Bio
Sammantha Kaufman-Jones is a fitness expert with a passion for fostering a lifestyle change in mind and body. As an instructor for many types of fitness classes, her goal is to help her students stay motivated and fit within a fun-filled, yet challenging atmosphere.
Sammantha, affectionately known as Sammi, credits her devotion to fitness to her mother. Throughout JHS and HS she took fitness classes with her mother at the Brooklyn Sports Club where she eventually landed her first fitness instructor job teaching Dancercize and Spinning. After taking a kickboxing and Step class with the facilities Group Exercise director, Dianne Purificato, Sammi was hooked and burned with the desire to teach fitness. “I was in awe of Dianne’s ability to make everyone happy and push us to work hard,” Sammi reflects. “Dianne was very inspirational to me and through encouraging me to get AFAA certified in group fitness, Diane helped me transition from gym rat/dancer to a group fitness instructor,” says Sammi. From there Sammi never looked back and has been teaching various forms of fitness ever since.
Sammi was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY with her parents and brother who were the first to call her "Sammi." A nickname once scorned as a child, she has come to embrace it and the familial love it represents. She now encourages all her students to call her Sammi who she embraces as family. Just as her students are an extension of her family, fitness is an extension of her first love – dance. Sammi took her first dance class at the age of 5, but she had been moving to various kinds of rhythms while in her mother's womb. Her mother loved and danced to all kinds of music, especially mambo. She became Sammi’s first dance instructor and before her first formal dance class, Sammi knew how to dance Salsa. Sammi’s love for dance had taken root and her educational pursuits and career encompassed it. She attended the prestigious LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts where she studied classical ballet and modern dance. She then earned a BA in Musical Theater Dance from the State University at Buffalo. Sammi went on to pursue her career in the arts and has performed in music videos, performing artist, regional theater productions and with local dance companies. For a time Sammi maintained a career as a dancer, a dance instructor, and also as a fitness instructor. Eventually her main focus became fitness. Sammi has never been a skinny person, but always felt healthy and proud of her curves which made her feel feminine and strong. Her motto is “Healthy, Curvy, Fit & Loving It!” because she wants her students to embrace their healthy bodies even when it does not meet the standards of today's "thin obsessed” society.
Sammi’s classes are always packed with people, momentum, drive and fun. Her reward is seeing the transformation as her students adopt healthy lifestyle and bodies while loving themselves throughout the process. "My experience with Sammantha Kaufman-Jones and the Sammi Jo Fitness movement has been extremely rewarding,” says Jackie Fluker, who attends one of her classes in Jamaica, NY. “She is inspirational, encouraging and supportive. Her energy is contagious. I have gained so much self-confidence and stepped up my fitness level since I have been taking her classes," says Jackie.
As a result of the countless successes her students achieved in attaining their fitness goals, Sammi has earned the distinction of Fitness Lifestyle Strategist. Sammi is qualified to teach many forms of fitness classes and teaches at gyms and fitness studios all over New York City and Long Island, NY. Sammi is a wife and mother of three children. When she’s not teaching a class, she can be found enjoying her family and of course helping each of them have a fun, loving, healthy and fit lifestyle.
Sammantha, affectionately known as Sammi, credits her devotion to fitness to her mother. Throughout JHS and HS she took fitness classes with her mother at the Brooklyn Sports Club where she eventually landed her first fitness instructor job teaching Dancercize and Spinning. After taking a kickboxing and Step class with the facilities Group Exercise director, Dianne Purificato, Sammi was hooked and burned with the desire to teach fitness. “I was in awe of Dianne’s ability to make everyone happy and push us to work hard,” Sammi reflects. “Dianne was very inspirational to me and through encouraging me to get AFAA certified in group fitness, Diane helped me transition from gym rat/dancer to a group fitness instructor,” says Sammi. From there Sammi never looked back and has been teaching various forms of fitness ever since.
Sammi was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY with her parents and brother who were the first to call her "Sammi." A nickname once scorned as a child, she has come to embrace it and the familial love it represents. She now encourages all her students to call her Sammi who she embraces as family. Just as her students are an extension of her family, fitness is an extension of her first love – dance. Sammi took her first dance class at the age of 5, but she had been moving to various kinds of rhythms while in her mother's womb. Her mother loved and danced to all kinds of music, especially mambo. She became Sammi’s first dance instructor and before her first formal dance class, Sammi knew how to dance Salsa. Sammi’s love for dance had taken root and her educational pursuits and career encompassed it. She attended the prestigious LaGuardia High School for Performing Arts where she studied classical ballet and modern dance. She then earned a BA in Musical Theater Dance from the State University at Buffalo. Sammi went on to pursue her career in the arts and has performed in music videos, performing artist, regional theater productions and with local dance companies. For a time Sammi maintained a career as a dancer, a dance instructor, and also as a fitness instructor. Eventually her main focus became fitness. Sammi has never been a skinny person, but always felt healthy and proud of her curves which made her feel feminine and strong. Her motto is “Healthy, Curvy, Fit & Loving It!” because she wants her students to embrace their healthy bodies even when it does not meet the standards of today's "thin obsessed” society.
Sammi’s classes are always packed with people, momentum, drive and fun. Her reward is seeing the transformation as her students adopt healthy lifestyle and bodies while loving themselves throughout the process. "My experience with Sammantha Kaufman-Jones and the Sammi Jo Fitness movement has been extremely rewarding,” says Jackie Fluker, who attends one of her classes in Jamaica, NY. “She is inspirational, encouraging and supportive. Her energy is contagious. I have gained so much self-confidence and stepped up my fitness level since I have been taking her classes," says Jackie.
As a result of the countless successes her students achieved in attaining their fitness goals, Sammi has earned the distinction of Fitness Lifestyle Strategist. Sammi is qualified to teach many forms of fitness classes and teaches at gyms and fitness studios all over New York City and Long Island, NY. Sammi is a wife and mother of three children. When she’s not teaching a class, she can be found enjoying her family and of course helping each of them have a fun, loving, healthy and fit lifestyle.
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