Lucas Maki

Background

About Lucas Maki

My passion for health and fitness stemmed from an upbringing centered around sports and athletics. I grew up in a health-conscious family and was involved in multiple sports in my childhood and throughout high school. In my running start program, I was enrolled in a principles of wellness course that opened my eyes to health and wellness with a well-rounded perspective instead of strictly sports and physical fitness. With a newfound approach to my own personal regimen, I felt so empowered and knew I wanted to help others obtain this same feeling. With most of my prerequisite courses already completed through running start, I was able to immediately begin my exercise science courses at Eastern Washington University upon arrival. As a part of my requirements for graduation, a three month long internship was to be completed. I was able to set up an internship at my local YMCA in my hometown of Tacoma. The entire experience went about as well as it possibly could have, and it even led to me accepting full time position there as a Health and Well-being Director immediately after graduating with my Bachelors Degree. While working at the YMCA, I was able to tap into and develop a wide variety of skills that I will take with me for the rest of my career. I was able to live out my passion of helping others better their personal health and fitness through one-on-one coaching and group exercise. I also was able to hire and build a team of coaches and instructors, fundraise for and market different program and events, and build rapport with community leaders and other non profits in the area. While my time at the YMCA was amazing, it was unfortunately ended by the Covid furloughs in 2020. At this point I did step away from working in health and fitness for a period of time. Not only was I uncertain about the future of the industry due to the pandemic but I also had an opportunity to work alongside a childhood friend as a furniture delivery duo. While this was a good experience as well, It was not my passion or where my heart was at. After a season there, as well as seeing the resurgence of the fitness industry post-Covid, I decided to make the jump back into the industry and further pursue my career as a fitness professional. I have made this profile to engage with other fitness professionals, grow my skillset further, and learn about future opportunities in the health and fitness world!