Misti Dawn White, a transformational expert, uses physical intelligence, mental resilience, and compassion to guide others. With over 20 years of experience, she helps individuals turn challenges into opportunities. As a gym owner, coach, breakdance instructor, licensed massage therapist, and author, Misti's holistic approach has cultivated a strong and loyal community. Her journey from adversity to resilience, or what she likes to call shattered to shredded, inspires a broad audience, showcasing her remarkable transformation.
Misti Dawn White, Fitness and Life Coach, Entrepreneur
How long have you been in the health and fitness industry?
I have been a fitness coach since I was 19 years old! I’m 41 now, so it’s been a solid 22 years. I thought it would be the perfect job while I was in college at the University of Florida, and I plan to go to medical school. I always truly felt that I was in the right place working on the prevention side. I know I’m living my purpose because I feel caught up in the moment, inspired, and always look forward to my work. I feel very blessed to be doing what I love every day and to have found this purpose of mine as a coach at a very young age.
So, you’re a coach and now have written your first book. You named it From Shattered to Shredded. What inspired you to write this book?
When you are a female with a lean and fit body like mine, you hardly walk out of the house without someone commenting on your body. For me, especially when my legs are showing! The comments start the conversation and then comes the story of that person’s life. The story typically is a list of all of the reasons why they aren’t fit or fell off their fitness wagon at some point. It’s actually quite crazy listening to people get so personal so fast with me. They start telling me about their childhood, gut health, divorce, financial struggles, every broken bone and surgery, you name it!
And I typically just listen. So, my book is dedicated to all of these people who I meet on the street. The ones who will never walk into my gym and get to know me personally. My goal is for them to never look at me or someone else who looks like me again, thinking, “I could never be that fit because, blah blah blah.” I just want to let them know that I have had much pain and struggle. Some of the stories I share in my book are extremely personal, and I’ve never shared them outside of my therapists and close friends. My hope is to inspire others to use fitness as a tool to positively transform their own pain and struggles into superpowers and new strengths.
Your book is all about transforming pain into power. Can you share a personal story that inspired you to write this book and how you used these principles to overcome your own challenges?
This is funny and such a true story and gives a perfect example of how I work with my mind. This actually is not a story about how I was initially inspired to write the book but it is certainly related to your question.
The last few months of writing were super challenging because my emotions were running wild as my husband left our home and I was very alone and grieving a ton. I found myself falling into the habit of venting, complaining, and blaming him often. Instead of continuing this self-destructive behavior, I asked my friends to say to me “Misti, how’s your book coming along?” every time I would start to talk about my husband! Ahahaha... And I trained my own mind to do the same.
This mindset hack had me working very hard on my book! Every time I felt frustrated and negative, I would just turn to my book! I was literally turning my brain from the pain towards the power!
Speaking of writing, what was the hardest chapter to write in your book?
That’s a great question! The first chapter was, by far, the hardest one to write! The book starts off by describing one of the last days I was badly abused and scared for my life at 17 years old. It was one of the scariest days of my life. At first, my second chapter, which is on habits, was actually chapter one. I was working in a group with other authors and my book was not feeling potent enough. Although I touched on personal shattering stories, I just breezed over any details and got on with the coaching and the “shredded” parts very quickly.
I actually even went back into one-on-one therapy to address my PTSD that was related to some of the scenes from my past. I ended up with a therapist who practiced ART (Accelerated Resolution Therapy.) This is not as common as EMDR, which is another type of therapy that helps people move through trauma. ART works to directly reprogram the way in which distressing memories and images are stored in the brain so that they no longer trigger strong physical and emotional reactions.
I decided to separate out the pivotal` moment and healed enough to be able to write and then read out loud the shattering story from my youth. Even after I finished, my writing group was telling me how I sounded “matter of fact” and how the story “lacked true emotion.”
I ended up adding a sentence or two about that in the chapter in order to let readers know that it has taken me a ton of work and healing to have the courage to share stories like that. It’s one thing to talk to a loved one or a therapist about these things. It’s a whole different ball game when you put it out for the world to see. I will also say that most of my loved ones do not even know that first chapter story. I can’t tolerate much bad news and I am typically one who shows my strength and saves my struggle for private places.
How does your approach to turning pain into a ‘dream body’ differ from traditional fitness and health strategies? What makes your methods unique?
This book is definitely not a traditional fitness book. In fact, when choosing which area in a library my book will live, the clear choice was Health and Fitness/Alchemy. From Shattered to Shredded is my life. I live a lifestyle where I consciously choose to blend the concept of alchemy with health and fitness. There are many metaphors within my fitness journey and they all play a huge role in my personal journey of transformation.
My hope is that readers will understand the way I blend alchemy with fitness and that they too will find their own ways to transform their pain into superpowers. I’d say the main way my methods are unique is that they push people to find all of their weaknesses and all of their strengths and love every piece. I teach people how to embrace setbacks. I coach people to constantly ask questions and brutally answer them. Every chapter in my book offers guided writing work. I’m really all about the “go deep or go home” mantra. My book is not really a guide at all related to how to look like me. It’s more showing people the pain and work that has gone into the life someone like me has lived and created.
It’s almost like my physique does not even have to do with traditional “fitness.” It’s more about deeper wisdom and connection among the body mind, and soul. That sounds a bit cliche and I’m sure there are non-traditional books out there that address these connections. Mine is just personal, and my aim is to connect and help others create their own shattered to shredded stories.
Many people struggle with staying motivated when facing physical or emotional pain. How does your book address this challenge and help readers turn their struggles into sustainable success?
First of all, I’m addressing the challenges that we face to stay motivated when facing physical or emotional pain by sharing my own true shattering stories and the non-traditional mindset tools I use to take care of my well-being.
The short answer to this question, though, is my second chapter. The chapter is titled:
A Habit Is Worth 300 Days
Mind-lessness: The Most Valuable Key to Success
When we are looking to transform, we are, in many ways, choosing a new identity. Aspects of who we are, like our personality and identities, can be changed. Your body can transform! The first place to focus on is your habits. Habits, to me, are the number one topic to address when we are looking at sustainable success with our fitness.
As I stated in this book I wrote for you all, motivation is fleeting, and habits are what make your health and fitness journey more effortless and rewarding. This book does not even really go into how I eat or train. It’s more about the habit of creating yourself. Again, it’s about alchemy. The habit of “turning lead into gold” is what I’m pressing others to embrace.
One of my spiritual mentors taught me about this concept years ago. She loves to pull tarot cards, and I typically do not love those cards. I just have always felt like they could possibly sway my decision-making and disrupt my flow. Flow is something I’ve worked on since I tend to be one who loves the illusion of control.
She kept pulling this card where there was a house burning down and people were jumping out. It was not just one or two times. This was every single time I saw her for years. I kept having “shit” happen in my life. The fires felt so hot. I kept thinking, “Oh, now the house has burned down.” And yet, shit kept burning down. I held that mantra close to my heart and continued to focus on it when in deep meditation. It’s been an incredible journey, and I hope to inspire others with it.
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