Diana Chaloux
INTERVIEW WITH DIANA:
My name is Diana Chaloux – LaCerte, I’m a WBFF Pro Diva Fitness Model, certified personal trainer and co-owner of Hitch Fit Gym based in Kansas City, Missouri as well as Hitch Fit Online Personal Training, which I run with my husband (just married in July 2011!) WBFF Pro Muscle Model Micah LaCerte. My passions in life are my faith, my family and fitness. I believe beyond a shadow of a doubt that God placed me on earth to be a part of this industry and to do my best to aid others in achieving their fitness goals and leading a fit and healthy lifestyle.
I’m originally from the beautiful state of Vermont. I was born and raised there in a small town called St. Johnsbury with my mom and dad and two sisters. I was always active as a kid, I loved being outdoors and I loved playing sports. I discovered the gym at the young age of 14, while in high school I was dating a boy who was on the football team, they got up early in the mornings to train and he asked if I would want to come along. I thought it sounded like fun, and so the beginning of my days as a “gym rat” began! At that point in time, I didn’t know exactly what I was doing, but I knew that I loved how strong I felt, I loved the confidence that I attained from working out, and it definitely made me stronger and able to perform better in my sports.
Years later, I graduated from college with a degree in business. I didn’t know what I wanted to do, and began working a 9-5 office job. I have to say I was MISERABLE. I hated sitting at a desk all day. I gained weight due to poor eating habits and I just was so unhappy, I knew I had to make a change, and I knew I had to figure out what I was passionate about in life if I was ever to wake up happy every day. My one joy was working out. I will never forget the day where I had my “aha” moment of what I wanted to do with my life, I was on an elliptical machine at a Golds Gym in Manchester, NH and suddenly it occurred to me that THIS was where I enjoyed being, and wanted to be day in and day out. I talked to a couple of the personal trainers there about what I had to do to become certified and start a whole new career. I was finally excited about pursuing something new!
Shortly after this epiphany I moved to Park City, Utah. Goal #1 was to find a job at a gym and get my personal trainer certification. I achieved both those things within my first 6 months of residing there. I loved working at the gym, I would stay longer than I needed to and just had such a great time in that environment. I couldn’t learn enough about this new occupation that I had learned to love! I had earned two nationally recognized training certifications, but that wasn’t enough. I had discovered a school in Maui, Hawaii that was a vocational school for personal trainers and group fitness instructors called “Strong Stretched and Centered”. I wanted to go. I sent away for the information on the program, and literally read through it a couple times a week for almost a year. I showed it to a friend at the gym and she looked at me and said “What are you waiting for? This can enhance your career so you should just go!” A light bulb went off in my head, I knew she was right! I decided to go that fall (2003). I learned SO much at this school, it was amazing and it was in Hawaii of all places! After 8 weeks in Maui I knew that I was a completely different person, I would never pursue another industry, this was it for me. It was around this time that I began avidly reading fitness magazines, mainly Oxygen magazine. I posted pictures of these amazing women who graced the pages on my walls and vowed that someday that would be me!
While at the school, Norwegian Cruise Lines had come through with a job fair for their cruise ships. One of my other passions in life is travel. My dream job was to be a fitness director on a cruise ship, so I could do what I loved and travel all at once. I took a day off from classes to apply for a job. They told me they weren’t hiring for that position but would send my resume along to the appropriate people.
Back in Park City, I quickly began building my personal training clientele and business. Things were growing quickly, I had more and more clients every week, it was exciting for me but I still wanted something more. I’ll never forget the day the phone call came through that once again changed my whole course in life! I had just finished teaching a spinning class, I came down to the front desk and was told I’d received a phone call from Florida. I had NO idea what to expect when I called the number back…to my shock and disbelief it was a man from Norwegian Cruise Lines. Within a month of receiving that call I had given away the majority of my belongings, packed up my car with what little was left, drove across the country on my own visiting 22 states in 16 days and ended up back in Vermont four days prior to being shipped out on my next adventure!
