Longevity Fitness Coach • Movement Expert • Co-Founder of breakthruYOU

A Life-Changing Moment on Tour

But her path into the fitness world began in an unexpected place — on tour as a professional dancer.

Early in her career, she performed across the United States and Canada in the stage production He-Man, She-Ra and the Masters of the Universe Power Tour, even dancing at Radio City Music Hall. Power. During that tour, she met a fellow performer who would change the trajectory of her life.

The Moment That Sparked It All

One night Michelle knocked on a hotel room door after hearing music down the hallway. Inside, her friend Madonna Grimes was working out — doing high kicks and aerobics in the middle of the room. She pulled Michelle in and said, “Come on, we’re working out.”

That moment sparked a new passion.

Madonna introduced Michelle to strength training and aerobics at a time when very few women were lifting weights. The two of them would often be the only women in the gym. She also encouraged Michelle to compete in the emerging sport of competitive aerobics, drawing on Michelle’s gymnastics background.

That encouragement led to a defining moment in Michelle’s career: she and her partner went on to win both the National and World Aerobic Championships.

Discovering a Passion for Helping Others

But the most powerful discovery wasn’t the competition. It was the impact fitness had on people. While touring, Madonna and Michelle would gather cast members, crew, and even truck drivers into empty rooms late at night and teach workouts together. The energy, the smiles, the confidence, the way people felt after moving, left a lasting impression.

Michelle realized she didn’t just love movement, she loved helping people feel stronger and more confident in their own bodies. The opportunity quickly expanded beyond competition. Michelle began traveling internationally, teaching instructors and presenting at fitness events around the world, visiting more than a dozen countries — even teaching in the former Soviet Union.

Those experiences fast-tracked her career. Over the years, she was hired by major health and wellness brands to create fitness programs and training videos, collaborating with Prevention Magazine, Shape, Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, Nautilus Bowflex, and the For Dummies series, where she created the Pilates for Dummies workout.

Building a Life and Business Together

That realization eventually led her to the gym industry, where she met her future husband and business partner, Phil Dozois.

Michelle was leading group fitness programs while Phil managed personal training. Together they began building what would become a lifelong partnership in both life and business.

Frustrated by constantly changing policies at corporate gyms and a lack of focus on people, Michelle and Phil decided to take a leap and open a small training studio of their own. Michelle expanded her education, becoming a fully certified Pilates instructor, while Phil focused on personal training and coaching. Over time, their studio grew into something much bigger.

They eventually opened Breakthru Fitness, a full-service health club in Pasadena that became a vibrant community hub with multiple training rooms, youth programs, transformation challenges, and hundreds of members.

Creating the Peak 10 System

It was during this chapter that Michelle created the Peak 10 training system

born from her own desire to regain strength, agility, and confidence after the demanding years of raising children and navigating the challenges of parenting a child with autism.

When Everything Changed

For more than a decade, Breakthru Fitness served as a place where people came not just to work out, but to build friendships, push themselves, and rediscover what they were capable of.

Then, like so many businesses around the world, everything changed overnight when COVID forced the gym to shut its doors.

The very next day Michelle began teaching workouts online, trying to keep her community moving and connected through an uncertain time. After a long and difficult period, the couple ultimately made the painful decision to close the health club.

A New Chapter Begins

But the mission never changed.

Michelle and Phil realized that what they loved most wasn’t running a large facility. It was working closely with people — helping them train smarter, think differently, and build lives rooted in strength, energy, and purpose.

Out of that realization, breakthruYOU was born.

Still Going Strong After 30+ Years

Today Michelle continues to coach, teach and create programs designed to help people stay strong, energized and fully engaged in life for decades to come.

After more than 30 years in the fitness industry, her passion remains the same as it was in that hotel room years ago - helping people rediscover their strength, challenge their limits, and realize they are capable of far more than they think.

That philosophy now lives at the heart of breakthruYOU, the training and lifestyle system Michelle and Phil created to help people look, feel, and live better in every area of their lives.