Marcel Dinkins, a native Memphian, was raised in Boxtown as the eldest of four kids, painfully shy and uncomfortable in public spaces. She never imagined that today she would be motivating runners across the country and bringing big energy to the Peloton screen.
Her journey with sports began in seventh grade, when a school coach scouted her for her height and encouraged her to try basketball. Despite never having played, Marcel quickly took to the sport, winning her first award, the Miss Hustle trophy, and later being named Memphis Scholastic Athlete of the Year her senior year. “Sports became my thing,” she recalls, also picking up track and field, volleyball, and anything else she could try.
“It became an outlet for me.” That outlet soon did more than fill time; it reshaped how she saw herself. “When you’re given the space to be good at something and see your own potential, it builds confidence in yourself as a person.”
As a first-generation college student, Marcel faced early challenges navigating young adulthood away from home. “I was put on academic probation my freshman year,” she says of her 0.125 GPA. “I didn’t have something anchoring me like knowing I had to perform in sports.”
Joining the National Guard changed everything. “It provided me with a new level of discipline and was a physically demanding space that gave my life structure, allowing me to excel.” In basic training, she rose from trainee to leading her fellow trainees as platoon leader and then her full company as a student First Sergeant in AIT.
After returning to school a year later, Marcel joined the Army ROTC, graduated as an Army Engineer officer in the reserves, ran cross country, worked, stayed active in multiple organizations, and graduated with honors, earning a partial sports scholarship in her final semester.
Hungry to see the world, Marcel moved to New York City and entered the fashion industry. “I was working 11-hour days and then going to the gym — exercising a lot from stress,” she says. “I wondered, this aspect of fitness in my life, can I make it a career?”
True to form, Marcel quickly earned certifications and switched career paths, landing work as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor. Though she rose into management, she longed to return to teaching. Six years later, just as she decided to go solo, the COVID shutdown hit.
“I invested a lot of money in a business coach and started putting free workout classes on Instagram every day,” she says. “Even if no one showed up, I still did the workouts and posted them.”
One day, a Peloton talent scout sent her a DM asking her to audition. “I thought, oh my gosh, this was on my vision board,” she exclaims, landing the job six months later.
Now a Peloton Tread Instructor, Marcel’s days run from sunrise to sunset, beginning with a two-hour personal workout, followed by meetings, projects, teaching and recording classes, connecting with visiting members, networking events, and an early night.
“I have people all the time tell me that they had so much fun during one of my classes and that they forgot they were working out. Running is an extremely intimidating activity, but it has brought me so much joy. My goal is always to share that joy and outlet with the rest of the world,” Marcel comments.
Marcel hopes to continue inspiring people to adopt fitness as an amazing outlet for both body and mind.
Follow her on IG: @officialmarcelfit
By Shlomit Ovadia
Photo by Peloton
