Five Elements MMA Coach Kate Riley has stepped in the ring before. She had been overweight ever since she was 5 years old and 5 years ago, she realized she had to fight the battle.


"When I first met Coach Jason Porter, I was about 270 pounds and I am looking at him and say, 'You are insane, I am not going to do MMA.' I knew I had to make a change when it started to become hard for me to even leave my house. I always struggled with some anxiety and depression and you just get to a point where you realize that is not life, you are not living," said Riley.


She started by joining five element and fitness. Kate trained with Coach Jason Porter 5 days a week and began fueling her body the right way which increased her confidence punch by punch.


"You just start thinking about how great you feel when you eat healthy and I think if everyone took a chance and worked out and ate healthy and realized just how amazing they felt, it becomes addicting," said Riley.


And it’s become a way of life for Greg Troupe. Greg had back injury a few years ago and gained almost 100 pounds during that time. For the last year he has worked with Kate and she has trained him that dreams do come true.


"I was a gym class wallflower. I was mobile but I was not athletic. I never thought I could be athletic in my life. But then I came to Five Element and became not only a reality but a goal to become more athletic to the point when I could compete in the amateur fights in the cage at some point," said Greg Troupe, Kate's student.


Kate has done MMA for five years and her story is special because she had a ton of self discipline and perseverance.


"I never ever would have thought that this would happen. I was actually talking to someone the other day and I am not supposed to be an MMA fighter, I'm not supposed to be someone who is in the health and fitness industry, and sometimes I have to go back to my own story and remind myself of where I came from," said Riley.


"Kate has been a big inspiration. Anytime I think, 'Ahh, I will take a break or something,' I think of her. She is always there to push you and help you not just even inside the mat but outside the gym as well," said Brenda Grafton, PowerFit Instructor.


"We shared our before and after pictures and to see somebody that really was the same shape as I was and had the same issues and about the same amount of weight to lose, it helped me realize that it was something I could accomplish," said Troupe.


Now the saying of a trainer is “it’s not how you start but how you finish.” Kate was just a beginner at mixed martial arts and now, she’s a leader and a mentor for others.


"I think I get most of my motivation from my students to keep going. There are days I don't want to go to the gym and I just think about how I have people looking up to me and those messages mean the absolute world to me," said Riley.


She plans to keep teaching at the school and also fight in a few amateur fights in the future.