About

My Story…

When I was 10 years old I started running trails with my dad in Chamberlain Basin, located in the heart of the Frank Church River of no Return Wilderness in Central Idaho. This began my lifelong love affair with running and fitness. I spent the summers of my childhood in this remote wilderness area, located 30 miles from the nearest road, where my dad worked for the Forest Service as a firefighter. Each summer smokejumpers would jump fires in the wilderness area, and be picked up from the dirt airstrip by a DC-3, located directly in front of the log cabin where my family lived.

When I was 5 years old I told my brother that I was going to be a smokejumper, he replied back that girls can't be smokejumpers, to which my mom replied Shelly can be anything she wants.

At that time there were no women smokejumpers but in 1982 the first women smokejumper made it through the training, paving the way for the rest of us.

Right out of high school I moved to Washington State to work on a Hotshot crew for the summer. This began my pursuit of becoming a Smokejumper. Wildland Firefighting requires a high level of fitness and from that moment on I was hooked. I spent my summers fighting fire while attending Boise State University. I worked on a hotshot crew, rappelled out of helicopters, worked on engines, and finally gained the experience I needed to apply to be a smokejumper. In 1997 I got the invite to attempt Smokejumper rookie training. Rookie training is a month long training designed to push your physical and mental limits.

Each smokejumper rookie must pass rigorous physical tests including a 100 pound pack out, mile and a half run, push-ups, and pull-ups all while learning to exit an aircraft at 1500 feet above ground level and make it to the ground safely to fight fire.

This was my dream job, and at the end of the training I had made it through and went on to jump for 9 fire seasons. The thrill of fighting fire was part of what drew me into the profession but mostly I enjoyed the physical demands of the job and pushing myself to the edge of my physical ability. I gained valuable leadership skills and pushed myself way beyond my comfort zone on a daily basis.

During my fourth year as a smokejumper I was hired to be a smokejumper spotter. I went on to become the first female spotter at my base.

After 9 seasons as a smokejumper I decided to move into fire management positions. In June of 2012 I accepted a Fire Staff position in Nevada City, California. I had never been to Nevada City but fell in love with it immediately upon arrival. Not only did I fall in love with the environment but I fell in love with the community. One of the communities that I found right away was the hot yoga studio in Grass Valley. I had never done hot yoga before but from the first class I was hooked. The owner of the studio, Kelly Calendar, had decided to add a new type of class to the schedule Inferno Hot Pilates and asked me to go to the teacher training. I immediately said yes and started teaching for her in January of 2014.

In 2017 I had my son. Having him changed my life in a profound way. As all new moms know your life no longer revolves around you but around the needs of this new little being. Balancing a full time job and trying to get in my workouts challenged me to figure out new ways of making my priorities balance. I bought an indoor cycling system and found a new fitness passion. I continued to teach Inferno Hot Pilates and incorporated indoor cycling into my routine. After 25 years in fire management I made a decision to to leave my firefighting position and take an early retirement and move into a new career.

I decided to meld my passion for indoor cycling and hot yoga/pilates and open my own studio where I could offer these modalities in one location.

I am excited for this new adventure and look forward to working alongside talented instructors and bringing the newest technology in fitness to the community.