GOLD WINNER
Mitchell Benvie, Evolve Fitness3667 Strawberry Hill Street, suite 220
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SILVER WINNER
Emily Herman, Emily Herman FitnessMOVE EAST Studios, 6130 Quinpool Road
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BRONZE WINNER
Alan Dalton, Evolve Fitness3667 Strawberry Hill Street, suite 220
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Mitchell Benvie is wired differently. For one, he doesn’t mind his alarm clock ringing at 4:30 in the morning. “Because I’m coming to the gym to hang out with people that I love,” he says, speaking by phone with The Coast. As co-owner and personal trainer at Evolve Fitness in Halifax’s north end along with his twin brother Matt, Benvie has built a following among the fitness faithful—but he’s loath to accept any credit. “I'm definitely not the most popular trainer here anymore,” he jokes. “We've got some really, really wonderful people.” Benvie’s path to personal training was a roundabout one. He taught English in South Korea after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in kinesiology from Dalhousie—and was about to accept another job teaching English in Brazil when his brother, back home in Halifax, asked if he wanted to join him in running “a very, very small gym.” Since then, Evolve has expanded from one-on-one training to group fitness—and along with it, Benvie has racked up a string of Best Personal Trainer awards (this year’s Best of Halifax award marks his sixth straight). “There's so many more people that should be recognized here,” Benvie says. “But, you know, it just shows the growth of Evolve over the years and lots of wonderful clients who vote for us.”
