If you’re on social media, it’s almost impossible to miss Chris Distefano’s wife, Jazzy Distefano. Although many people know her as Chris’s wife, she’s also well known on Instagram and Snapchat as an instructor of Zumba classes and spinning workouts, as well as a health and fitness expert who gives advice based on her own personal experience with weight loss and fitness training. In honor of the anniversary of her marriage to Chris, here are 10 facts you didn’t know about Jazzy.
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1) Jazzy Distefano was born and raised in Rhode Island
Jazzy distefano was born and raised in Rhode Island. Her family owns and operates The Old Mill Restaurant in Narragansett, Rhode Island. Growing up, she spent her summers at her family’s restaurant; it was there that she developed a love for cooking. She earned a degree in Communications from Boston University. While attending BU, she also took courses on catering at Northeastern University as well as wine-tasting courses through San Francisco State University.
After college, she began working as an event planner before opening a marketing firm with her sister. She loves to cook: After graduating from college, Jazzy decided to start working with charities and non-profit organizations specializing in food outreach programs serving people without homes or access to adequate food sources. During these years, she began experimenting with recipes using ingredients found on the back streets and alleys of major cities around America.
2) Her mother taught her how to dance at an early age
She took ballet lessons as a child and learned how to salsa. Even at that young age, she was very focused on fitness. She knew she wanted to be a dancer or an aerobics instructor when she grew up. She credits her early interest in fitness with helping her maintain a healthy weight throughout childhood and adolescence. Now, years later, she wants to pass that passion for health on to others through Zumba classes at Barry’s Bootcamp in New York City.
3) Jazzy Distefano began dancing professionally when she was 19 years old
When she was 19 years old, Jazzy distefano decided to take a semester off from college to dance in a professional ballet company. She quit halfway through because she started getting more bookings as a Zumba instructor, and so she decided to stick with that. Her husband is an up-and-coming comedian: Chris first started in stand-up comedy at open mic nights when he was just 21 years old. His jokes about being married were killing it, and soon enough, he was able to focus on comedy full time instead of working odd jobs or going to school for economics, which is what he thought he wanted to do before doing comedy for fun turned into a career opportunity.
4) One of her first gigs was teaching hip hop aerobics with her sister
Before becoming a Zumba instructor, Jazzy distefano got her start in entertainment as a part of a hip-hop aerobics troupe with her sister. The sisters won many local competitions, including one for McDonald’s. In addition to teaching Zumba, she teaches spinning: This fabulous actress-turned-fitness instructor is certified in group spin and fitness. She has also introduced a course called How to Workout Like an Actress.
Chris was initially concerned about her new gig: When his wife began working as an exercise instructor at Crunch Gym, Chris was worried that people would assume she was only doing it for attention. Once he saw how hard she worked at it, though, he encouraged her to pursue it.
5) Her father, who was a jewelry salesman, encouraged her to work hard
As a teen, she was often told that if she did well in school, she could go to any college or university she wanted. Her father worked hard selling jewelry, so he didn’t have time to study, but he made it clear that if his daughter were interested in something, he would try to provide everything she needed to succeed. She completed her secondary education at St. Francis Preparatory School and went on to graduate from George Washington University with a degree in communications and sociology. She is currently studying for her master’s degree in leadership and organizations at Adelphi University while also working towards getting her MBA at NYU Stern School of Business.
After graduation, she became a certified Zumba instructor: After graduating from college, Jazzy Distefano moved to New York City and got an administrative job as a receptionist at Overlook Medical Center. While there, she realized how unhealthy some people really are when they look down upon fast food employees for eating junk food because it was convenient. So, in 2011 she quit her day job and devoted herself full-time to fitness. Eventually, after seeing countless television commercials where Jillian Michaels yells obscenities at people during exercise routines—Jazzy felt like other fitness instructors don’t make exercise fun enough—there should be more dancing involved! With zero prior knowledge about fitness classes (having never taken one before), Jazzy decided Zumba might be fun.
6) Chris went on tour when she was 24 years old to promote his new comedy album
Let Me Explain. After 4 months of being on tour, she started to exercise at a local gym to release stress and get in shape after sitting on her ass most of the time. After a few weeks, she fell in love with it and decided to become a certified Zumba instructor. She loved it so much that she became certified in Group Spin as well. She’s also certified in boot camps, kickboxing, boxing, & more! The funniest fact about Jazzy Distefano is that she is still new at Zumba even though her husband has been doing stand-up comedy for over 10 years now.
7) Other than dancing, one of her passions is being an event planner
I’m used to people looking at me, but I don’t like it, she told People magazine. I went out with Chris to a party one night, and we were walking up to his brother’s apartment building. There was a doorman there, and he said hi to Chris and then kept staring at me. I told him, ‘Hi! I’m here!’ He just looked at me like I had three heads. So I walked away, but it bugged me all night. So when they wanted someone to do their event planning, I called in my favor, and that got my foot in the door. It gave me something else on my resume besides dancing. And since then, it’s been pretty much nonstop planning of events — weddings mainly.
8) They have been married for over 20 years now
Jazzy is tall and loves giraffes, who are also tall. As far as she’s concerned, her long neck and eye-catching spots are pure perfections. Every time I see a giraffe on TV or in a zoo, I want to go over and pet it. How could you not love something with such an awesome neck? If I were an animal, that’s what I would be. No word on how Chris feels about his wife becoming a giraffe! But he does agree that she definitely has a Jazzy Distefano vibe.
9) If she could be any animal, she would be a giraffe
If you didn’t know already, Jazzy is a huge animal lover. She loves all animals except for sharks. She actually got bitten by a shark when she was younger, and it has left her with an extreme fear of them. At home, though, she has two dogs: Tyson and Squirt. As far as wild animals go, though, there’s really only one animal that truly captures her heart—the giraffe!
10) Being famous isn’t always easy, but it’s all worth it
She is married to stand-up comedian Chris Distefano, has appeared on Pawn Stars, and she’s a Zumba instructor. In addition to all of that, Jazzy is also certified in group spin and fitness. She opened her own spin studio in 2011, called YJazz – Yolanda’s Jazzercise Studio LLC. The studio offers traditional exercise classes and fitness services such as spinning, boot camp and circuit training, as well as other activities like tai chi chuan qigong (China) exercises.
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Conclusion
There you have it, ten facts about Jazzy Distefano that you probably did not know. She’s made quite a name for herself as Chris’ wife and as a certified fitness instructor. I hope that you enjoyed reading these facts as much as I enjoyed compiling them! If you want to learn more about Jazzy or Chris, check out Chris’ Youtube channel, Chris and Jam, where he frequently posts videos of his wife. Also, be sure to subscribe to him on Youtube!