About CKO Hoboken

Adam has been an instructor at CKO for almost a decade with his brothers having also held their trainer positions in the company. Over the years, Adam has been known to bring out some amazing transformations in people. So much so that he is one of our CKO Pad Trainers with his Personal Training Certification. Aside from training, Adam is also a published writer that is currently working on primarily poetry. He finds elements of inspiration from following the hip hop and rap music scenes. Whether you’re looking for some deep thoughts or trying to let out emotions with some great CKO training, Adam is definitely right there to help!

Favorite Quote: “Our perspective can be our passport or our prison.” – Inky Johnson

Fun Fact: Adam is a self-proclaimed “sneakerhead” – Try asking him what his favorite kicks are!

Potentially Untrue Fact: Adam’s favorite TV Show growing up was “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” He knows the entire unabridged theme song that was only released the first year the show aired.

Nicknames: Baby Q

Wall Street financier by day, CKO trainer by night – Alessandra, a.k.a DJ Dazzo, is a Jersey girl at heart. Quickly inspired by the sense of community and energy of the class, Alessandra started teaching to make everyone feel like CKO is their 2^nd home. She carries a passion for EDM music, and in her class, you’ll be punching to the beat of her playlists (literally). Get ready to break out the jabs, hooks, and dance moves, so you can leave feeling like you totally DESTROYED THAT BAG!

Favorite Quote: “Remember, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.” – Dale Carnegie

Fun Facts: Italian is Alessandra’s first language & she made a hole-in-one in REAL golf 3 weeks into playing (165 yard shot)!

Potentially Untrue Fact: Alessandra has a wall in her home devoted solely to mementos from BSB concerts she attends. Her favorite is from a BSB cruise she attended in 2018.

Nickname: DJ Dazzo

Alex is a former semi-professional soccer player. After some years off the field, he began looking for an equally intense workout. That’s where his passion for boxing began. Over time, his continuous practice of the sport grew to be the catalyst for his future – the thrive to achieve in boxing translated to his drive to help others achieve as well. Professionally, for the past 10 years, Alex has run his own training company focusing on helping small business owners and professionals. He is also an author, with some of his books used at a number of major US universities where he used to travel to give talks. As he’ll tell anyone though, his most exciting accomplishment might just be getting over 1,000 followers on TikTok without resorting to any of the famous dances from the platform.

Favorite Quote: “Do what you can, where you are, with what you have” – Theodore Roosevelt

Fun Fact: Alex is an amateur musician. He writes and performs his own songs at different bars around Manhattan.

Potentially Untrue Fact: Alex starred in a hit TV Show when he was little where he played a superhero’s best friend.

Nicknames: THE AG

Anthony is a veteran CKO member turned trainer after 5 years. He is best known for his creative ways to get you laughing and distracted from the working out itself. By the end of his class, you’ll notice a great calorie-burn on your fitness tracker along with a memory of a lot of corny “dad-jokes.” Anthony also offers theme nights every so often. You never know what to expect during those classes. Sometimes you’ll have special playlists and other times you might see Anthony decked out in a very themed (and usually warm) costume.

Favorite Quote: “Laughing during class burns 40 extra calories so feel free to laugh at all my jokes.” -Anthony

Fun Fact: Anthony is a self-proclaimed beard and mustache enthusiast, a lover of Star Wars and snowboarding, and is trained in Tae Kwon Do!

Potentially Untrue Fact: Anthony once toasted a slice of bread that holds a striking resemblance to Darth Vader. It is currently sealed in an air-tight bag. He hopes to one day put it on E-Bay to help fund his dream of owning a 1982 DeLorean.

Nicknames: “The one that tells jokes”

Gail is a fashion and fitness photographer who lost 60lbs with CKO and then became a trainer! She is often seen in classes hitting the bag with an intense passion for reaching her goals. She has and continues to inspire a great deal of people with her transformation that was even featured on the main CKO Website. Gail loves taking random trips to Target to help find her balance. When she can’t get there, she’s likely heading to the beach for a nice long walk.

Favorite Quote: “Make your life a masterpiece; imagine no limitations on what you can be, have or do.” – Brian Tracy

Fun Fact: Gail loves ABBA and knows all the words to every song except the one song you’ll ask her about.

Potentially Untrue Fact: Gail has a folder in her phone of just different seagull pictures she took. She enjoys naming each one and her favorite one is named Carrie Gull (C. Gull).

Nickname: Carol

“Carving out daily time for self-care and filling one’s own well with a CKO workout isn’t selfish… it’s responsible!”  This is a mantra that trainer Heidi Conlin lives by and passionately reminds our members who attend her Monday/Wednesday mornings 9AM kickboxing classes.  Heidi loves encouraging everyone who participates in her classes to connect from within, chose joy, prioritize clean eating, and maintaining positive physical health for life-balance and overall well-being.  Heidi is a mother of four children, an attorney and is pursuing her own energy healing practice in Hoboken.  Come join Heidi’s class for a vigorous workout for your mind, spirit AND your body!

Fun Fact: Heidi has been a CKO Instructor with us at CKO Hoboken for over 10 years (and we are really grateful to have her as part of the family)!

James was born in Totowa, New Jersey and began teaching for CKO in 2005 at a sister CKO location. He earned a BA in History and a Legal Degree over the course of 7 years. He enjoys taking CKO Classes and can always be seen laughing with everyone in the gym. He is supportive and helpful to each person he comes across but don’t be fooled, his classes will leave you with far more sweat than you might be expecting! We’re not currently sure if James’ full-time job is practicing law or working out at CKO but either way, we’re happy to have him on the team!

Favorite Quote:
“You need to build the small muscles first before you can build the big muscles.”  -James
“You must have skipped part one.” -Anthony in reply

Fun Fact:  James is secretly a guitarist during his spare time.

