Meet the team
Super Susan
Memberships/Coach
💪 Meet Coach Susan
CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
“If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you.” — That’s the mindset Coach Susan brings to every workout and every athlete she coaches.
A CrossFit Level 1 Trainer, Susan is passionate about helping people of all ages and fitness levels discover what they’re capable of. With a background in education — including a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education and 18 years in the classroom — she brings patience, positivity, and preparedness to everything she does.
Susan’s fitness journey started right here at Sun Chaser Fitness, where she found strength, confidence, and a powerful sense of community. Since then, she’s tackled her first triathlon, competed in the Atlantic Coast Classic with fellow Sun Chasers, and fallen in love with gravel bike riding alongside her husband.
She’s lived in Cape Coral Florida, Chicago Illinois, and Cheshire Connecticut, but now calls Crawfordville home — and she’s proud to be part of a gym that truly feels like family.
Coach Susan is living proof that it’s never too late to take on new challenges, chase new goals, and have fun doing it. She’s here to cheer you on, challenge you, and help you grow — every step of the way.
Owner & Head Coach
Rochelle is a native of Southern California. She lived in California for the first 30 years of her life just a few blocks away from the beautiful Pacific Ocean. She has always known that it is important f or a person’s total well being to be fit in body, mind, and spirit. Growing up as a competitive gymnast and cheerleader, then staying active in her adult years with snowboarding along with working out and running was a huge part of her life.
She met her husband online in 2007 on a website dedicated to physically active people. After dating for around six months she decided to move with him in 2008 to the St. Louis area where he was to begin a new career.
Within a year of adjusting to the flat land (no snowboarding) and no ocean (to look good in a bikini, tan and surf), she became inspired to bring the fitness and health world to St. Charles, Missouri. Rochelle became one of the most successful CrossFit box owners in Missouri from 2009 to 2019. Even though she no longer owns a Crossfit affiliate, she is still one of the most successful women entrepreneurs in Missouri.
Continue below…
…she didn’t want to look back in later years and see that she had missed the opportunity to capture and embrace all of the memorable moments…
Rochelle decided to sell her gym in 2019 in order to “be in the moment” with her two young children. She didn’t want to look back in later years and see that she had missed the opportunity to capture and embrace all of the memorable moments in her children’s young lives. Since then she has realized that it was a blessing not to have been a business owner during the COVID 19 Pandemic.
In July of 2020 she received her 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training Certification.
The Thayer family moved to Crawfordville Florida, January of 2022 to be closer to the ocean and sun.
Her new chapter in life isn’t vering far from her career in Missouri as Rochelle now owns Sun Chaser Fitness, LLC. Her friendly, inviting gym & yoga training facility resides in Wakulla County off of 319, next to Publix, located in Crawfordville, Florida. Her approach is to help busy parents, work from home employees, our youth and normal everyday people achieve weight loss, live a healthy lifestyle, and gain more energy in a safe, approachable environment without the globo gym feel.
Certifications
CF L1, 2009
CF L1 re-test, March 2011, 2015, 2023
CF Pose running Certification 2011
CF Gymnastics Certification, July 2011
The Biz Mentoring Program, February, 2011- February 2012
Whole 9 Healthy Eating Contributor, March 2012
Freestyle Gymnastics Seminar, Carl P. April 2012Coaches Prep Course, May 2012 &
CF L2 Coach 2016
CF Endurance Certification, November 2012
CF Kids Certification, February 2013
CF Football Certification, March 2013
CF Mobility Certification, January 2014
CF Olympic Lifting Certification, August 2014
CPR Certified
Continued CrossFit Judging Course
200 hour Certified Yoga Teacher, 2020
USA Football, 2020
USAG (Gymnastics) 2022
