Happy Tuesday #SHINESOCIETY!

Many of you know us but we wanted to dig a little deeper. We want to share where we came from, our favorite things, and what motivated us to start Shine Studio.

If you don’t know us, we want you to get to know the girls behind Shine!
Keep reading to learn more about us and learn why we were meant to start a studio together.

Yaya Margarita

Where did you grow up?
I was born in Chicago, IL but raised in beautiful Southern California. My parents weren’t big fans of the extreme weather in Chicago so we moved to California the first chance we got, and we’ve never left.

What is your favorite childhood memory?
When I was younger, my sister, best friend and I were in a Hawaiian/Tahitian dance company. We would rehearse every weekend, help make our own costumes, and perform at events and festivals. It was a huge part of my life up until I started high school, and basically fueled my passion for dance.

What was your favorite activity in your high school years?
Dance class. Hands down.

What is your favorite song?
Oh my gosh, I have SO MANY! I’m a 90s R&B girl so I guess my go to would be “Motownphilly” by Boyz II Men.

Movie?
Home Alone! And pretty much anything with Catherine O’Hara. I love her.

What is your biggest pet peeve?
When people chew with their mouth open.

What is your worst habit?
Splitting my split ends. Anyone else?

What is your favorite healthy food?
Lettuce Wraps! I like to stuff them with salmon, quinoa and loads of vegetables. It’s easy to put together!

What is your favorite splurge food?
Baklava!

Why do you love living in the South Bay?
I just read Hillary’s answers and it’s for the exact same reason! The healthy lifestyle, all the different fitness options, and the community.

What was a turning point in fitness for you?
POUND I was a part of their 60-day program and not only did I lose weight (18 pounds and 17 inches in 60 days) But I learned how to eat correctly and gained so much confidence in myself. I knew almost instantly that I had to bring this format to the South Bay. POUND changed my life.

What motivated you to start Shine Studio?
Oh goodness, where to start? lol. I really wanted to create a safe space for people to move freely; a place where you could let go, have fun and leave with a huge, sweaty smile on your face. After high school, I continued to dance in college and with a dance company, although I learned a lot and I will always be grateful for my time there, I did experience some bullying due to my size. I became fixated on my weight, and it dimmed my passion to dance. Rehearsals and shows were no longer fun, and fueled my insecurities to an unhealthy level and I had to leave.

I am a huge believer that everything happens for a reason, and that you can build a future on your past. Although that chapter wasn’t the greatest, it helped me understand how a positive and loving community can really change a person, and I wanted to be a part of that. Fast forward to when Hillary and I crossed paths and we realized we weren’t alone in how we felt about our dance experience and body image. We both were in fitness, and knew we wanted a studio that focused more on fun, positivity and community all while breaking a sweat. So here we are, doing just that, and I couldn’t be more thankful to have my “Hilly”, “Pineapple”, “Dime Piece” by my side.

Hillary Lewis
Used to be McGranahan, but I just got hitched!

Where did you grow up?
In Modesto, California. It was a great little town to grow up in and I have family there that I am incredibly close to. I love going back for Thanksgiving because all the trees on our block turn to beautiful fall colors.

What is your favorite childhood memory?
Going to Santa Cruz every summer with my whole family. We would go for a week with my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, the whole extended family. We played on the beach for hours and went to the Santa Cruz Boardwalk to ride the Big Dipper. Some of the best memories of my life are those trips!

What was your favorite activity in your high school years?
Dance and Cheerleading! It was my favorite time of the day. Cheerleading after school and dance every evening. I loved every minute. I would choreograph dances for our cheer squad and our Dance team every weekend too.

What is your favorite song?
Runaround Sue by Dion. I love the Oldies!

Movie?
This is so hard! But I’d have to say Dirty Dancing. “No body puts Baby in a corner.” So good.

What is your biggest pet peeve?
Loud chewing. *shivers*

What is your worst habit?
Biting and picking at my nails! Ugh.

What is your favorite healthy food?
I love a good green smoothie. We’re actually going to share the recipe for my favorite one on the Shine blog soon!

What is your favorite splurge food?
Ice cream. Particularly Handle’s S’mores ice cream in Redondo Beach. For my 30th birthday my now husband just bought me a pint of that instead of a cake!

Why do you love living in the South Bay?
I love the sunny days, the beach, and the healthy lifestyle culture. I love that we have so many fitness options and getting out on the weekends and walking or running the strand with everyone. I feel so lucky every time I set foot on the strand!

What was a turning point in fitness for you?
Finishing my first Sprint Triathlon. When I decided to do it my family thought I was crazy because I didn’t exactly excel in swimming, biking, or running. Haha! I was living in New York City at the time, so finding places to train was quite the challenge too. But I loved training in something different every day. That’s when I realized I needed variety in my every day workouts. Going across the finish line was the best feeling ever, knowing I had worked so hard for it, and it completely changed my outlook on fitness.

What motivated you to start Shine Studio?
There are SO many reasons I was motivated to start Shine! When I moved back to California from NYC, I knew that I wanted to continue my journey with dance and fitness, but I wasn’t sure how. I had many ideas and wanted to start a studio, but when I met Yaya and we started just talking about our backgrounds, it all came together. We both had backgrounds in Dance, we both taught different fitness classes, and we had similar ideas of how we would want our space to be. Both of us had gone through times in our lives that we struggled with feeling bad about our bodies, as many woman do. We felt like we wanted to create a space where everyone felt comfortable and where fitness was positive rather than about changing or fixing something about yourself. We also realized that both of us had found workouts that we really loved and that exercise didn’t have to be something that you forced yourself to do or didn’t really enjoy while you were doing it! So we set out to create a positive space with fun workouts, and most of all, we want it to be a supportive, loving environment where all our members feel like family. I am so excited to be a part of this and I feel like it’s truly what I’m meant to be doing with my life. (I may have shed a happy tear while writing this!)

Thanks for reading! Now you know more about us… and we can’t wait to know more about you! See you very soon.

SHINE ON,