Denise Nontavarnit
OWNER / GYMNASTICS PROGRAM MANAGER / GIRLS TEAM COACH
Originally from Pittsburgh, Denise came to Westside in 2011 and is now a co-owner. She has spent most of her life dedicated to this sport and while owning a gym was not on her bucket list, this is a career highlight and she could not picture herself doing anything else!
She began taking gymnastics classes when she was six and had to choose between soccer and gymnastics and she followed her heart! She competed gymnastics up to her freshman year in high school, but it remained a part of her life through open practices, dance, and activities like snowboarding and rollerblading.
As a gymnastics coach, her biggest accomplishments have been taking athletes through their senior year of high school, having them compete at a high level and succeed! Her favorite thing about teaching/coaching is interacting with the students. Their honesty, perspective on life and curiosity about everything makes life at the Academy interesting and exciting.
When she is not at Westside she is probably working out (Muay Thai is her fave), or hanging out with her kids or a friend. She likes to go out to eat, go to the zoo, the beach, camping, Mexico, and mostly just hang out anywhere there is sun and water. She loves animals! She has a bearded dragon named Olivia at home.
Her 17 yr old son is a dancer in the performing company at Westside. He trains and competes tap, jazz, contemporary, ballet and hip hop. I absolutely love watching him dance!