Check Out Anneliese Spence’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Anneliese Spence.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I am a Strength Coach, Competitive Powerlifter, and I train Jiu-Jitsu. I began my iron journey over a decade ago. From an early age, I was filled with a deep love for science, science fiction, and comic art, and I became fascinated by withdrawing the body, in particular the anatomy and musculature of the human system.

At the age of 12, I bought a copy of Strength Training Anatomy by Frédéric Delavier. Inspired by the art within, I joined ProFitness, a local gym in a grungy basement filled with powerlifters, bodybuilders, and other knowledgeable mentors. Immediately I found my home amongst the weight racks, chalk, and old 80’s lifting gear. Fascinated and filled with curiosity I spent hours in that basement training and tearing through every book and resource on training I could get my hands on.

Since that time, I have put in thousands of hours lifting, training others, and learning firsthand just how life-giving the pursuit of strength is. At 20 years old I survived a traumatic crush injury rendering me with 6 open pelvic fractures, organ damage, and extensive nerve injury. Over 24 hours of surgery and 6 months of hospitalization in New Zealand left me with 29 screws and 3 plates in my pelvis and spine.

Three years later, I graduated from Kansas State University in Kinesiology, founded my first brick and mortar location, and then fell sick with an MRSA infection in my old hardware which destroyed my left hip joint. After a year and a half of bone on bone coaching and training, I had a complete left hip replacement in March 2021 leaving me with even greater gratitude for movement, health, and strength as well as an intimate understanding of what it truly means to be strong, to fight for one’s life, and to reclaim one’s body.

I offer client-centered coaching in person and online drawing on years of experience, my degree in the field, experience as an athlete, and my broad-reaching professional certifications. When I’m not coaching, training, or putting my nose in a book somewhere I can be found outside with my wife and our two dogs playing ball, working on projects around our house, or spending time with the community at our favorite local cafe.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It certainly hasn’t!

The primary obstacles for me have been my substantial medical struggles with my crush injury and more recent septic arthritis. I am thankful for now to have the hip replacement behind me and to be training hard and finishing up prep for the Only The Strong Powerlifting Meet in Kansas City.

Of course, starting a business in my home right out of college was no easy task it’s been very rewarding hard work and my wife’s support the whole way certainly keeps me going. Seeing the positive impact that training has had on the Unbreakable Community has made every growing pain worth it.

As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
At Unbreakable Strength Co., we believe that everyone has an Unbreakable Strength within them. It isn’t just about the weights you lift or the number on the scale. It is about knowing and building your most powerful, anti-fragile, and courageous self in all spheres of life, and we believe the gym is an excellent place to forge these qualities. In short, we have faith in the human potential for excellent and meaningful life and our mission is to build up and serve others through strength coaching.

As an individual coach, I work with strength athletes and combative’s athletes in the sporting world, but I also work with a large body of clients who are recovering from injury or who live with disabilities and who simply want to be stronger and move through their lives with more independence.

I am most proud of my ability to meet individuals exactly where they are, listen to them, and refrain from projecting my personal training preferences or opinions onto them. Most coaches can teach others to lift weights but I believe my ability to listen and care for others well and sincerely sets me apart the most.

In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see potential that some of the larger commercial fitness facilities may be traded in for small private coaching experiences and remote coaching experiences. In particular, in a post-pandemic world, it seemed that people leaned into boutique experiences more and sought out more options for seeking services in the home or online.

I love working with clients in a one-on-one setting where they feel comfortable and many of my clients have left large facilities in favor of a 1:1 experience. I also work with clients all across the globe with remote coaching which is wonderful. The internet has opened a space where we can meet practitioners that fit us, our needs, and our personalities well instead of being limited to the space directly around us.

Contact Info:

• Email: annie@unbreakablestrengthco.com
• Website: unbreakablestrengthco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unbreakable_strength_co._/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3CkR1BSCXkCzcirlVzBTzQ
• Other: https://open.spotify.com/show/332cFLyImgX54Z7GtjVSeu?si=E5_wmFzERjKYS5bb9fgD2A