• Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Announcement Bar

Celebrating 20 Years of MINT!

202.470.5238For Members
  • Memberships
    • Free Trial
    • Membership Options
    • Membership Benefits
    • Policies
    • Account changes
  • Classes
    • Class Formats
    • Small Group Training
    • Instructors
  • Recovery
    • Massage Therapy
  • Personal Training
    • Join Our Personal Training Team
    • Reformer Pilates
    • Trainers
    • About Training
    • FIT3D
  • Schedule
  • Our Location
  • About
    • Why MINT
    • What to Expect
    • Blog
    • Community Discounts
    • Careers
    • Free Trial
    • Gift Cards
    • MINT’s Standard of Cleanliness and Safety
  • JOIN NOW
Home > Trainers

Trainers

Like Share Widget

Professional, meet professional.

Just as you would be choosy over hiring any professional, a trainer is no different. MINT has the most rigorous hiring standards of any gym or studio in the DC metro area. Our trainers have four-year degrees or 10 years minimum experience, and all hold advanced nationally-recognized certifications. No weekend certifications here. Learn more about our personal training packages.

Our Trainers

Alexa Cuevas
Alexa CuevasPersonal Trainer

Alexa grew up in a martial arts household — both of her parents trained, and she later began practicing Kung Fu and mixed martial arts herself, which she still trains and competes in today. That background greatly influences how she coaches, with an emphasis on building strength, coordination, and confidence.

Her training focuses on functional strength and quality movement. She challenges clients while keeping things approachable and helps people feel comfortable trying new things in the gym. Alexa prioritizes clear instruction and a supportive environment.

Alexa is an ACE-certified trainer who has worked with a wide range of clients, from people returning to exercise after physical therapy for stroke or arthritis to athletes looking to improve performance.

Outside the gym, Alexa enjoys trying new restaurants, hiking, biking, and traveling.

Meg DiRuggiero
Program Director
Meg DiRuggiero
Program Director
Advanced Master Trainer/Pilates Trainer/Instructor

Meg DiRuggiero wears many hats at MINT and excels at them all. As Programming Director, she plays a central role in mentoring instructors and shaping the experiences that define MINT, all while showing up as one of the most talented instructors and Pilates trainers on the floor.

Meg is certified in the STOTT contemporary method for Pilates and through NASM for personal training, and brings expertise in TRX and functional strength training to her teaching. She was first drawn to Pilates for its emphasis on core strength and stability, and experienced firsthand how blending strength and flexibility can significantly reduce back and knee pain. That personal discovery became a professional conviction: training rooted in Pilates principles creates the most sustainable and effective workouts for everyone.

Behind her teaching philosophy is a personal story. An instructor whose engaging, supportive approach made a lasting impression early in Meg’s own practice continues to shape how she shows up for her clients today. She aims to be that same instructor, someone who challenges you while keeping every session approachable, welcoming, and enjoyable.

The numbers behind her experience are hard to ignore. Meg brings over 4,000 hours of one-on-one training and more than 5,000 hours of group class instruction to every session, with a client base spanning all ages and a wide range of abilities and limitations.

Rasean Madden
Rasean MaddenAdvanced Master Trainer

Rasean has been training in the DC area for twelve years. Before starting a career as a personal trainer, he spent over 10 years training in the martial arts. Prior to coming to Mint, Rasean worked for other fitness companies training clients, and teaching boxing, and kick-boxing classes, as well as one-on-one self-defense instruction. Rasean is a NASM certified personal trainer, and Cancer Exercise Specialist , who believes that form and technique is far more important than how much weight you’re pressing. He also believes that your workout should be functional and help you in your everyday routine, and in the power of healthy living for a good life.

The Cancer Exercise Specialist is a professional qualified to assess, design, and implement individual, and group exercise programs for individuals diagnosed with cancer. The CES evaluates health behaviors, and risk factors, and modify negative health habits, in order for the client to reach more robust health with positive lifestyle management. The CES has a complete understanding of the entire cancer process from diagnosis to treatment, recovery, and prevention of lymphedema, and contraindications.

Myke Nicholson
Myke NicholsonHIIT (PP, TRX), Box, Master Trainer

Classes: Power Playground, Power Box, FLEX, Core, and Master Trainer

Myke Nicholson describes himself as an athletic artist, and once you experience his training style, that description makes perfect sense. He approaches fitness as a creative discipline, constantly finding new ways to challenge the body and mind while guiding clients toward victories that are uniquely their own.

