It was pretty difficult to come up with one part of my life that I could consider “My Story” when I was being interviewed by The Wish Dish. After talking things through with Maghen Moore, my interviewer, I felt a lot more comfortable simply telling a little about myself.
I grew up living in a suburb East of Cleveland in Ohio. Everyone in my family played sports growing up. My mom was active, my dad played football at WVU, my oldest brother, Jim, played football at Troy, and my youngest brother, Bill, plays football at Georgia State. My best friends are my family and it will always remain that way.
When I was going into my junior year in high school, my parents decided to uproot and move our family down to McDonough, Georgia.
After going to a big public school in Ohio to a small Baptist private school in Georgia, I felt pretty out of place. I have played volleyball since the 3rd grade, so there hasn’t been much room for other experiences besides training, practicing, and competing.
Being on a volleyball team really helped me feel more comfortable with the move and allowed me to gain some solid friends through the process.
Volleyball has taken me to a lot of different places. When I was in high school I played for the Youth Olympic Team representing U.S.A. in Singapore, where we earned a silver medal. I was also awarded a full ride scholarship to the University of Michigan and played volleyball there my freshman year, until I realized that wasn’t the place for me.
I moved closer to my family and transferred to play volleyball for the University of Georgia.
A lot of people say that when you move closer to home it’s like you are failing and couldn’t handle being away from your comfort zone. What really happened was that I realized what is most important in my life, and that was my family. I am a very big family person and any chance I get to go home or see one of my brothers play football, I am going to go wherever they are.
Our family is so close that I couldn’t imagine all of us being any closer, until a tragic event this past summer.
We were not the first Teknipps to move to Georgia, my uncle Joe, aunt Jen, cousins Caitlin, and Tyler were the first. My dad and his brother Joe are best friends and have been inseparable for about 47 years now. This past summer, my uncle Joe was diagnosed with stomach cancer and had surgery on June 24th. After the surgery, he was all clear of the cancer and was ready to go home.
Our family expected nothing less, because when we are faced with a challenge, we accept it and conquer it. On July 4th, my uncle passed away from a blood clot, one day before he was scheduled to go home. This is one event in my life that has changed me forever.
My family is even closer than we were before because we are all realizing how fragile life is and how important faith and prayer are. My uncle was an extremely Godly man and we are all working harder and harder each day to emulate the way my uncle Joe lived.
Now that I am more aware of what is important in life and how fleeting it can be, I never give up on an opportunity to capitalize on things that are important to me and can help others. This lead me to follow my passion and pursue health and fitness. I am working on getting my certificate to be a personal trainer (NSCA-CPT).
I am passio
nate about inspiring and motivating people to become their healthiest self both mentally and physically.
I am able to reach so many people through my website Saturated Fit. This website lists everything from what I eat on a daily basis to what my beliefs are about working out and getting fit!
I plan on using this site to kick start my career in the fitness industry and also plan on branding Saturated Fit as a health and fitness resource for anyone who is looking to accomplish their wellness goals.
Samantha Critser from Santa Clara, CA where she played tennis for the University of Santa Clara has recently joined the Saturated Fit team. Samantha is helping to turn my vision into a reality.
She is the web design, creative director, and researcher for Saturated Fit. I am excited that adding Samantha’s business centered approach through this partnership is something that will bring Saturated Fit to the next level.
I am very fortunate for all of the opportunities I have been given throughout my life so far and have realized that it is very important to accept challenges and never say no to an opportunity to grow.
My brothers and I learned from our parents the values of being confident, prepared, and humble and they are a few things that I pride myself on. I am grateful for the opportunity to share a small portion of my life with The Wish Dish and hope that many more are afforded this opportunity! Thank you!
