All In The Family

At age nine, Gina Huneau (HBK’06) knew she wanted to be a leader in the health and fitness industry. “This is when I started taking karate classes," she says.  "By age 14, I was teaching them.  This childhood experience inspired my career.”

With her path set, Gina wasted no time, gaining certification as a group fitness leader and personal trainer. She spent many busy years teaching in Thunder Bay for the Parks & Recreation department, the 55+ Centre, community centres, and running her own business called Gina’s Designer Fitness.

Then, in 2000, Gina took her love of fitness to the next level by enrolling at Lakehead to pursue a degree in kinesiology, with a minor in sociology. This decision would lead to some of her most memorable personal and career achievements including, Gina says, “Being able to live my dream of owning my own gym.”

Returning to school was not easy. “I was working full time and going to university full time while being a single mom.” But her Lakehead days had many rewards. One of her classmates in a spring sociology course was her daughter. “I remember we shared our notes on lined paper! Few students had a laptop
back then.”

The camaraderie within her “kin” clan gave Gina many fun memories like “anatomy bell-ringer labs where, even if you got the answer right, if it was misspelled, it was wrong!” Happily,
she still gets to enjoy time with her “kin” when she gives presentations to students in the graduate program.

After Lakehead, Gina worked for a local gym before branching out on her own to run boot camps and outdoors training. Determined and driven, in 2011 she opened a beautiful 8,000-square-foot facility in Thunder Bay – Synergee Fitness.

As a certified kinesiologist, Gina has created more than a gym. Synergee is holistic – focusing on both its members’ health and fitness. Services include nutrition consulting, group fitness, personal training, and massage. Members can choose personal, semi-private, or small group training. “What is extra special about Synergee is that it is family run,” says Gina. “All of my children work for me in some capacity.”

Synergee is involved with family in another way. It collects members’ used gym shoes and donates them to the Underground Gym, which is owned and operated by Gina’s brother Peter Panetta. The Underground Gym provides free activities and meals to youth in need and promotes and teaches fitness, healthy lifestyles, and self-respect.

Doing what she loves. Working every day with her adult children. Living her dream.

Gina is convinced that these gifts came to her because of her approach to life. “Believe in yourself, have faith, stay positive, and on the right path, and you can attain all of your life dreams.”