Teaching our Bungee Workout to the Jonas Brothers on Kelly & Ryan.

Teaching our Bungee Workout to the Jonas Brothers on Kelly & Ryan.

Marc Santa Maria works it out as National Director of Group Fitness for Crunch Fitness, LLC. Through the years, he has led the onboarding and training of over 1000 Fitness Instructors in over 200 different wellness programs and workouts. He continues to enjoy developing innovative leadership and fitness programming for an incredibly diverse and fun team all while responsibly managing a significant departmental budget.  He has served the Crunch community since 1998. 

Marc has the unique ability to nurture individuals and teams to perform to their highest potential while honoring their big picture purpose in life.  The fitness companies and professionals he has collaborated with have gone on to become wellness industry leaders and rockstar performers.  He believes that authentic connection is the key to great success, especially in fitness. Throughout the U.S. and in over a dozen countries, Marc has given talks, presented workshops and led panels that push for and inspire that type of growth.  Marc was one of the first Elite Athletes and Master Trainers in Dance (Hip-Hop, Latin and House) for Nike. He has served as a Wellness Coach for NBC Studios and starred in dance workout videos for Exercise TV, CrunchLive and Gaiam.  He has appeared as a guest fitness spokesperson on Dr. Oz, Good Morning America, Harry and has regularly been a guest on The Today Show and Live! With Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest.

With a gift of making cool dance moves accessible, Marc has taught at Broadway Dance Center, Peridance and Steps in NYC and Pineapple Studios in London. Marc is a frequent contributor of children’s health and dance videos for Hip Hop Public Health, having collaborated with DMC, Doug E. Fresh, Lori Rose Benson and Dr. Oladjide Williams.  He believes that working out should be encouraging, empowering and entertaining and it is his goal to make that type of fitness available for everyone. 

Talking Purpose on Pound’s The Big Green Couch

Marc lives in Los Angeles and NYC with his husband, Yoga Teacher & Entrepreneur Jess Gronholm and their twin girls Hope and Makena. In his spare time, Marc can be found telling his daughters stories about myths, superheroes and their Filipino-American ancestry,  exposing them to iconic music videos and supporting them in being sweet, smart and strong. His book, Step Touch: The Group Fitness Method to Building Deeper Connection in Your Life comes out this Spring 2022.

I THRIVE ON CREATING INNOVATIVE workout PROGRAMs, fun fit events AND EMPOWERING group FITNESS INSTRUCTORS. NEED SUPPORT? let’s collaborate.   

Leadership Workshop with my NY Crunch Group Fitness Managers & Director.

Leadership Workshop with my NY Crunch Group Fitness Managers & Director.

On the Today Show teaching Hoda Kotb a class surfing inspired workout.

On the Today Show teaching Hoda Kotb a class surfing inspired workout.

ABOVE: With LaShawn Jones & Hip Hop Public Health President and Founder, Dr. Olajide Williams. This ground-breaking non-profit uses Hip Hop to promote healthy equity. I’m so honored to be an Ambassador-Choreographer for them and to support kids and family wellness through HIP HOP.

Marc helped us take our fitness program to the next level. He knows what resonates with fitness enthusiasts and what makes a killer workout. Over the course of our time working together he has become an integral part of our team - we can’t imagine our US team without him. His careful guidance, infectious energy and honesty helped us get our company where we wanted to go.
— Courtney Cesari (London)
When I first started working with Marc, he explained that his mentoring and leadership approach in all things was - honest, love. Now after working together for quite sometime, I know this is absolutely the truth. He is not is not afraid to tell it to you straight, and he does it with a kindness and generosity that lets me know my best interests are always his top priority. The work atmosphere he creates is always inspiring and fun.
— Cathryn Lynne Lundgren (GF Instructor, NYC)