“Hell’s Kitchen Feels Like a Little Family” — Adriana Greaves Shares Her West Side Story

Personal trainer, fitness instructor and vlogger Adriana Greaves arrived in Hell’s Kitchen from Massachusetts in the middle of the pandemic and feels right at home in the neighborhood. This is Adriana’s West Side Story.

So, what’s your New York story? Born here, or just arrived?
I arrived three years ago, in the midst of the pandemic — in February 2021. I had been living at home in Massachusetts for 10 months and I was like, I gotta get out. I gotta live my life. I can’t be with my parents in the suburbs of Massachusetts anymore. So finally, when I was deciding where to move, New York just made the most sense. It was still close to home, I didn’t need a car, and I had a job connection. I lucked out with a pandemic deal on a studio apartment in a doorman building with elevators and laundry in the building, and was just a 25 minutes walk from my job — fortunately my rent hasn’t gone up too much since then.

What was your first job? What do you do now?
My first job ever was actually as a resident assistant for a summer intensive at the boarding school I attended — North Carolina School of the Arts. After I graduated high school I stayed for the summer intensive and was responsible for a bunch of 12- and 13-year-old girls that were all dancers. Now, I’m a coach at Orangetheory Hell’s Kitchen. I’ve been working in fitness for the past eight years as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor and have been coaching at Orangetheory Fitness for almost six years. I helped open the Hell’s Kitchen location and have been there ever since.

What’s your favorite New York minute (or moment) so far?
It’s really hard to say… I just love how the trajectory of your day can change so quickly here. Like, I’ll wake up in the morning and have no plans and then I’ll end up just bopping around the city, travel through three different boroughs and see a handful of my friends at different points of the day.

I was talking to my friend the other day and we were saying how it’s getting so busy in New York again. I remember when I first moved here, I did the five days in quarantine to make sure I didn’t get COVID or bring COVID, and the only place I could find to get a COVID test was to go over to the east side to NYU Langone hospital. So I walked across town at 8am on a Tuesday morning in the middle of February. When I walked through Times Square I think I saw maybe five people and hardly any cars. And I was like, I am never going to experience this in my life again.

Share with us why you love Hell’s Kitchen
I love Hell’s Kitchen because it really feels like a neighborhood. I mean, it helps that I live and work in the neighborhood too. In the past year and a half that I’ve worked in the neighborhood I’ve gotten to spend more time here and have a lot of friends now who also live in the neighborhood. It feels like a little family, like a college campus where you walk around and you see people you know and you say hi — it doesn’t feel like such a big city anymore.

What’s your superpower or hidden talent?
I think I’ve recognized this lately — my superpower is that I can turn any shitty situation and find the positive in it. You can’t let life tear you down, just gotta take what it gives you and make the most of it.

What else should we know about you?
I have a YouTube channel . I vlog my life and I’ve been doing it for a few years now. It started back in 2019 as a Travel Vlog, but since moving here I mainly share weekly vlogs of my life in NYC! It’s fun, like my little home videos. The first video that pops up on my channel is getting the keys to my apartment and checking it out for the first time since I only saw it virtually because of COVID.

Adriana’s Favorite Hell’s Kitchen Places

The Molly Pitcher Club — 675b 9th Avenue (bw W46/47th St)
They make the best drinks! It’s a true cocktail bar with great music and a good atmosphere — they’re underrated!

Orangetheory Hell’s Kitchen — 730 9th Avenue (bw W49/50th St)
Orangetheory Hells Kitchen is truly my second home. It’s been a little over a year now that the studio has been open and I am truly honored to have been such a huge part, from the beginning, in bringing the community of Hell’s Kitchen into the studio. Sharing my love for fitness and making lasting friendships with my neighbors in the process has been more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined!

Fortune Bowl — 746 9th Avenue (bw W50/51st St)
I love going to Fortune Bowl for lunch between teaching classes at Orangetheory. My favorite is their Grilled Shrimp Bowl!

Rudy’s Bar & Grill — 627 9th Avenue (bw W44/45th St)
Literally the best deal in town. I don’t even really like hot dogs, but the fact that you can just get a free hot dog with any drink? My go-to beer is Rudy’s Red. You get two beers and two hot dogs and you’ve got dinner for $10 including tip! I’ve been going there since before I even lived in the neighborhood and was just visiting NYC.

Becco — 355 W46th Street (bw 8/9th Ave)
The best pasta & $30 bottles of wine I’ve ever had! The Sinfonia di Paste (unlimited pasta) is amazing! They usually have three different types of pasta to choose from that change daily.

You can follow Adriana at Instagram at @adriana_greaves and check out her YouTube Channel . If you know someone who would make a great West Side Story (or you would like to nominate yourself), please fill in this form — w42st.info/WSSnominations .

You can check out more West Side Stories and reader recommendations on W42ST’s Hell’s Kitchen Local App .

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