NASHVILLE, Tenn. — In Nashville’s growing wellness scene, personal trainer and mental-health–focused coach Savannah Keating is quickly becoming a voice for a new kind of fitness. A type of coaching centered around joy, emotional safety, and reclaiming the body as a place of healing. But her journey into the industry wasn’t linear. In fact, Keating describes it as “a weird story.”
“I describe fitness as that friend that’s been there for me through every phase in every part of my life, and that I could always fall back on when things were hard,” Keating says. “It just always was the safe space for me to get out of my head and into my body.”
Keating, who has dealt with mental illness her entire life, says movement was often the only place she found relief. “I’ve been in this battle with major depressive disorder and major anxiety for a really long time and fitness has always been that space for me to just forget about the world for a little bit.”
Despite that connection, she never expected fitness to become her career. Instead, she dove headfirst into science of it all.
Keating earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Carolina, majoring in biology and anthropology, and continued straight into an accelerated master’s program. “I got my masters in molecular, cellular and developmental biology and loved every moment of it,” she says. A literal genius over here!
But even while immersed in research, she admits, “I was still in the gym every single day. That was my safe space and my happy place.
Eventually she began questioning the future she was building.
The more she learned about the careers she could go into, the more she felt further away from her actual goals. She felt as if the world in healthcare and academia preyed on the worst parts of her, especially for someone already navigating depression and anxiety.
After completing her master’s, Keating moved to Nashville to start a PhD at Vanderbilt. “It was a very very isolating experience in a toxic environment and I kind of hit rock bottom,” she says. “I got to the realization that I was only in this program to feed my ego, but not my soul,” a mantra she now has as a reminder in the form of a tattoo.
So she made the decision to walk away.
Savannah once believed she needed all of these degrees simply because she loved science. But she soon realized she could help people every single day, experience joy, and be a positive force in the world, instead of sitting in a lab behind a desk.
Keating had already started sharing her workouts on Instagram during her master’s program, and what began playfully soon felt purposeful.
“I love creating this little community of fitness where it can just be the space where you have fun and you can feel like a kid again. It can feel like recess,” Keating laughed.
She earned her certifications while finishing her PhD coursework (because she’s a baller) and began teaching group fitness, where she was finally putting her goals into practice. However she still felt something missing.
“Group fitness can feel inaccessible. It’s very intimidating to new consumers,” she adds.
Keating wanted something different. Something gentler. Something more human. “I pride myself in being a mental health–focused coach, not a physical fitness–focused coach.”
She wanted to create a training environment that celebrates clients at every stage.
“We’re not shaming, it is a happy experience,” she says.
Celebration, she emphasizes, is central to her approach.
“In life, we don’t get celebrated and don’t really have people who are just our cheerleaders,” Keating adds. This was the kind of environment she wanted to create…and DID!
Keating launched Squat with Sav Coaching in 2024 and stepped fully into the business by the summer of 2025. She now trains clients both at All Strength Gym in Brentwood and inside her own “girl cave garage gym,” a space she transformed at her home.
She credits All Strength Gym owner, Karol Hale, for helping her make the leap. “She created a safe space for me to land on my feet after leaving group fitness and has definitely been one of my mentors,” Keating shares.
Keating’s client base has grown quickly, but intentionally.
“I’m here for the baddies and the queers and the people that the fitness industry wasn’t created around, because that’s me too,” she adds.
She sees pieces of herself in each person she trains.
“The clients I have are all people that I see myself in a little bit and they all bring something to me as well,” Keating describes as a meant-to-be relationship.
Client retention, often the toughest part of fitness entrepreneurship, has felt surprisingly natural. “I’ll have a down day and then the universe provides. I’ll be presented with this wonderful new person that came into my life right at the perfect time!”
When asked what it looks like to train with her, Keating says the mental and emotional environment is the foundation of everything.
“I want you to be able to process things that maybe you haven’t found space to process before. I want you to experience joy and feel like you can bring out your inner child again,” she shares.
She returns repeatedly to the importance of creating a space where no one fears judgment.
“You’re never gonna disappoint me. You don’t have to be X, Y, and Z and I will still like you and it’s a judgment-free zone around here.”
For her personal mental health, Keating is unapologetically open and says she goes to therapy every single week in Nashville. “Martha Rawl is the best therapist in Nashville,” she exclaims.
She also leans into activities that pull her out of her head. “I am a big investor into my own hobbies because it’s all about getting out of our brains.”
Her number one escape? Reading. You can take the girl out of school, but never the school out of the girl for Savannah.
“My clients know that we will probably talk about books a lot,” she shares. A hybrid fitness class and book club in the future?!
When she’s out and about in Nashville, you’ll find her at Turnip Truck (they know her by name now) and Heart of Wisdom Yoga where she finds her zen amidst the everyday hustle she’s in.
What Keating has built is far more than a fitness business. It’s a community where people who have felt unseen in traditional gyms are finally welcomed in with open arms.
The science of her background informs her coaching, but the heart is something learned outside the lab.
If people want to get in touch with Savannah and start today, she openly welcomes you message her on Instagram or fill out a 1:1 coaching form. She says her consultation calls are free and is ready to help you feel and look your best too.
Client spots are currently limited…and we can see why!
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