Today we’d like to introduce you to Mace Hamblin.
Hi Mace, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My path to health & wellness coaching started in 2018. I was overweight and my stress levels were at an all-time high. On March 20, 2018, I was talking to my oldest son when, without warning, I blacked out, cutting my head open on a door hinge as I fell. My wife ran in after hearing the “thump” on the floor to find me there. My eyes rolled back with blood pooling on the floor from the laceration. A trip to the emergency department revealed more than just a need for staples in my head. My heart was out of rhythm. There I was, only 39 years old, and scared of the reality that my health was on a path that could leave my wife without a husband and my children without a father.
The day I came home from the hospital is one I will never forget. I made a promise to my wife that I would take good care of myself. I was determined to take back my health. After a gauntlet of cardiac testing and a second opinion, the cardiologist told me that I need not put too many limits on myself as far as exercise was concerned. So, with encouragement from family and friends, I decided I would run an 8-mile obstacle course (Spartan) race in the mountains of Utah.
That first Spartan Race in July of 2018 changed me. I suffered on that mountain, and yet, I loved everything about the experience. I crossed the finish line having just pushed my mind and body to places they had never experienced. As I hobbled around the house the night following the race, I found myself signing up for another one. And now? Here I am, four years later and 40 pounds lighter, having completed 22 Spartan Races ranging from 5k to 50k distance with many more on the horizon. Commitment to doing hard things has helped me build and maintain momentum in taking good care of my mind and body.
Through the course of the last four years, my experiences inspired me to become a national board-certified health & wellness coach (NBC-HWC) and to start my coaching business. While the incident with my heart was certainly a big, dramatic experience, the biggest mental and physical transformation for me has come through discipline with small and simple habits. Commitment to and consistency with small and simple habits on a daily basis is at the center of my coaching philosophy. My heart didn’t go out of rhythm because of one single event or decision, but because of years of neglecting my overall wellness. Likewise, we can’t expect our minds and bodies to reach peak wellness with one single meditation or workout session. It takes time, patience, and mental toughness. Wellness is a lifelong pursuit, and simplifying life along with building mental toughness to strive for long-term wellness is what I want to help others achieve.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When it comes to wellness, there is no such thing as a smooth road! My path has been full of twists, turns, and technical terrain. How we respond to the twists and turns is where the real opportunity for growth presents itself.
Everyone’s journey looks different, and that can be challenging when trying to build a presence in a health & wellness community that is so focused on quick, easy results. I don’t believe in cookie cutter templates for achieving wellness, nor do I believe in the so-called “magic bullets” that are so heavily marketed in the health and fitness industry. Many people want the blueprint to reach peak wellness. They want the path of least resistance. In reality, there is no blueprint. The path to wellness is FULL of resistance, and helping others work through the process of failure and helping them maintain momentum during setbacks is tough.
Accountability in an individual’s wellness journey is difficult to teach. My goal as a wellness coach is to meet each client where they are in the moment and help them set goals that actually work, no matter how basic those goals may be. Once a person discovers the thing that ignites the fire within, it’s actually very easy to commit to that thing long-term and be consistent. Obstacles are inevitable, and as a wellness coach, I am ready to help people see those obstacles as the best opportunity to level up their overall wellness.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I have been in the higher education industry since 2005 in teaching and administrative roles at the undergraduate and graduate levels. I earned my undergraduate degree in Exercise and Sport Science from the University of Utah, followed by a Master’s degree in Public Administration from Arizona State University and a Doctor of Health Science (DHSc) degree from A.T. Still University in with a concentration in Leadership and Organizational Behavior.
I am a national board-certified health & wellness coach (NBC-HWC). Additionally, I am a certified consultant for the Emotional Quotient Inventory 2.0 (EQ-i 2.0), a validated tool that provides a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of emotional and social skills such as self-awareness, empathy, emotional expression, decision-making, impulse control, and stress management, among others. I have experience in assessing and coaching in the development of these skills at the individual, team, and organizational levels.
My professional experience has given me a passion for lifelong learning. Currently, I am in the process of completing a certification course in nutrition coaching. As I have made wellness a non-negotiable part of my life since my health scare in 2018, I feel a great sense of urgency to learn and improve continually. I’m proud of the changes I have been able to make in the trajectory of my health & wellness. These changes have given me knowledge and experience that help me teach, motivate, and hopefully inspire others to do the same.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
My wife, Melissa, and kids (Jacob, Isaac, Grayce, and Lyla) have been my biggest supporters in everything I do. Many family members, friends, and neighbors have been a great source of support and encouragement as well. Dennis Welch with the Endurance Project played an integral role in my strength and running development, and his mentorship continues to play a role in my ongoing training. I am also deeply grateful to Joe De Sena, founder and CEO of Spartan Race, for his resilience and endurance in creating Spartan Race, a brand and a community of amazing people that have changed my life for the better.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://equiphwc.com/
- Instagram: @equipwellnesscoaching | @macehamblin
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EQuipHWC
Image Credits
Spartan
Mace Hamblin
