Meet Your Trainer

Find Your Hidden Potential

I'm Kayla, your trainer with Hidden Potential Coaching. I was born and raised in Elkhart, Indiana and relocated to South Carolina in 2004. My husband and I currently live in Simpsonville with our 2 children and 2 cats.

When I’m not spending time with my family, you can usually find me at a local running event, cycling with friends, or at the gym slinging some weights.

Why Hidden Potential? I’ve never been athletic and have struggled with my weight most of my life until I decided to take control and completely change my lifestyle. My health and fitness journey began in April 2022 at 287 lbs. Over the next year and a half, I successfully lost 146 lbs through diet and exercise—gaining a life I could have only dreamed about! At that time, I didn’t have a specific plan to lose the weight, I just knew I wanted to do it in a sustainable way—no surgical intervention, no medications, no food restrictions, and no crash diets. This had to be a LIFESTYLE change.

I started out simply walking, tracking my meals, and eating in a reasonable calorie deficit. As the weight started to come off, I increased my physical activity from walking to strength training, cycling, and dipping my toes into running. I made healthy swaps in my diet while staying consistent with my tracking and calorie intake. Over the next year and a half, I successfully lost 146 lbs and gained a life I could have only dreamed about at 287 lbs!

Throughout my journey, I discovered that I love to run, cycle, and strength train. I also discovered that I love to compete and have won several age group and overall female awards with both Upstate Running Club and Greenville Track Club—my personal hidden potential.

It is my passion to share my story across as many platforms as possible to encourage, motivate and inspire anyone who is currently on or looking to start their own health and fitness journey.

As an ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, Nutritionist, Weight Management Specialist and Running Coach, I’d love to help you reach your goals wherever you are in your journey. Let’s discover your hidden potential together!

THINGS I LOVE…

Pink!! I love all things pink!! This was not always the case as I grew up a tomboy, but when you see me now, I will most likely be wearing or have some kind of pink accessory in my possession!
Reba!! I have been a huge Reba McEntire fan for as long as I can remember! I have seen her in concert multiple times and just recently took an impromptu trip to Los Angeles to see a live taping of her new sitcom, Happy's Place!
My family!! My family is my rock and I would not be where I am today without them!
Fitness!! Gosh, this was not always the case, but it has completely changed my life and I love it now more than ever! Running, cycling, lifting weights--I love it all!! The way it makes me feel, the tribe of people I've come to love, the rush from hitting new PRs or standing on the podium.