Come as you are. Leave stronger.
Groundswell is an outdoor movement community rooted in Santa Cruz.
We believe the deepest connections aren't built over small talk — they're built when you're working hard alongside someone else and neither of you quits.
Our events are challenging on purpose. Pilates at the park, power yoga on a farm, a ridge hike at sunset — whatever the format, we show up ready to be pushed. And we do it in the places that make Santa Cruz worth living in:
the farms, the trails, the coast, the community spaces, and local businesses that hold this town together.
There's something about this place — the way the local farmers know the restaurant owners know the neighbors you run into on the trail. Santa Cruz has always had that feeling of being held by the people around you. Groundswell is built on that same idea, just with more sweat involved.
The modality changes. The standard doesn't.
Hi, I'm Hannah!
I'm a born-and-raised Santa Cruz local, a pilates and fitness instructor of five years, and someone who genuinely cannot sit still. On any given weekend you'll find me on a long bike ride or run, teaching a hard class, or somewhere in the forrest with friends who also don't know when to slow down.
I've always loved what movement does to a room. There's usually a moment during a really hard class where everyone stops performing and just survives together. And something shifts. You don't need to introduce yourself after that. You already know each other.
I started Groundswell because I couldn't find what I was looking for: a fitness community with actual standards, in the outdoor spaces I already loved, with people who show up to work. Not to be seen. To be changed.
Five years of teaching showed me over and over that movement is one of the most powerful ways humans connect. Groundswell is just that, scaled up — taken outside. I've never felt more grateful to do something I actually believe in.
When I'm not running or biking, you'll find me teaching a class, cooking & baking, or outside with friends on the trails or at the beach. Santa Cruz makes it pretty hard to stay indoors. This town is my favorite place on earth, and sharing it through movement is the whole point.
