Group Fitness Instructor: José Rios

Born and raised in the Boogie Down Bronx, José Rios made his way to Seattle by way of Oberlin, Ohio (BA in Biology), Minneapolis, Minnesota (7 th grade science teacher), and Madison, Wisconsin (MS and PhD in science education). He stumbled into the fitness world back in 1988 when, as a poor graduate student, he needed money for rum and cokes. An ACE certified fitness instructor for more than 25 years, José is one of the few step instructors left in Seattle, and plans to add more class formats to his repertoire in the near future. Even after a heart attack (2006) and triple bypass surgery (2021), he continues to torture the Ballard Health Club crowd. “I just got new plumbing and am good for another 200,000 miles!” When not at the gym, José is a tenured associate professor of science education at UW-Tacoma. He teaches courses in science teaching and learning, educational psychology, and curriculum studies.

For fun, José likes to go to the movies, eat out (healthy options, of course), do lots of urban exploring, and hang out with his family and friends. He lives in Ballard with his wife and two sons — Rachel, Alessandro, and Luca — and Obi, their Bernedoodle. José loves teaching at BHC and is grateful for all of the support he has received from members and staff over the years.

Come join his step class on Monday and Wednesday mornings in Studio Y!