Team WIP
Paul Ducey | Owner & Head Coach
Paul was born and raised in West Hartford. He spent 5 years working at ESPN before dedicating himself to a career in personal and group fitness coaching. Paul is an ISSA certified fitness coach. Before becoming the owner, he was the full time coach at WIP for 5 years. You can get an amazing workout with Paul whether he is your coach or your workout partner, as he likes to jump into classes when he’s not coaching. Paul enjoys all aspects of fitness from strength training to yoga and everything in between. His hobbies include playing hockey and trying the latest beers from New Park Brewing.
Julia Ducey | Owner & Coach
Julia’s love for fitness began with soccer. From a young age soccer allowed her to travel around the country playing, and she continued to play through her college years. Julia graduated from SCSU with a degree in Exercise Science. Like Paul, she too was a coach at WIP for many years before becoming an owner. You will often find her as your workout partner during a class! She is also a Physical Education & Health teacher in the Connecticut Technical High School system. Her hobbies include lifting heavy, reading, and trying out beers at different breweries.
Ezi Velazquez | Coach
Ezi has been an athlete since as long as he can remember and always has been in love with sports and fitness. He is currently a student at Central Connecticut State University studying Exercise Science with an interest in strength coaching. He is a competitive powerlifter but loves all kinds of performance training. His favorite hobbies include watching the jets lose on Sundays and trying different types of food.
Natasha Friedman | Coach
Natasha has always had a love for being active and spending time outside ever since childhood, whether it was going for long runs or hiking up the White Mountains. Her love for WIP started in 2015, after having kids and deciding that she needed something more to keep up with the daily life of being a mom. Once she started working out at WIP she fell in love with weight training and became a Certified Personal Trainer in 2018. She started her own Personal Training gym inside her home but still frequently enjoyed taking classes at WIP. Natasha enjoys all areas of fitness and well being. She loves to help people become stronger, healthier and have fun! Her goal is to help others become the best version of themselves. She is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, Stretch and Flexibility Coach, Performance Enhancement Specialist and a Nutrition Coach. When Natasha isn’t coaching or working out herself she is on the baseball or football fields, basketball courts or concert halls cheering on her 2 kids. She leads a very active lifestyle with her husband, 2 kids and 3 dogs but loves every second of it! Her hobbies include checking out the latest and greatest in our community but especially the restaurants and breweries in the area.
Kerrie Andrews | Coach
Kerrie fell in love with group fitness when she was 16 and joined a gym with her best friend. By the time she was 20, she was teaching step and hi/lo aerobics. She has been certified for almost thirty years through the National Exercise Teachers Association and has had specialty certifications in things like kickboxing, Insanity, and Body Pump. She loves the energy and accountability of group fitness. She joined WIP as a member in 2013 and it quickly became her special place to workout while she was teaching elsewhere. When there was an opportunity to cover classes for a vacationing wip coach, she jumped at the chance and has been covering classes ever since. Kerrie works out at the 5:45am classes and a weekend class when she isn’t at her kids’ hockey, soccer, flag football, or LAX games.
Kerrie has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for 20 years and lives in West Hartford with her husband, 3 children, one dog, and any number of foster dogs.
Amy Ogle | Yoga Instructor
Amy is a 2014 graduate of West Hartford Yoga’s WHY Power Yoga Teacher Training Program, and she has been practicing and studying yoga for more than 15 years.
She's amazed and humbled by the practice and its ability to balance and heal the body, mind, and spirit.
Amy creates strong, dynamic classes with modifications for new and experienced practitioners alike, always set to an eclectic playlist. She encourages everyone to explore their edge in a nurturing and playful environment.
When she's not at WIP, Amy loves hanging with her dog Zeus, dancing to live music, and finding travel adventures all over the world.
Monica Torpey | Yoga Instructor
Monica’s been a WIP client since 2016 and has been teaching yoga at WIP since 2019. She is a 2018 graduate of the West Hartford Yoga Teacher Training. She describes her classes as “choose your own adventure yoga” as she gives lots of pose variations so classes are accessible to all regardless of flexibility or skill level. Classes include a dynamic power yoga flow that helps clear your mind while improving strength, flexibility balance…with a few corny jokes thrown in.
When she’s not on her mat or working out at WIP you can find her exploring with her dog, making pottery, skiing, hiking, on her paddleboard or planning her next trip.
Katie Marone | Yoga Instructor
Bio coming soon!