Mackenzie Puricelli - Online Health Coach (@MBPFITNESSS)

When I started my eyewear business as Miss Sunshine and was looking for amazing, empowered women to be brand ambassadors, I was incredibly happy to count on Mackenzie Puricelli, an instagram influencer with more than 100K followers that empower the beauty of our bodies and self acceptance, as well as a healthy relationship with food.

This is her story:

"Everyone’s journey may not be like mine, but that’s the beauty of our journey’s. They are unique, just like you and I.

I have always been an athlete. Growing up I lived for competition. At age 3 I started dance and gymnastics, then started competing at age 8 until I was 14. In high school I decided to switch things up and try out for cheerleading. I fell in love with the drive and dedication I had to put in week after week leading up to the competitions. I thrived under pressure and loved pushing myself to be the best. I received a scholarship for cheerleading to Lindenwood University, where I cheered my first 2 years.

I stopped cheerleading after my sophomore year, which for the first time allowed me to show women that it is okay to be strong and empowered after being in an environment where being “skinny” and “small” meant you were superior for the sport. My fitness journey began five years ago at the end of high school, because I wanted to become skinnier. All my life all I wanted was to shrink myself. This led to over exercise and food restriction, which then led to bulima and into binge eating disorder. It took me up until this year to overcome that battle within myself and to accept my body as it is: strong, beautiful, capable, and worthy. It wasn’t until I started embracing my curves and truly loving myself for who I was on the inside, that I was able to find myself, and my true passion for fitness.

I switched from a business major to an exercise science major my sophomore year of college and graduated from Lindenwood University with a B.S. in exercise science within 3.5 years along with becoming a NCEP CPT.

I started personal training while in college and that’s when MBP Fitness evolved. I realized nothing makes me happier than changing peoples lives through fitness, and that’s what I wanted to pursue. Upon graduation I turned my focus to online coaching, where I have been able to help people BE MORE than who they were and become the person they always strived to be.

My goal isn’t to help people lose 10lbs in 3 weeks. My goal is to help them create a lifestyle where they can be the healthiest, most confident, best version of themselves! Creating a balance between your everyday life and fitness is my top priority, because everyone deserves to be able to have a body that they love while enjoying life’s’ precious moments."