We are all beautifully unique with stories and experiences that have the power to bridge and connect the world and one another in kind, wholehearted ways. All people deserve to be able to show up just as we are: all sizes, opinions, genders and non-genders, moods, efforts, income levels, abilities, races, professions, sexualities, all everything that is authentically us. Beyond this, we must be able to take what we need and leave what we don’t. We must have the freedom and support to express what we need and what we want to illuminate and activate in our lives. One-to-one and in our global retreats, you will have it all, under the Full Sun ;).
Jesse Elkins | All Pronouns | Founder & CEO, Full Sun Fitness | Partner, Mykonos Active
THE SHORT: Jesse is the founder of Full Sun Fitness, a US-based personal training network for Queer and ally communities, dedicated to bringing safety, equity, and access to fitness spaces. His background as a competitive swimmer inspired years of exploration to deepen his mind+body connection. Jesse studied ballet and modern dance, taught dance to people living with disabilities at the Sydney Dance Company, and has practiced (hot) yoga for 12 years. He is certified in hot sculpt yoga, nutrition coaching, personal training, and corrective exercise. His goal is to bring breath, awareness, and self-compassion to exercise and to help people illuminate and sustain their individual wellness. He is committed to deconstructing harmful fitness trends and says, “come as you are, not how society says you should be”.
Elite Trainer (ISSA) 2022; Corrective Exercise Specialist (ISSA) 2022; Level I Functional Movement Systems 2021; Certified Personal Trainer (ISSA) 2020; Certified Nutrition Coach (ISSA) 2020; Certified Hot Sculpt Yoga Teacher (Vibe Yoga) 2018 Courses: Anatomy & Physiology for Transgender Individuals (ACSM) 2021; International Health & Fitness Summit (ACSM) 2021
THE LONG: We are all so much more than our bios, but here’s a bit about me. After a significant life shift in 2018, I decided I wanted a healthier way to build community – one that felt supportive and loving – a community that uplifts each other to be the best they can and a community that stumbles forward with grace and kindness. The intersection of all of this for me became community wellness. So, I began studying to become a CPT (Certified Personal Trainer) and Nutrition Coach. During my studies, I had time to reflect on my own experience around wellness more deeply, drawing out my own insecurities and limitations not only as someone on a wellness journey but as a Queer person trying to clear detrimental habits and unsustainable practices. I have struggled in the fitness arena. Language is often discriminatory, and traumatizing for some, fitness is exclusively body-centric with “beach body” ideals, and the landscape is inundated with toxic masculinity and confining binaries. Now, amplify these challenges from a white cis-gender person, and imagine the burden on our marginalized and ostracized families across Queer and ally communities. Enter: Full Sun Fitness. I created this community to challenge social norms and create a safe space where people can build sustainable wellness through fitness with supportive language, visibility, understanding, and camaraderie. I created this community to offer an affordable and personalized coaching option in an otherwise money-driven and capitalistic industry. I created this community to intersect my self-care and compassion with wellness for my Queer family.
In 2022, I teamed up with Reto-Dumeng Suter of Mykonos Active and we embarked on our first retreat together at the Eros Touch Ritual in Mykonos, Greece. Now, we open ourselves to a global community to continue to illuminate, activate, and connect in places and spaces unimagined.
Thank you for being here. Thank you for being curious. Finally, thank you in advance if you reach out to me. You will be seen. You will be heard. You will be valued. You will be cared for.