100 Facts About Christina Chitwood

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Facts About Christina Chitwood

Here are 100 facts about me in a mostly chronological order!

1. I was born March 21, 1990, 5 years and 2 days after my brother was born.
2. I started dancing pretty much as soon as I could walk.
3. I started skiing when I was 2 years old, almost 3.
4. I wanted to start ski racing at age 3 to “go around the poles” like my older brother.
5. I became a 3-time NASTAR national ski-racing champion by age 6
6. I started ballet classes at age 5. I did ballet full time from then until age 11. When I chose ice skating as my main extracurricular activity. I continued to do ballet and dance along with my skating just fewer hours per week than before.
7. I started ice skating when I was 6 years old.
8. I chose figure skating as my sport when I was age 7 and had to choose between skiing and skating. I chose ice skating because I loved both the mixture of sport and art, and I would get to wear pretty skating dresses! I had been doing ski racing, figure skating. and ballet full time for one year. It was too time consuming to do all of them full time, so my parents had me choose between ski racing and figure skating.
9. My brother was my first skating partner, and we absolutely loved skating together. We skated together for a total of 6 years. The only reason we stopped skating together was because ice dance was my specialty and pairs was Will’s. We even tried to skate together in ice dance, but pairs was much more Will’s specialty.
10. I medalled with my brother, Will, in pairs skating at Junior Olympics and Junior Nationals.
11. I started getting vitiligo at age 11. It spread throughout my body over the next few years. I have often thought it has been a blessing to have vitiligo.
12. I got my own cat, Caressa, at age 11, and she lived until April 5, 2016, at 15 years old.
13. I earned my first paycheck at around age 11 for sewing sashes for the rink (The World Arena). They were used for skaters to know who was skating to music and who had the right of way.
14. As a figure skater, I became a quadruple gold USFSA test medalist by age 12.
15. I was a dancer and DJ for Dancing DJ Productions (my brother’s DJ company) in Colorado Springs when I was 15 and 16. I did my first job as a training DJ at age 12.
16. I was a Junior Olympic Gōjū-ryū Karate Gold Medalist at age 15.
17. The languages I studied for my education were Russian and Spanish. I studied Russian because I had two Russian ice skating coaches at the time.
18. I did my first college/university course at age 15 when I was a senior in high school.
19. I got the highest scores my professors ever had a student get in my college astronomy and college algebra courses.
20. I graduated from high school when I was 16 years old with all A’s.
21. I was homeschooled all the way through high school. My mom had her own Montessori school before I was born, and she now has the education blog Living Montessori Now.
22. As a figure skater, I became a quintuple USFSA gold test medalist by age 16.
23. I did intensive dance training, primarily ballet, along with other dance styles for 15 years. I still love to do all styles of dance, especially ballet.
24. At age 18, I competed and represented Great Britain at the European Figure Skating Championships in 2009 with my ice dance partner, Mark Hanretty.
25. I was a 3-time international medalist in ice dance.
26. I was a 2-time British national medalist in ice dance.
27. At age 18, I got engaged to the love of my life, Tom Parkin.
28. At age 19, I graduated from Sheffield Hallam University in England with a BA (Hons) Degree in Performance and Professional Practice with First Class Honours. I was on the Elite Hallam Athletic Squad at Sheffield Hallam University. I also received the Creative Spark Award for Outstanding Work in the Creative Disciplines from Sheffield Hallam University as well as Outstanding Achievement Award and Most Outstanding Work Award from Rotherham College.
29. I played piano and guitar growing up. I also did some singing. I took singing classes at college in addition to my main studies.
30. At age 19, I married my soulmate, Tom Parkin.
31. My wedding day was one of the best days of my life.
32. My husband and I got married in a castle in England.
33. My husband is British.
34. I had a man of honor at our wedding instead of a maid of honor. My man of honor was Mark Hanretty.
35. My husband and I got married August 2009.
36. My husband and I got married on a Monday.
37. My husband and I had our honeymoon in St. Lucia.
38. I changed my last name to Chitwood-Parkin, so I could take my husband’s last name and be Christina Parkin but still use my maiden name for work (Christina Chitwood).
39. I competed under the name Christina Chitwood.
40. I worked as a personal trainer and Power Plate Specialist at Fitness First in England at ages 19 and 20.
41. I’ve been a makeup artist for ice skating shows in the past, and I completed a natural makeup and skincare course in England.
42. I competed in Germany 3 different times.
43. I competed/performed in Pyongyang, North Korea.
44.  At age 20, I competed and represented Great Britain at the World Figure Skating Championships in 2010 in Turin, Italy, with my ice dance partner, Mark Hanretty.
45. I worked as a personal trainer out of our home gym at age 20.
46. I taught Zumba classes in England.
47. I toured the UK as a professional ice dancer in shows.
48. I’ve held a penguin named Dippy.
49. I retired from competitive figure skating at age 20 after my partner, Mark Hanretty, retired. I’d acheived many of my biggest goals in skating along with competing at the World Figure Skating Championships.
50. I lived in England for 4½ years.
51. I’ve done modeling, acting, and dancing.
52. I worked as a Pilates instructor at The Sporting Club in San Diego at ages 20 and 21.
53. I have a low thyroid/hypothyroid (Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis). I was first diagnosed with having a very low thyroid March 2011.
54. I became a best-selling author in 2013 at age 23. I co-authored Against the Grain, featuring Brian Tracy, Christina Chitwood, and leading coaches, mentors, and entrepreneurs from around the world.
