Chesney Mariani
Supernatural is a fitness app that launched in early 2020, and harnessed the power of VR to transport users to the world’s most beautiful locations for in-home workouts, stretching and guided meditations. Chesney Mariani first joined Supernatural as a user in late 2020, and began posting personal details of her fitness journey in the app’s Facebook support group.
Mariani shared lifelong struggles with her body image. Mariani shared in an interview, “My history with working out and the fitness world has always been negative whether it was someone making fun of me, me not feeling worthy to be in the same space or just having absolute dread when it came to working out.” It wasn’t long before hundreds of members began following along.
Later in the year, Chesney shared in a post that she had fallen in love with the brand of body neutral fitness that Supernatural had created. She posted that she secretly dreamed of becoming a Supernatural coach. The company made her dream come true in August of 2021. “I threw it out there into the universe that I wanted to be a coach for Supernatural and no matter how silly it may have sounded, it was something I truly wanted to do. They saw me for me and the passion I have and called me under the disguise of a customer feedback call,” says Mariani.
Now Mariani has four workouts in Supernatural and is one of the app’s most beloved coaches.
“I thought toxic fitness culture was the only culture,” reflects Mariani. “I’ve seen people being made fun of for their level of fitness, their appearance, even just existing and being in a gym. That was until I found Supernatural and realized fitness culture had another side to it. The first thing that Supernatural did for me was remove the judgment. Once I put the headset on and ventured into the app, I was transported to a beautiful location where there were no mirrors, no one else around me to judge.”
Mariani says she never dreamed of being an athlete, let alone a fitness coach. Now she shares the honor of being a guest coach with the likes of Tiffany Haddish and Shea Couleé.
“A Supernatural coach not only explains proper form, but they are with you throughout the workout, cheering you on and sharing memories they’ve had. It makes them relatable,” shares Mariani. “They are people and have been through things just like you and I. I get messages all the time, telling me how I’ve impacted someone and they wanted to workout with me, how I’ve connected with them and how they’ve dealt with the challenges I have dealt with. The experience has been like nothing else and it’s impacted me to the point of venturing into the fitness industry myself because it is something I love. I want to help others.”
For people who, like Mariani, love working out but have historically felt left out of the world of fitness, she has some advice: “The first thing I want (you) to say is ‘I am worthy.’ It’s okay to be picky. You can start small, but you have to do what you enjoy.”