A NESTA-certified personal trainer and TRX-certified instructor with almost 20 years of experience, Myke draws from a deep and diverse toolkit that spans weightlifting, calisthenics, strongman, and MMA. That breadth of expertise means no two sessions feel the same, and every client gets a training experience built around what they actually need.

Myke’s philosophy is simple but powerful: be a force amplifier. He is not here to overhaul your life overnight. He is here to help you get 1% better every single day, and to show you just how far that compounds over time.

Dallas McClendon
Dallas McClendon

Dallas started personal training as a college student working with clients, teaching group fitness, and strength training university women and co-ed cheer and dance groups. After moving to DC, he worked in both government and the private sectors, and understands balancing a 9-to-5 with fitness and staying active. He can help clients find ways to incorporate health and movement into everyday life and build systems to help stick to goals. He trains clients for weight loss, muscle growth, everyday movement and mobility, sports performance, and rehabilitation support.

Dallas is a runner and has competed in races from 5K to marathon distances. He understands the demands of training for a race and can help clients with run-specific strength exercises as well as program design. When working with Dallas, expect variety and challenges that are both exciting and push you closer to your fitness goals.

Dallas graduated from Mississippi State University with a degree in economics and is a NASM-certified personal trainer. He lives in Adams Morgan with his husband and two dogs.

Charlie Martel
Charlie Martel

Charlie Martel became a personal trainer after experiencing firsthand the positive impact great trainers can have both in and out of the gym. His training style is empowering and encouraging, focused on building strength, confidence, and long-term healthy habits. Specializing in strength training, Charlie helps clients safely increase muscle and performance while keeping workouts approachable and sustainable. Outside the gym, you’ll often find him biking with friends around the monuments or walking his dog through Rock Creek Park.

Mary Dorsch
Mary DorschMaster Trainer and Master Nutrition Coach

Mary has been training at MINT since 2014, and she trains virtual only. She is certified through the National Academy of Sports Medicine and focuses on creating individualized programs for clients based on their unique needs and fitness goals. She enjoys helping people push past their self-imposed limits and inspiring them to be the best version of themselves. She motivates clients to challenge themselves, concurrently remaining attentive to any limitations or muscular imbalances that need to be considered. As a personal trainer with a passion for motivating people to stay active, Mary strives to change people’s perspective on fitness. When she’s not working, she enjoys cooking, weightlifting, or furthering her education.

Chris Barnes
Chris BarnesMaster Trainer

Chris is a native Washingtonian who began an athletic journey at a very young age, participating in a variety of sports i.e.; baseball, basketball, football, and track. He joined the United States Marine Corps right after High School. While serving he was introduced to powerlifting where he began competing as a powerlifter under the USPLF. Chris retired from the District Government after serving (29) years, approximately fifteen of those twenty-nine years he moonlighted as a Personal Trainer in various facilities in the DMV. He’s always had a strong ambition with human anatomy and its function. He was able to embrace that passion and apply it to help others achieve their fitness goals.

Chris’s philosophy is functional training. He believes that the muscular system is an independent system that works best when trained together.
Wellness is a lifestyle that shouldn’t seem like a chore but, fun, exhilarating & enjoyable!

Training & Certifications
National Personal Training Institute (NPTI) Basic Nutrition
National Academy of Sports Medicine & GPTS (NASM)
Rotational Motion Training (RMT Club)
CPR First Aid AED

James Parker-Ashley
James Parker-AshleyMaster Trainer and Master Nutrition Coach

My love for fitness began at a young age. More likely than not I was one of the only kids in the state of North Carolina that asked for a weight lifting set for his 10th birthday. Throughout my life I’ve always been an active person and having a strong interest in playing several different sports such as soccer, football and basketball. Over the years I’ve even began to pick up tennis both competitively and leisurely. I will always be an athlete at heart.I’ve been in the fitness industry for the past 3 years and have loved every minute of it. I enjoy using the the kinesiology degree I earned from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro to improve every life that I come across. I have had experience working with clients from ages 7-93. My goal is to live a life where I am able to show people what they are truly capable of and to encourage them to be the person they didn’t even know they could become.
Certifications: Bachelor Degree in Kinesiology, ACSM-CPT
Specializations: Strength and conditioning, weight loss, core strength development, balance and coordination, flexibility, athletic training

sidebar

Form Sidebar

Sign Up for a Free Trial

Prefooter Nav

  • MINT Memberships
  • Classes
  • Personal Training
  • FIT3D
  • Hours
  • Schedule
  • Member Login
  • 100% Wind Powered

Footer

MINT

1724 California St. NW | Washington, DC 20009
202.470.5238