Meet Daniela; In Her Own Words

My name is Daniela Stratman, I’m a 43 yr. old mother of two amazing teenage daughters. I live in Canoga Park, and have lived in “The Valley” my entire life.

Yes, that makes me a Valley Girl.

I am a full time personal trainer, and I love Obstacle Course Races, going to concerts, traveling and spending time with my daughters.

When I started my personal journey in fitness, it was such a struggle both mentally and physically. During the journey I met some incredible people that stood by me, encouraged me and supported me.
They never judged me. At a certain point I realized I wanted to be that person for others. I believe I am able to understand their struggles, and want to be there with them to celebrate their successes.

My biggest strength is my confidence, commitment and determination to succeed.

I was originally invited to run my first OCR, The Tough Mudder, with some friends. I wasn’t in the best shape, but I did it, and it was rough. I trained and I trained, and now, while it is still a challenge, it’s much easier to do. The community of people that helped me and supported me in the process, and continue to support me, have become like family to me. Obstacle course racing provides me an opportunity to identify what my physical (and at times) emotional weaknesses are, and train them into my strengths.

I offer my clients the encouragement, support and motivation they need to feel good about themselves and running a race.

I want my clients to feel the way I did. I want them to come out of a race feeling empowered, strong, capable and confident. I want them to understand that when you can leave your fears and ego behind, you can begin to move forward.

I understand, I’ve been there. The way you feel when you achieve your goals. When you do something you were never able to do before, that makes it all worth it.

Most people don’t know that I also struggled with weight issues, with my weight being almost 230lbs a few years ago. It took an incredible amount of commitment and dedication to get where I am today.

Image of Daniela Stratman, personal trainer and group fitness instructor at Arena Fitness in Encino.

My favorite part of my job is being there to support my clients when they need it, and to celebrate all the milestones with them.

Turning the “I cant’s” into “I just did that” is the most rewarding part of my job.