Lauren is originally from a small town right outside of Pittsburgh, PA, where she grew up as a dancer and competitive cheerleader. After leaving competitive cheer in high school, she joined her family’s membership at her local gym but felt completely lost on what to do once she got there. Her first introduction to weight lifting was a BODYPUMP class, and she became hooked on feeling stronger and more capable, instead of trying to become the smallest version of herself.

Lauren started learning how to lift weights on her own and was told by a friend to look into the field of physical therapy as a future career. Lauren has always loved science, nutrition, and learning about the human body, so she was super interested in the idea that you could help people heal from pain and injury with movement.

She studied Exercise Science and Psychology at Elon University with the goal of attending Physical Therapy school. In college, she also worked as a personal trainer at Elon’s campus recreation center and conducted research to investigate the relationship between psychology and exercise. During this time, her passions of fitness, nutrition, psychology, and mental health strengthened, intertwined, and took root. She then went on to complete her Doctorate in Physical Therapy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and continued personal training and nutrition coaching through her business, Free to Be Wellness.

Over the years, Lauren became frustrated with how typical healthcare consistently failed to treat patients holistically. She was ecstatic to find Made 2 Move, a company whose values and individualized approach to patient care was exactly what she was looking for. Lauren is passionate about empowering clients to feel strong, capable, and resilient, helping them find the form of exercise that they genuinely enjoy, and treating the whole person, not just their acute pain or injury.

In her free time, you can find Lauren at a group fitness class, paddle boarding, hanging out at the beach, or trying out new restaurants. She couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the Made 2 Move team, joining the efforts to create a stronger, healthier Charleston!