SunUte Community Center is well known for their superior customer service, friendly staff, excellent facility and high-quality programming within their recreation, aquatics, and fitness departments. With a membership, tribal and community members have access to fitness assessment, incentives, a large selection of modern equipment, and one-on-one personal fitness training with a certified trainer.
The Fitness Department has three trainers available to assist with your personal fitness goals, each trainer is dedicated to helping clients gain confidence, strength and overall happiness within their individual health and fitness journey. Will Hacker is a trainer originally from Rosebud, S.D. and enjoys basketball, video games, and YouTube. Hacker graduated from Fort Lewis College in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and has been working for SunUte Community Center since 2019. Hacker is also a NSCA- Certified Personal Trainer and received his Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialism this year. When asked about his favorite part of being a SunUte trainer, he explains how he enjoys helping his clients gain confidence. “Getting people stronger, getting them comfortable in the weight room and teaching them how to use all the equipment,” Hacker said. “[Members] come on in and give it a try, it’s here, it’s free and you can’t get [personal training] anywhere else for free.”
Eliyah Lucero is the Head Fitness Trainer at SunUte, she found a passion for fitness growing up as a runner and graduated from Fort Lewis College with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science with the Exercise Specialist option. Lucero began personal training through a senior capstone class which allowed her to become certified at the end of the course, after certification she worked as a caregiver encouraging elders to stay moving. Lucero specializes in working with elders at SunUte, “I have a really big passion for working with elders and I want everyone to be healthy, especially in the native community,” Lucero said. “I take everything they have going on into consideration when making their training programs.” Recently, Lucero has started the “Ute Elders and their Friends” workout classes which began on Tuesday, July 19 and will continue Tuesday’s and Thursday’s from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and is open to all elders.
Kai Roubideaux is a Trainer Intern at SunUte, he is also a member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and half Kiowa from the Kiowa Tribe of Oklahoma. Roubideaux is currently a student at Fort Lewis College and will be graduating next spring with a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology. Interning at SunUte he has the opportunity to gain hands-on work experience and potential clientele. Roubideaux is local and wanted to extend his passion for fitness to the community, “My road to this is more of a personal experience with being overweight, I wanted to change my ways of living to a much healthier lifestyle, and I found that through exercise,” Roubideaux said. “Being able to see those changes occur for myself, I could do that for someone else. I could help someone along their way to realize that it’s all within themselves.”
Members who obtain a three-month, six-month, or 12-month membership have free access to personal training and can schedule training sessions by appointment with either Will Hacker, Eliyah Lucero, or Kai Roubideaux. SunUte Community Center has a very welcoming environment and members are encouraged to take full advantage of their membership benefits. “We are always open, we have an open-door policy, and we are very, very personable,” Roubideaux said. “We want to see more people in here, not just for the numbers, but for themselves to change and build healthier habits — make sustainable changes.”
For more information on personal training and all the Fitness Department has to offer, please contact SunUte Community Center at 970-563-0214.