My time on the cruise ship was amazing, however at that point in time I still had no clue about nutrition. I had all of these personal training certifications and very little knowledge of how to fuel my body. I gained 25 pounds on the ship over the course of the year, despite the fact that I was teaching all the fitness classes! When I got off the ship in February 2005 I tipped the scales at the heaviest I’d ever been, over 170 pounds. I was so upset with myself. I had my fitness idols including Monica Brant and Maggie Diubaldo splattered all over my walls, yet here I was gaining weight and instead of getting closer to that goal I was further away.
By July 2005 I’d had enough, I now resided in San Antonio, TX and I had lost a bit of weight since the ship but was still just talking and dreaming of competing in a Figure competition, yet not taking any action. The “aha” moment that would change my life yet again came on July 5, 2005 in the form of a friend once again asking “What are you waiting for?” Everything clicked for me in that instant. I gave up all negative eating and partying habits and completely zoned in and focused on my goal. I wanted to be a Pro figure athlete. I knew I had it in me if I set my mind to it. 18 grueling weeks later and 40 pounds off my body I stepped on stage at my first NPC show in Texas and placed 1st in my class. I was hooked!! I competed again a couple months later in another large show in Texas and placed 1st once again. Over the course of the next two years I competed in two organizations, I took home first place in 6 out of 7 shows, won my pro status with one organization and even took home their Pro Fitness Model World Champion title. It was an exciting couple of years!
I still wasn’t satisfied though. I was really looking for more opportunity in the industry and wasn’t able to attain it on the path I was currently on. I had heard of the WBFF and when I saw how athlete focused they were I decided it was time to chat with Paul Dillett himself and see what this up and coming group was all about. After that conversation I knew WBFF was the place for me. I competed with them for the first time in 2008 and took home the WBFF Figure World Champion title! The WBFF opened many doors for me including the opportunity to achieve my dream of becoming one of those girls in Oxygen magazine!
It was shortly after the WBFF World Championships 2008 that I met the man who would become my husband, Micah LaCerte. We met at the Olympia weekend in Las Vegas that year, we had known each other via social networks but that was our first time meeting in person. I knew instantly that he was going to be someone that was a very special part of my life. Within two short months of meeting, I had once again packed up all my belongings and moved to Kansas City to be with Micah. We clicked so easily because we discovered that we both had common goals and ambitions both I our personal lives and in what we wanted to do for the world. We both carried a deep seeded burden to aid in the fight against obesity and to help as many people as possible to change their lives inside and out. Micah had a fitness concept of a system that would focus on transforming people’s lives completely, and the name of this system would be called Hitch Fit (Hitch was Micah’s nickname from the social networks).
When Micah and I teamed up and launched the initial Hitch Fit system www.hitchfit.com we knew we were on to something, but we had no idea how fast it would grow. It started as an online program where we were able to work with people regardless of where they lived. Each client sends in their photos, stats and a load of other pertinent information and we could structure a program that included their nutrition, workouts and cardio to follow for a 12 or 16 week period to get to where they wanted to be. Shortly after the launch of the online program we had the opportunity to open our own personal training gym in Kansas City. Hitch Fit Gym was founded in August 2009. We had barely any equipment, and it was just Micah and I training clients out of one side of our 2,000 square foot space, but it was awesome. The energy was electrifying, the walls of transformations started growing and inspiring every person that walked through the door. Those same stories were all being shared on the website and were able to touch people and inspire them globally.
Within two short years, Hitch Fit Gym has now expanded to two locations in Kansas City and we have a team of 18 trainers who are all focused on transforming clients lives. The online program is now in 46 countries worldwide and the success stories of the clients working with Micah and I on a worldwide level just continue to build and grow! It has been such an exciting and amazing process and we can’t wait to see how much Hitch Fit continues to grow in the future!
