2025 IDEA® Fitness Award Recipients
Honoring Excellence in Health, Fitness, and Leadership
Sacramento, CA – July 18, 2025 – IDEA® Health & Fitness Association proudly announces the recipients of the 2025 IDEA® Fitness Awards. These prestigious accolades recognize top professionals across the fitness landscape whose contributions, leadership, and innovation continue to elevate the global health and wellness industry.
Each recipient was selected by a panel of independent and anonymous industry experts, past honorees, and respected peers, with nominations reflecting the highest levels of excellence and impact. The awards continue to spotlight the individuals who embody IDEA’s mission of Inspiring the World to Fitness®.
IDEA® CEO and owner Amy Boone Thompson says:
“It is an honor to shine a light on these extraordinary professionals whose passion, vision, and commitment have moved the needle in fitness education, programming, and leadership. The 2025 IDEA® Industry Award recipients represent the best of our industry, and their work is changing lives and communities in meaningful and lasting ways.”
IDEA® Jack & Elaine LaLanne Award: Denise Austin
IDEA is honored to present Denise Austin with the 2025 IDEA® Jack & Elaine LaLanne Award. This award represents the pinnacle of lifetime achievement in our industry. It honors those who have dedicated their lives to advancing knowledge, building community, and inspiring generations of people to fitness, wellness and movement.
Denise Austin, Hermosa Beach CA, has helped transform lives as one of the world’s most successful and recognizable health professionals for 40 years. Known for her legendary content that brought fitness into the home through VHS, DVD and digital formats, which to date have sold over 25 million copies, Denise has also published 12 best-selling books and hosted her #1 exercise TV Show for 24 years every weekday morning.
Denise’s magic touch and unparalleled impact stems from her passion for helping people live healthier lives and showing them how easily that can be accomplished without feeling overwhelmed or that they must make tremendous sacrifices. Her expertise and larger-than-life personality has inspired millions of women across several generations to make small life changes that result in big impacts that keep them feeling young, fit, and fabulous every day. Denise continues to evolve her approach to connecting with women, now via digital formats with her membership program at DeniseAustin.com. In addition, her Denise Austin’s Fit Over 50 quarterly magazine, is100-pages filled with advice, and tips covering fitness, nutrition, mindset, family, fashion and more! It’s the Top Selling Special Interest Print Magazine Focused on Women’s Fitness Over 50 since its first issue was released in 2020 and is sold at over 40,000 retail locations 12 months a year. She is also a sought-after speaker and commentator for national media.
Desiree Bartlett Named IDEA® Fitness Leader of the Year
The IDEA® Fitness Leader of the Year Award honors someone who advances knowledge through innovation, builds community through collaboration, and inspires others to reach new heights of excellence.
Desiree “Desi” Bartlett, PhD, of Oahu, Hawaii, is recognized as the 2025 IDEA® Fitness Leader of the Year. A globally respected women’s health expert, yoga teacher, and product innovator, Desi brings more than 30 years of experience to her work in fitness and wellness. With a newly completed doctorate in kinesiology, she leads international women’s health retreats and is widely known for her work with platforms including Beachbody, iFit, DailyOM, and BetterMe. She is also the author of two impactful books: Your Strong, Sexy Pregnancy and Total Body Beautiful, which reflect her deep commitment to empowering women through movement and education. Desi’s holistic approach to fitness and her dedication to wellness advocacy position her as a trailblazer in the field.
Greg Johnson Honored as IDEA® Personal Trainer of the Year
This award is given to an individual who is actively training clients one-on-one and who has demonstrated exceptional leadership, business management, motivational and instructional skills – all while inspiring their clients to a higher level of fitness.
Greg Johnson, of Sacramento, California, is the 2025 IDEA® Personal Trainer of the Year. As the Owner and Head Trainer at both Varimax Fitness Personal Training Studio and the FitGolf Performance Center, Greg brings more than 20 years of hands-on experience and a decade of entrepreneurial leadership to the industry. A passionate educator and international presenter, he is known for developing client-focused, science-backed programs that address individual needs while advancing the broader field of personal training. Greg’s dedication to community impact and professional growth exemplifies the values at the core of this award.
Yoav Avidar Recognized as IDEA® Fitness Instructor of the Year
This award recognizes an individual whose superior instructional abilities motivate people to believe they have the power to commit to healthy lifestyles for the long-term.
Yoav Avidar, MPE, from Tel Aviv, Israel, is named the 2025 IDEA® Fitness Instructor of the Year. A Nike Elite Trainer and co-owner of Hagymnasia, Israel’s top fitness and dance certification school, Yoav has earned acclaim for his innovative choreography and dynamic presentations in group fitness, Pilates, functional training, core conditioning, mobility, and more. With over two decades of international experience and accolades—including the Israeli “Instructor of the Year” title in 2001 and previous IDEA World finalist honors—Yoav is recognized for his technical excellence, creative vision, and enduring impact on group fitness education worldwide.
Celebrating Excellence Across the Industry
The IDEA® Fitness Awards celebrate those who consistently raise the standard of excellence in fitness leadership, education, and client care. Through their work, this year’s recipients have inspired countless individuals to lead healthier lives and contributed to the evolution of the profession. Each awardee exemplifies IDEA’s commitment to innovation, inclusivity, and lifelong learning.
Read about the nominees here.
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About IDEA® Health & Fitness Association
IDEA® Health & Fitness Association has served as the world’s leading organization of fitness and wellness professionals for over 42 years. We deliver world-class content and continuing education to fitness professionals, business owners and allied health professionals via our publications, including the award-winning IDEA® Fitness Journal. We also power fit pros through our fitness, business and nutrition conferences, and with hundreds of streaming videos and digital courses available on www.ideafit.com. We Inspire the World to Fitness® with the passion and dedication of IDEA Members in more than 80 countries.
