True to her name, Gail Warrior takes on each day like a prizefighter. Out of bed at 5 a.m., she typically fuels up with yogurt, blueberries and granola, then runs two miles and works out with a trainer. She dashes back home for a second breakfast and shower, grabs a pre-selected outfit from her closet, sees her son off to high school, and throws herself into her work leading two businesses and her charitable organization – all before most people hit the snooze button.
Watching her blast through each day with style and a smile, you’d never guess that this powerhouse of a woman is 47 years young. Where, you might ask, does she get her limitless energy? It comes from a lifestyle that Gail has carefully cultivated for more than 25 years, in which she has perfected the art of balancing mind and body. And luckily for the rest of us, she has no intention of keeping her secrets all to herself. This Warrior woman wants to share.
The Way to Wellness
Gail’s journey to health began when, fresh out of college, she lost her father to cancer in his early fifties.
“It really pushed me into wanting to live my life differently,” she recalls. “My Dad was an entrepreneur who loved what he did, but worked all the time. He never got off the train. We ate 90 percent of our meals at home, but a lot of what we ate was fried and had butter and gravies, and a lot of saturated fat. I believe that the combination of these things led to my Dad having cancer. So I started on the journey of living a healthier life.”
She joined a gym and barely made it 20 minutes into her first 60-minute aerobics class. But she did make it, so she set a goal to make it through a full one-hour class. And she did that, too. And then she kept setting goals and achieving them, one by one, eventually working her way up into bodybuilding and fitness competitions, all while learning to eat healthier. Deciding she wanted to help others get fit, too, she got certified as a personal trainer.
As her fitness level grew, her career took off. Seeing opportunity in permanent modular construction, she founded what would become one of America’s largest woman-/minority-owned general contracting companies. All the while, she tapped her boundless reserves of energy to help others, founding the Heart of a Warrior Charitable Foundation to provide summer learning programs to underserved children in Dallas, the Warrior Small Business Academy to assist emerging construction businesses, and Warrior Women, a mentoring group to help women succeed in business.
But even as she built a successful life as a busy executive, motivational speaker, philanthropist and single mom, Gail’s commitment to staying fit and healthy never faltered.
“I see the difference it makes in my life,” she says. “I sleep better, I feel better, I even think better. Imagine all the things you can accomplish if you have a good night’s sleep and you have good nutrition. Your body is ready to go, every day. I love it, and I want to help others get healthier, too.”
After 18 years in the construction industry, Gail was approaching 50 and wanted to chase a new dream. In 2014, she combined her business acumen with her passion for health, fitness, fashion, and motivating others into a single venture, and Warrior Elements was born.
The “Warrior360Way™
Warrior Elements is the embodiment of what Gail calls the Warrior360Way™ – the lifestyle that supports her six tenets of healthy living: eating healthy to live well, exercising, getting enough sleep, doing work that makes you happy, building meaningful relationships in everyday life, and tapping into your spirituality to take care of your inner self.
After 18 years in the construction industry, Gail was approaching 50 and wanted to chase a new dream. In 2014, she combined her business acumen with her passion for health, fitness, fashion, and motivating others into a single venture, and Warrior Elements was born.
“As women, we think of everyone else first, and we think of ourselves last,” she says. “It’s important to take time for ourselves. We have to choose to invest in good nutrition, exercise and downtime now, or we’ll end up investing in doctor bills later on in life.”
To help women embrace living the Warrior360Way, Gail has big plans for workout videos, cookbooks and more. But first, she’s making a splash in the activewear market with her new Warrior Elements clothing line.
Gail personally designed each piece of Warrior Elements activewear with women’s real lives in mind. From pants and shorts to capris, tops and jackets, there are pieces to fit all shapes and sizes, made for all types of fitness activities. Many are designed to carry a woman from errands to work to workout with just a change of accessories, making it easy to fit exercise into a busy day. The line’s comfortable, coordinating pieces reflect the power and properties of Earth, Fire, Water and Wind through vibrant color and pattern.
“It’s been interesting to see how women will gravitate to one element or another depending on what their personalities are like,” Gail says. “If someone is full of energy, she might pick Fire off the rack; or if she’s more of a free spirit, she’ll go with Wind; or if she tends to be calm, she’ll gravitate to Water; or if she is more of a grounded person, she’ll choose Earth.”
Gail hopes that by helping women feel beautiful on the outside, she can help them embrace a journey of physical, mental and spiritual fitness that will make them feel great on the inside.
“No matter where she is on her life journey, every woman has a warrior inside,” she says. “When women achieve their own personal greatness, it benefits not only themselves, but their families and their contribution to the world.”
Warrior Elements activewear is now available at Tootsies and Rich Hippie boutiques in Dallas, online at warrior-elements.com, and through the personal styling service frontdoorfashion.com. Each season, new, coordinating pieces will debut to grow the collection.