When Micah and I met, I introduced him to the WBFF. He had done tons of stuff within the fitness industry, had been featured in hundreds of magazines, but had yet to step on stage. 2009 we competed together at the WBFF World Championships, I took second place in Pro Figure and Micah placed 8th in Male Fitness Model. Again, as with everything else in the WBFF we received a load of new opportunity from being a part of this competition, besides the fact that we were able to spend this wonderful time with our fitness family!
In 2010 I switched to the Pro Diva Fitness Model division, I changed my nutrition and my training in order to have a physique that was a better fit for this category. I’ve always loved the theme wear part of competition, so this was just a much better fit for what my aspirations were aimed at. Micah took home 5th place in Male Fitness Model and I took home 4th place in Pro Diva Fitness Model, and once again we received multiple opportunities for photo shoots with Oxygen, Status Fitness, Natural Muscle and more.
The WBFF had been growing so quickly, and it was time to come to the US for the first time in 2011. We knew that we could make Kansas City an epic event, and so we took on the challenge of hosting one of the first ever US shows in May 2011, the WBFF Central US Championships. The show was incredible, not only quantity wise with 190 athletes, but quality wise with multiple people winning Pro status in each category. The new Male Muscle Model division was launched at this show as well. We will continue to host the WBFF Central US Championships in KC for years to come, continue to aid new athletes in being discovered and building their careers within the industry. Over 50 Hitch Fit client transformations stepped on stage at the show and many of them placed in the top of their classes. We couldn’t be prouder!
Micah proposed to me on July 10, 2010, so along with planning for the WBFF competition. we also were planning for our wedding. We tied the knot and made things official on July 16, 2011 and are now officially Mr. & Mrs. Hitch Fit!
Training wise for me, things have varied a lot over the years. When I trained for Figure I had much more of a “building” period where my caloric intake was higher, my weight would get higher and I would train heavier. Now that my focus is on maintaining a Fitness Model physique year round, I don’t have great weight fluctuations, I train with a variety of weights, some days I will train heavy, some days moderate, some days it’s drop sets or pause reps with much lighter burn out sessions. I rarely do the same thing twice when I step into the gym. I typically will train 1-2 body parts per day and select anywhere from 5-8 exercises to do and hit 3-4 sets per exercise.
Nutrition wise, I eat balanced and clean year round, this allows me to keep my body in a position where it is easier to quickly get in shape for either a photo shoot or competition. I give myself 6-8 weeks to prep for a show. The only competition I do now is the WBFF World Championships, so I tighten things up and begin increasing my training volume week by week leading into the show.
I’ve found a rhythm that works for me. I feel so blessed in life in every way. Not only has God allowed me to work in the industry that is my passion, He has also given me the man of my dreams who not only understands what my pursuits in life are, but is right there beside me working towards the same ones. He’s given me a competitive organization that is literally a second family to me, I am entirely grateful to Paul & Allison Dillett for what they have done for me personally and am honored to be a part of this growing and thriving group!
Fitness has certainly changed my life, but at the same time I have no doubt that this is exactly the path that I am set to be on.
In the future you will see more from Micah and I, you will see Hitch Fit continue to grow and expand and touch more and more lives. You can find out more information on our programs at www.hitchfit.com . If you are in the Kansas City area you can check out www.hitchfitgym.com and contact us if you would like to work with one of our trainers. If you are interested in competing with the WBFF please feel free to reach out and ask any questions that you would like and I will always do my best to answer! I’m very active on the social networks, you can find my Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Diana-Chaloux-Fitness-Modeling-Weight-Loss-Online-Personal-Training-Page/270383900799 follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/DianaChaloux , check out videos of my training, competitions and more at www.youtube.com/shoobydoo52 or write to me at Diana.chaloux@yahoo.com
Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story!
WBFF Pro Diva Fitness Model
Diana Chaloux – LaCerte
Born: August 18, 1977. St.Johnsbury, Vermont, USA.
Height: 5 Ft 7 In
Noticed: July 2011
Visitors since July 17, 2011:
This page was last updated: February 14, 2015
