PRO STORIES: Troy Charbonneau

Our fifth episode of Pro Stories—a video series about the power of POUND—features Troy Charbonneau, a real-life Superhero changing lives in Billings, MT. Detective by day, POUND Pro by night, Troy fights bad guys and works to keep the children in his community protected and safe every single day. While his career is rewarding, it can also be taxing—physically and emotionally—and POUND is his outlet to relieve stress and connect with his community at the end of every day. Here is Troy’s story. Troy Charbonneau has played an active role in lifting up his community, keeping people safe, and inspiring others since he was a teenager. He’s been with the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office for 16 years, and also serves as the Group Fitness Director at his local gym. People are at the center of everything Troy does on a daily basis, but he was still dealing with a lot of stress from his daily grind. When Troy fell in love with POUND, he realized that not only was he able to help others and bring people together with this rockout workout, but that POUND would soon be an outlet for him to reconnect and destress too.

“I have always been active at the gym, but POUND has given me an out to relieve all the stress I might have accumulated during the day or week. I have a fairly stressful job. When you listen to children talk about unthinkable things people have done to them it takes a toll on you mentally. With POUND I get to crank up the music, grab my Ripstix, hit things hard, and lose myself in the beat. I don’t have to think about my job. I don’t have to think about anything really. It is my “out” I guess you could say.”

As a POUND Pro, Troy is changing the way people think about exercise and about themselves. He’s introducing them to the excitement and energy that are found inside every class, to the special bonds that are formed within the communities, and to the music that lets people be free and move in a therapeutic and powerful way. He is bringing people together for a common purpose—to better themselves through the rhythm and movement of every beat—and sharing his outlet with his community.

“Seeing a student come to class in tears, not knowing whats going on (and not asking), but giving her a quick pep talk acknowledging that I could tell something was up and encouraging her that in a few minutes she will be able to take all that frustration out on the floor. Then, seeing her 10 minutes into class smiling, singing along to the music, and beating the hell out of whatever bothered her before she came into class… moments like that really keep me going!”

Troy continues his life’s work of helping others with POUND, too, by hosting charity events in his community for local food banks and other organizations. Since the launch of Generation POUND, he has also been involved with private and public elementary schools teaching Generation POUND to students.

“Someone has to step up. If I can impart some knowledge, leadership skills and advice to the next torchbearer, then I have done my job. I know I won’t be around forever and someone has to continue on the good fight!”

Troy may not consider himself to be a hero, but we’d argue that he’s the true definition of one. When an individual is able to sideline their own emotions to focus on someone else—in any capacity—they should feel the love and appreciation that the community of Billings shows Troy every day as thanks. We couldn’t be more honored to have Troy as part of our global POUND Pro family, and hope his story will inspire you as it did us!

Have a story to share or want to shout out a ROCKSTAR Pro? Tag us on socials with hashtags #poundfit #rebelswithacause

Do you want to submit your story or nominate someone to be featured? Email us at [email protected]