Camille Thionville

Camille is a movement-obsessed coach from Orange/Madison, Virginia who believes that “movement is life, and life is movement.” She began her journey in body-movement through schooling at home — graduating at 16 — and exploring martial arts, beginning with the Laughing Dragon Kung Fu tradition. Soon she transitioned into calisthenics at age 16, working toward pull-ups, handstands, pistol squats, and bodyweight skills.

Her interests expanded as she studied Animal Behavior (while attending college in Maine) and got certified in the Balanced Athlete program — even teaching classes while still a student. After earning credentials including NASM Certified Personal Trainer (CPT) and MovNat Level 2, she spent four years working full-time in outdoor education. Over time, Camille transitioned fully into her passion: teaching movement and strength.

Her movement approach is eclectic and rooted in natural human movement patterns and evolutionary design. She weaves together training modalities including weightlifting, kettlebells, calisthenics, parkour/natural movement, martial arts, and “ninja-style” movement. This allows her to train strength, mobility, balance, climbing, jumping, carrying — and all the ways bodies are meant to move.

Camille was drawn to The Strength Initiative because she values how STI encourages women to lift, grow strong, and feel empowered — with no barrier to entry. She loves sharing movement, strength, and confidence with all kinds of bodies.

When she isn’t coaching, Camille is often making things by hand — from shoes and bags to monkey bars, baskets, or even knives — because if she needs something, she tries to build it before buying. She rides motorcycles for stress relief and exploration, tries her hand at juggling (with good humor), and loves kettlebell complexes and training that supports her ability to “stop, drop, and parkour” whenever movement calls.

Fun facts: growing up she climbed trees daily and got very good at it. She once lived outside for three years — in a yurt, a van, and a tent — and sometimes misses that freedom. She once painted hyper-realistic watercolors and discovered a love for stand-up paddleboarding (because who says movement has to stay on land?). She also teaches kids nature-based games and camouflage hide-and-seek — one of her favorite traditions.