Suzie Cooney, CPT fitness professional on Maui for over a 12 years and is also the founder and owner of Suzie Trains Maui is as well a “beach girl” at heart. Her early days as a competitive windsurfer in Northern California confirmed to her that warmer waters were in her future. Her circuitous arrival to Maui 13 years ago, came after a long career in a wide-ranging experience in the sports orthopedics and physical therapy field. She assisted patients with pre op and post op care, which later evolved to a full time career, covering 3 states, representing the latest orthopedic and neurosurgical instrumentation and hardware. She also delivered instructional lectures to large medical symposiums.
After an unusual accident in April of 2009, she broke her left leg and ankle and right ankle, that left her in a wheelchair for over two months and on crutches for two more. Although unable to walk, determined and still training her clients, she discovered SUP to be her best form of personal rehab. Her mission was to tell the world not to give up and STAND UP, where out of injurty came the event she is known for, “STAND UP For Women’s Health & Fitness which attracted over 430 women from around the world in January 2010.
Suzie has taught hundreds of people to SUP ( stand up paddle ) and conducts SUP fitness clinics here on the island of Maui and around the world. She is a sponsored Team SUP Rider/Racer for Naish International, Kaenon Polarized Eyewear and is supported by Olukai Premium Footwear. As Maui’s female SUP Ambassador to the sport, she is a spokesperson and reaches thousands in her mission to teach and contribute her knowledge in health, and designs training programs specifically to enhance SUP performance.