Rachel Meth

Rachel has been an active fitness enthusiast and athlete from the time she was a child. She grew up playing many team sports, including softball which was her greatest childhood passion. Her skills as a pitcher landed her a spot on Ithaca College's softball team, which later won a National Championship title. After graduating from college, Rachel was searching for another type of athletic outlet and passion, and she discovered group exercise classes. This signified Rachel's entrance into the fitness world, and she began teaching kickboxing at her university during graduate school.

            However, the turning point in her fitness career occurred when she took her first Zumba Fitness class in 2006. It was love at first sight, and Rachel knew that she was born to be a Zumba Fitness instructor. She began teaching Zumba classes at her university as well, and within no time, she was hooked into Latin dancing. She started dancing and teaching salsa, merengue, and bachata in addition to her ample schedule of Zumba classes. Rachel’s passion for Zumba and Latin dance permeated every step of her life from then on, and she traveled to Peru, Argentina, and Brazil studying all forms of local dancing, while continuing to teach Zumba wherever she went. While living and studying dance in Argentina, Rachel taught the first-ever Zumba classes in the city of Buenos Aires.

            She continued her journey of dance and fitness, which then led her to San Diego where she continued giving Zumba classes as well as teaching and performing Brazilian dance, including samba and lambada zouk. In her professional career, she has taught Zumba classes at military institutions, gyms and fitness centers, dance studios, corporate wellness venues, and three major universities. Rachel has been a ‘Zumba pioneer’ and has helped set up many Zumba programs in areas that had never been exposed to this format. She has also worked as a Health, Physical Education, and Language Arts teacher. Rachel always incorporates fitness, dance, and wellness into the curriculum at every school in which she teachers in order to bring joy to her students and fellow staff. Currently, Rachel resides in Albuquerque, New Mexico where she teaches Middle School Health, as well as Zumba and Brazilian dance classes.