Who are we?
Badass Lady Gang exists to be your haven in the fitness world.
So much of fitness culture is expensive, intimidating, and fueled by judgment. We get that running can be the worst sometimes, and that even getting out the door to do it can be a feat of mental and physical strength. BALG was created for women to find joy in the struggle. We provide women of all athletic levels a safe space to have fun and belong.
We’re here to make your fitness world one that’s fun and inclusive. We believe fitness isn’t one size fits all -- it’s not even one size fits most. Our mission is to foster a community of badasses who redefine fitness, because the best way to be a lady is to kick ass, take names, be strong, and lift each other up.
We’re all about accessibility, affordability, and having a Good. Freakin’. Time. We show up for each other to make health a lifestyle — not a look.
Head Coach and Founder of the Badass Lady Gang, Kelly Roberts got her B.A. in Theater Arts from California State University Long Beach and promptly panicked about her oncoming student loans. With no idea how to make a living doing what she loved, she had a full-blown quarter-life crisis and was just desperate enough to start running.
Running wasn't the plan. Kelly lovingly refers to herself as the Self-Proclaimed Former President of the "I F*cking Hate Running Club" — but struggling to grieve her brother's painful death and her uncertainty about what to do with her life, running gave Kelly a way to put one foot in front of the other in a time when not much made sense. Shortly after running a marathon and moving to New York City, her viral selfies from the NYC Half Marathon struck a chord. Kelly was making running funny, approachable, and real for everyday runners — something very few people were doing at the time. Her blog Run, Selfie, Repeat (and later podcast) broke through a space dominated by elite athletes and frustrating gatekeeping. As her platform grew, so did the need for community. The Badass Lady Gang was born.
Kelly's philosophy is simple: too many people have been made to believe that the size of their body is something they should be ashamed of. F*ck that. You can't tell how healthy someone is by looking at them and we deserve to live a life free from judgement. Health is not a look — it's a lifestyle that changes day to day. BALG exists to arm women with the tools and community to fight back against a world that tries to commodify their every insecurity and thought. If you aren't having fun, it's time to pivot. Whether you're running 1-2 days a week, take walking breaks, or if you’re training for a marathon — there's space for every type of runner here. She is an RRCA certified coach and has completed Dr. Stacy Sims' Women Are Not Small Men certification course, helping coaches better serve their female athletes. Over the years, Kelly has coached thousands of women from brand new runners to those chasing Boston qualifying times, appeared on the cover of Women's Running Magazine, worked with just about every fitness brand around, and created a worldwide body image empowerment movement called the Sports Bra Squad.
Kelly believes BALG is rooted in community, storytelling, and creating spaces for people to show up in ways that surprise them — whether that means showing up exactly as they are, or moving toward something they've always dreamed of doing. The arts are at the core of who she is. We wouldn't be here without clown, ensemble work, and the Theatre.
In her spare time, she's the wrangler and social media strategist behind September L. Davis — a creative gift with some of the funniest people in the world.
She lives in Brooklyn, New York with her two cats Phoebe and Glayds.
Head of Yoga and Strength for the Badass Lady Gang, Amanda Kerpius is a certified Yoga Therapist and Yoga Teacher, Licensed Massage Therapist, Certified Running Coach, 11x marathon finisher, Boston Marathon Qualifier, and new mom!
During undergraduate school, Amanda performed at football and basketball games as a Colorado State “Golden Pom'' dancer. With her midsection constantly exposed to thousands of sports fans, she started running as a way to help improve her perceived body-shape. After graduation, Amanda moved to NYC to pursue a career in dance. She ran and ran and ran convinced that having a smaller body would help her career. What she didn’t know is that she was building a physical and mental endurance that would carry her through her trials of adulthood: career changes, college degrees, marriage, divorce, financial debt, pregnancy, and now, motherhood. Running is Amanda’s meditation and when Amanda feels most connected with her breath, thoughts, and Self. Running is when she feels most alive and she knows she isn’t alone. Through her teaching and therapeutic work, Amanda seeks to help others continue this magical journey of life with endurance of mind and body.
First a trained dancer, Amanda practiced, performed, and choreographed dance for 26 years, lending her lifetime of body awareness newfound credibility through a yoga form that is both rigorous and healing to the physical and emotional self. Amanda graduated Summa Cum Laude from the Swedish Institute’s massage therapy program in 2017 and shortly thereafter received her License in Massage Therapy. That year she also completed a yearlong study of functional movement science with the Gray Institute making her a Fellow of Applied Functional Science. In May 2021, she completed an 850-hour yoga therapy certification with Prema Yoga Institute and became a certified yoga therapist with the International Association of Yoga Therapists. She received her first 200-hour yoga teacher training certification in 2012 and has accumulated nearly 3,000 teaching hours since then.
As she trains for her 11th marathon, Amanda specializes in and has a passion for helping endurance athletes perform better and experience deep, nourishing recovery with yoga-based functional movement, functional massage therapy and game-changing yoga wisdom that’s designed to ignite the mind and body to achieve it’s best.
Reach out!
Want to get in touch with the Badass Lady Gang? Drop us a line with questions, comments, or if you’re interested in working together.