Julia Rissmiller

Julia Rissmiller had always been the active one. Running, biking, spin classes, boot camps, sprint and Olympic-distance triathlons, early-morning miles with a group of moms back in Boston. Then, in 2019, she and her family moved to Westborough so she could start a new job as a pediatric radiologist at UMass. And somewhere between the move, the hospital, and raising two kids, the routine quietly slipped. She kept telling herself she’d start running again. Or swimming. Or biking. It kept not happening.

By the end of August 2021, things at home weren’t going great, and she knew she needed to do something for herself. Her medical-school roommate, Carolyn, had mentioned the 5 A.M. class at Prototype. Julia’s first thought was: no way. She’s a morning exerciser — but not that early. She came anyway.

She walked in wanting two things: to exercise consistently, and to stay injury-free. What she didn’t expect was that the workout would turn out to be just one part of it. That first week, so many people introduced themselves she couldn’t keep the names straight. She’d assumed everyone would be heads-down in their own workout; instead she found a room full of people pushing themselves hard and pulling each other along at the same time. A few months in, she caught herself thinking she could never move away from Westborough — because she couldn’t leave Prototype.

It wasn’t only the room at 5 A.M. It was the toy drive at Christmas, the Earth Day cleanup, the rowing fundraiser in the fall, Gill’s Hyrox event, Calling All Crows, the Lift Off for the Jimmy Fund. And it spilled into the rest of her life. She’s made friends, found babysitters, found dog walkers. When she needed help coaching her son’s soccer team, Tommy and Steve stepped in, invited the team to a Fundamentals class, and Tommy ran one of the practices. Steve helped her older son George rebuild after an injury — George still does the exercises and stretches he was given. Her younger son Robert has done Fundamentals, and the coaches even ran a session for his Cub Scout troop.

When Julia first told her kids she’d be gone in the mornings, they weren’t thrilled. Now they never give her a hard time about the gym. They know, in her words, that it’s “important for my body and my brain” — and that she’s a better person, and a better parent, when she trains.

Four-plus years and 874 classes later, she’s deadlifting 205, back-squatting 145, rowing a 21-minute 5K — and working hardest on the movements that were never her strength, the ones she’d never touch on her own. She’s also worked with Coach Gillian on nutrition — the same feel-good, whole-health approach that first brought her through the door, now aimed at holding onto everything she’s built. She skis and bikes with her kids. She became a bench-press buddy after a member waved her to the back of the gym one day; she was flattered and a little nervous, and now it’s not scary at all. Off the gym floor she’s just as intentional — she grows native plants and gives them away, worried about pollinators, living out a line she loves: the most meaningful change starts locally.

Her son recently told her that her life at 51 is better than it was at 41. She thinks he’s right. None of it was what she walked in for. All of it is why she stays.

Julia is one of those members who makes the whole place better just by showing up — and she shows up at 5 A.M. She came in looking for a workout routine and quietly became part of the backbone of this community. I’m grateful she trusted us with that, and even more grateful for who she’s been to everyone around her since.

— Mike

This story was written with the help of AI based on Julia’s own words and interviews, and reviewed by the Prototype team for accuracy.