22-year-old with Down Syndrome becomes certified barre istructor in Utah
A 22-year-old Utahan with Down Syndrome has become a certified fitness instructor for the popular program UpBeat Barre.
Aubry Allbridge had been attending several classes at VASA Fitness in Kaysville — including UpBeat Pilates, Zumba, SilverSneakers and HIGH Fitness — but her favourite was UpBeat Barre, which combines strength training, Pilates, cardio and yoga into a high-energy workout.
UpBeat Barre instructor and co-owner of the gym, Jane Johnson, said she had kept an eye on Allbridge for years, noticing how gifted she was at remembering routines.”She has an incredible brain. Aubry can learn choreography so fast, and she retains it. She also knows all the lyrics to the songs, so she can sing along with the best of them,” Johnson told KSL.
Having recently been certified, Allbridge led her debut class of 60 people.”I had such a fun time,” she said. “I love to be on stage. I love exercise. I loved to wear my mic and say every cue, and I love to meet with people and collecting friends. I want to help everyone feel included.”In an Instagram post announcing her certification, she said her favourite part of the course was motivational cuing and giving options “to make everyone feel included.”Johnson said she is now helping Allbridge turn the certification into a full-time job at the gym.
The story echoes that of 36-year-old Dan MacGauley, who has Down Syndrome, autism, and is deaf in his left ear. After two rounds of open-heart surgery as a toddler and being wheelchair-bound as a teen, he started lifting weights to lose weight and in 2023 took first place in the European Bench Press Championship, posting 154 lbs classic and 198 lbs equipped.
