PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW FREIRICH

I always look back to my first experience in Sedona, and how quickly it became a part of me both personally and professionally.

I was invited as a Producer by an Adventure company.  The goal was to become familiar with the majestic beauty of this area, discovering the spiritual element, and come away inspired to bring programming to the area.

At the time, I was also publishing a magazine called Winning Fitness, and I invited my friend, fitness model and television personality Brooke Burke to join me on the trip. We stayed at the Los Abrigados resort, an absolutely breakthtaking location. My itinerary included hiking, mountain biking, spas, art galleries, psychic readings by world renowned psychics, and just absorbing the spriritual element of the area. I wanted my readers to experience what I personally experienced, hoping to inspire their own journey to the area.

I will never forget the first time driving with Brooke into Sedona on Route 179. As we approached the city limits, we were surrounded by the most magnificent red rock mountains and mesas jutting out into the crystal blue sky. It all seemed surreal.  It didn’t take words, just a glance at one another to know we had just entered a very special place in the universe.

Since then, I’ve filmed fitness shows in the Sedona area, using the stunning Red Rocks as a background. It’s one of my favorite locations for both filming and writing. And I have since returned to Sedona time and time again. I explore, decompress, get inspired in every sense there. It’s always new, and renews me with each visit.

With my own Spanish language programming background, I was introduced to the Editor-in-Chief of the Shape en Espanol publication. She knew of my travels and my focus on health and fitness, and knew myu work would fit in perfectly with the magazine’s readership. That’s how I became one of the magazine’s featured travel contributor with my series, “See the World Stay in Shape.” I wrote and photographed my adventures around the world, including a piece on Sedona, Arizona at the Enchantment Resort.

Sedona offers tremendous locations for filming, photography, with an incredible natural setting and welcoming infrastructure.

Lasting Impression…

Since that week in Sedona, much has happened in my life. Through it all, Sedona was my go-to place to re-group and re-energize.

Sedona became a part of me, and will always be a part of my DNA.