the dancefloor is what she loves the most and making sure people to leave with a smile on their face is her absolute focus. She truly believes there is no right or wrong - just move, smile and as the saying goes, "dance like no one's watching"
... and when she’s not dancing you’ll find her with her four legged friends, planting trees or playing her violin.
Eve teaches Zumba and Back to the Old School in the studio. Latin Dance Fitness in Tremayne Hall, Mylor Bridge.
jade
Jade started her career acting professionally in children’s touring theatre after graduating from Bath Spa with a degree in Drama. Having toured the country, performing at theatres and festivals, she decided to settle back in Cornwall after having her son and started teaching 5 years ago. Since then she has taught singing, musical theatre and cheerleading in various primary and theatre schools all over Cornwall, regularly putting on productions for local children to be involved in.
Jade’s teaching style is focused on fun, creativity and imagination. Inspiring children to learn new skills, improving their confidence and making new friends through theatre and movement are at the heart of Jade’s teaching ethos.
Jade is head coach of our Cheerleading teams The Supernovas and The Constellations. She also teaches Drama Club, First Steps Tap and Jazz and Boogie Bambinos.
linzi
Linzi just loves to spread happiness and joy through fitness, helping people to meet others in a fun friendly environment.
“I started at Falmouth Beach Resort Hotel - The Beach Club Gym and Pool back in 1998. I’ve been in and out of fitness in various roles and done lots of various courses and qualification’s from swimming teaching to personal training and dance/group training with my favourite being a Kettlebell specialist.
I’m a mum of 3 (children ages 20/17/12) married to Richard (Taffy) since June 1999 and a proper Cornish Maid, fitness is my keep sane time.”
Linzi teaches our Sunrise classes in the studio