Bios

The Fit Bottomed Girls are a team originally made up of Jennipher Walters and Erin Whitehead. While the pair is sometimes so twin-like it’s scary, they both bring different perspectives to the FBG table. Due to the site’s increasing popularity, Jenn and Erin have expanded the FBG team to include contributing writers, bringing new content and other fun, fresh perspectives to the site. The FBGs pride themselves on being real girls—not gladiators. They understand that health and fitness should be about enjoyable activities and the occasional treat, not about torturous workouts and deprivation.

A Little About the FBGs

Jennipher Walters:  As co-founder of the site, Jenn has several fitness credentials under her belt: She is an ACE-certified personal trainer, lifestyle and weight management coach, and advanced health and fitness specialist, and an AFAA-certified group exercise instructor. Jenn has a journalism degree from the University of Missouri and an MA in health journalism from the University of Minnesota. She has also written for numerous online publications including Shape magazine, Yahoo! Shine, SparkPeople, AOL’s Paw Nation and Diets in Review. In her free time, Jenn can be found challenging her husband to a wicked game of MarioKart on the Wii, chomping on kale, updating her 1960s-decorated home in Kansas City, Mo., doing CrossFit and running with her pup.

Erin Whitehead: Co-founder Erin has years of workout experience and is well versed in fitness news and trends, and brings a normal-gal approach to the mix. Erin has a journalism degree from the University of Kansas and is known for being a total word nerd. Born and raised in Topeka, Kan., Erin has settled in New Jersey after living—and loving—time spent in Lawrence, Kan., and Menlo Park, Calif. When not working out, Erin can be found hanging with her husband, daughter, son and pug. Her fave pastimes include reading and devouring entire seasons of TV shows in just days via Netflix. Be sure to read about all of Erin’s motherhood adventures on Fit Bottomed Mamas!

Tish Merritt: Tish started out as a guest writer for FBG in July 2009 and quickly caught the fitness writing bug, becoming a part of the FBG team. Not only did the FBGs give her the oomph she needed to make her health and fitness a priority (she’s gone from couch potato to marathoner!), they also got her to finally use her journalism degree from the University of Kansas. She currently lives in the Los Angeles area, covering all things West Coast fitness. She also writes regularly on her own blog, Luv and Kiwi.

Credit Heather Durdil

Kristen Seymour: Kristen Seymour is a freelance writer/editor/online media expert living in Gainesville, Fla. She balances her love of Mexican food and white wine with a steady diet of triathlons, volleyball and workout DVDs. She relies on her dogs to get her outside when she’s feeling lazy, and counts on Twitter to motivate her to hit the gym—works like a charm every time. When she’s not here, you can find her covering pets over at Vetstreet, at her personal blog, Jeez-o-petes or writing the occasional article for other outlets like TODAY.com and Specialty Food Magazine.

Contributing Writers

Kelsey Brazelton: Kelsey joined the FBG team in August 2011 as the site’s first intern. She is a self-proclaimed on-again off-again exerciser—usually running. She earned her journalism degree at Northwest Missouri State University. Kelsey has worked in the journalism field for a variety of magazines—including fitness and hopes to bring new newbie insight to the site as she tries everything from Pilates DVDs to P90X2.

Margo Donohue: Margo is the creator of the blog, Brooklyn Fit Chick, which has been noted for its lively tone and unique take on fitness and a healthy lifestyle by top media including Shape and Fitness magazine, and MSN’s FitBie.com. Margo is an AFAA-certified group fitness instructor who teaches several classes per week and has private clientele as a NASM-certified personal trainer in her favorite place in the world—Brooklyn, New York. She earned her degree in Speech-Communications in 1994 from San Jose State University.

Raquel Guss: Raquel joined the FBG team in July of 2011 and is an ACE certified personal trainer. Born and raised on the islands of Hawaii, she loves any sport that keeps her outside or in the water, such as racing Hawaiian canoes and hiking some of O’ahu’s tallest peaks. With graduation on the horizon, she’ll be receiving her Bachelor in Journalism at Northeastern University in Boston.

Kelly Turner: Turner is a Seattle-based ACE certified personal trainer and professional fitness writer. She began writing after becoming frustrated with the confusing and conflicting fitness information in the media and the quick-fix, gimmick-centered focus of the fitness industry itself. Her no-nonsense, practical advice has been featured on DietsInReview.com, FitnessMagazine.com, Yahoo! Shine, and she has a regular fitness column in The Seattle Times. Kelly also has her own blog at www.kellyturnerfitness.com.

Currently, FBG is not looking to expand its team. If this changes, we’ll be sure to let you know!  

Memberships

FBG is committed to bringing a level of professionalism to the blogging world (hey, it doesn’t mean you still can’t have a great time!) and is therefore a member of the Media Bloggers Association.