55. I was a figure skating coach and choreographer for over 6 years in England and San Diego. I also taught fitness and performance classes for skaters.
56. I have 4 nieces and 2 nephews. I have 2 nieces in the U.S. and 2 nieces and 2 nephews in the UK (including twins).
57. My husband and I had our first child in March 2018.
58. I am a mom to my son, Caleb Joshua Parkin.
59. I was blessed to get pregnant the first month Tom and I started trying.
60. I didn’t have pain medication or an epidural when I gave birth to my son naturally.
61. I became a mom at age 28.
62. Becoming a mom to Caleb was one of the best days of my life.
63. My husband and I had been married for over 8½ years when our son, Caleb, was born.
64. I’ve been blogging part-time since July 2010 when I started the blogs Fit Body Full Life and Christina Chitwood Performance, which merged together to form ChristinaChitwood.com in May 2016. Tom I started Fit Body Full Life together. He is a golf coach and DJ and has gotten really busy with those businesses these past couple years. The transition happened naturally. Once I became a full-time blogger, it made sense for me to take over the blog. Tom is still a contributing writer, and you can find any health, fitness, or golf posts Tom writes here at ChristinaChitwood.com.
65. I’ve completed these fitness certifications and training courses: Stott Pilates Certified Instructor Level 1 in Matwork, Reformer, Cadillac, Stability Chair, and Barrels, NASM Personal Training Certification, Total Barre, Kettlebell Training, Sports Conditioning, Power Plate Core Fundamentals, Power Plate Post Natal Training, Pre- and Post-Natal Fitness, NASM Youth Fitness Course, Zumba Basics 1 and 2, Zumba Gold, Zumba Toning, Aqua Zumba, and Zumbatomic. I do continuing education in fitness each year. I love studying and learning about exercise, biomechanics, and anatomy.
66. In addition to this blog, I put out printables with my mom in the Living Montessori Now Shop and free printables posts along with YouTube videos for Living Montessori Now.
67. I love to work out, yet I still have to motivate myself to work out most days. I almost always have fun when I start working out, and I especially enjoy the feeling of having worked out both physically and mentally.
68. I really like to make lists, and I enjoy checking off to-do items on to-do lists. I will list even small items, so I can check them off, too.
69. I love to read. I enjoy most fiction and non-fiction books. I especially enjoy reading novels, particularly Christian novels or chick-lit, to relax.
70. I’ve been a lifelong vegetarian.
71. My favorite color is pink.
72. I can wiggle my ears.
73. I used to have what I and my close friends called my “chocolate cupboard” at one point when I lived in England.
74. I don’t drink alcohol and haven’t tried it.
75. I don’t do drugs and haven’t tried them.
76. I don’t smoke and haven’t tried it.
77. I’ve always been able to have fun without alcohol, drugs, or smoking.
78. I love Chai tea lattes (made with steamed soy milk, chai tea bags, and a little honey), but I wish there weren’t black tea in most kinds that I like.
79. I love the matcha tea lattes that my husband and I make.
80. I love popcorn.
81. I love blueberries with a passion. I really like to make blueberry whey smoothies. I used to have these more than once a day when I lived in England. I continue to have them, just a little less often, such as once a day most days.
82. Tom and I don’t have a TV. We used to have a giant flat-screen TV, but we stopped watching TV and got rid of our TV.
83. I’m naturally a night owl.
84. I adore photos. I love doing photoshoots for my blog, and I absolutely love taking photos of Caleb and being in photos with Caleb. I always enjoy getting photos of our whole family. Photos are such special memories for me.
85. I’m 5’8″.
86. Naturally I was a 32DDD before pregnancy. During breastfeeding I’m a 32G.
87. I am exclusively breastfeeding Caleb.
88. I’m a Christian, and our family goes to church pretty much every Sunday. Tom and I love taking Caleb with us.
89. My favorite songs are: “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)”, which I remember playing in the background on my labor playlist during labor; “Awesome God” and “Draw Me Close,” which we sang at our wedding; “I Love You” (the Barney song) that I sing to Caleb every night before bed and my mom and I used to sing before bed when I was a kid; any songs that I create for my son Caleb; “Caleb’s Song,” and the songs my husband creates at Music Cat RF.
90. I’ve created and put out dance workouts, Pilates & strength workouts, and recovery (rest day) workouts.
91. I’ve been interested in fashion for most of my life. I’ve always dressed to my own preferences and not just what’s “in style.” If I like what’s in style, of course, I will wear it, but I like to have my own style more.
92. I love to shop!
93. I love sharing outfits I’ve put together for you!
94. I enjoy hiking with my family.
95. I love walking with my family. Tom, Caleb, and I will go on walks. Caleb and I will join my parents on their walks while Tom is at work, and occasionally Tom is able to join us.
96. I follow the workouts I’ve created and put out on my blog. I love learning, so I also like to try new workouts and programs. I also do some corrective exercises and stretches to help with previous injuries from when I was an ice dancer.
97. I eat a plant-based diet. I am vegan (except whey protein and honey), mostly gluten-free, sugar-free (I have natural sweeteners such as honey, but no cane sugar.). I’ve eaten this way since June 2016 (with some very minor exceptions during a vacation or holiday in 2019). I had been vegan, dairy-free, gluten-free, and sugar-free at certain times in the past in different varieties.
98. Our son, Caleb, is half British
99. Tom, Caleb, and I have two cats, Matilda (Tilly) and Jasmine (Jazzy).
100. Tom and I live with our son in San Diego, California.

Fun Facts

Which is your favorite fact or which fact did you find most interesting? I’d love to hear about you! What interesting, fun, or favorite fact would you like to share about you? Please share below!

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