Potentially Untrue Fact: James refuses to wear sleeves because someone told him years ago he should never hide his arms again. He felt so proud, he listened. To this day, he rips off any sleeves he can from his shirts.

Nickname: JamesLaw

Nickname for each of his “arm cannons” (as they are often referred to by him): Renegade and The Fury

Raised in what Leo says is the best neighborhood of all Hudson county, North Bergen, Leo always searches for new ways to expand his physical, spiritual, and emotional self. He enjoys low-key quiet areas and coffee shops so that he can read, write, and plan his goals. His favorite form of humor is sarcasm and his coping mechanism is, in his words, music. Leo is an avid guitar player who owns three different guitars that he uses exclusively depending on his mood. He says each guitar plays a different element of sound and each reflects a different series of emotions for him. Leo is also is a certified personal trainer through ISSA and offers one-on-one Pad Training sessions at CKO!

Favorite Quote:
“Going home and spending time with your family and your real friends keeps you grounded.” -Jennifer Ellison

Fun Fact:  Leo is a huge fan of 70’s and disco music.

Possibly Untrue Fact: Leo is such a minimalist, he often leaves all his belongings in locker 3C without a lock. 

Nickname: The Real Deal Leo

After a successful career as a Division I volleyball player at Holy Cross, Megan went in search of an everyday workout that could match the same intensity, explosiveness and energy as her training once did. Megan made her first foray into kickboxing in 2013. After years of training at CKO, the student became the teacher and she began instructing at CKO Hoboken in early 2017. Known for her love of jumping kicks & early morning workouts, Megan holds down our first class of the day on Thursdays & Fridays. One of her favorite things to do is making her secret recipe lemon cookies for her fellow trainers and coworkers. The cookies are so revered, people take extra classes just to make sure they can have more than one!

Favorite Quote: “You Miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. -Wayne Gretzky -Michael Scott” -Michael Scott

Fun Fact: Megan was the first Volleyball player inducted into the Holy Cross Hall of Fame. 

Possibly Untrue Fact: On her spare time, Megan enjoys crocheting scarves for her friends. Her best friends get a new scarf every year on their birthdays with a special design in each one.

Nicknames: Lynchie Minaj, MVP, Megan Trainer

Mike is known for his incredible ability to help your mind forget about everything else going on in life and focus on what you are doing in class! He helps with great tips as you workout to help you perfect your form and tosses in some great jokes and surprises when you least expect it! You’ll learn a TON in Mike’s classes while also getting that full-body calorie burn you crave!

We liked Mike A so much, we tried to get a backup Mike with Mike B!
Mike B, only child raised in Manalapan, New Jersey, travels from all the way across the street as a building manager. He can often be found taking CKO Classes with his fiance, Michele. Mike has a great sense of humor about him and is always looking for ways to improve in all aspects of life. He is a huge Bruce Springsteen fan having gone to a whopping 30 of his concerts! His current record was attending three in one week. While we don’t recommend it, you can ask Mike to sing you any Bruce Springsteen song and he’ll know it word for word (please make sure you record it and send it to us if you do ask him though).

Favorite Quote:
“Whatever you say, Michele.” – Mike B

Fun Fact:  Mike B. has never tried Mac ‘n’ Cheese. When you see him, ask him why.

Potentially Untrue Fact: Mike has a twin brother named Nick but they always try to fool people by claiming each is an only-child. His fiance also has a twin as well but they don’t play along with their prank.

Nickname: The Mayor

Maryam is a data scientist with a PhD in blockchain technology. In 2018, she fell in love with Hoboken after a visit and decided that it was time to leave her place in Brooklyn. She knew it was time to make Hoboken home and we’re glad she did! You can generally find her walking the waterfront or enjoying some great workouts! As she tells people, fitness has always been a part of  life with her youth devoted to playing soccer and volleyball. When Maryam isn’t in Hoboken, she’s usually traveling and learning about different cultures. Her mantra focuses on traveling and meeting new people as a way to improve personally.

Favorite Quote: “Don’t ever let someone tell you, you can’t do something. You got a dream, you got to protect it. You want something, go get it. Period.” – Pursuit of Happiness

Fun Fact: Maryam speaks FOUR different languages and is currently learning Spanish as her FIFTH one!!

Potentially Untrue Fact: Maryam started a petition against pineapple on pizza and shared it on TikTok. The petition has now collected more than 320,000 signatures (and growing! – ask her about it)!

Nickname: Fit Crypto

When Nicolette is not at her day job as a Banking HR Professional, you’ll find her at the gym taking classes with our members or teaching. After years of being a competitive dancer, Nicolette found CKO to be the perfect way to combine her athletic nature and love for hard-hitting combinations and music (and she throws one mean roundhouse)! She became a member of the CKO Family back in 2013 and has been a member at three of our locations in New Jersey. The entire CKO Hoboken team was very excited when she took on the role of CKO Instructor in 2020! If you are looking for a high cardio/fast-paced class, she is your girl! Nicolette has a huge personality and is constantly striving to motivate our members and have them fall in love with kickboxing as much as her.

Favorite Quote: “Today I will do what others won’t, so tomorrow I can accomplish what others can’t.” -Jerry Rice

Fun Facts: Nicolette enjoys cooking, traveling both domestically and abroad, and binge-watching Reality TV (ie: Real Housewives, The Bachelor)! 

Potentially Untrue Fact: Nicolette loves the movie, “Titanic” and can sing Celine Dion’s, “My Heart Will Go On” in three different languages. She was featured in a Titanic Fan-Page for this skill and will recite any line from the movie when prompted (go ahead – test her Titanic knowledge)!

Nickname: Nic, Nic-Nac, The Chatterbox