Madeline de Vries Hooper & Jeff Hughes

GardenFit is the hit national public television series featuring creators, executive producers, and co-hosts Madeline de Vries Hooper and Jeff Hughes. A first-of-its-kind series, GardenFit is a fusion of destination, gardening, and self-care, teaching viewers how to take care of themselves while taking care of their garden.

After the overwhelming success of GardenFit, Hooper & Hughes developed the Get GardenFit Workshop program to personally meet and work with as many garden and wellness groups across America who can benefit from their ever-popular garden and fitness tips as seen on the show that result in lifetime healthy habits. Hooper & Hughes’ irresistible blend of a high-energy, practical, and fun program leaves workshop attendees feeling “garden fit,” with a new sense of wellness that lasts far beyond the garden.

After a trailblazing public relations career that included creating and building the leading marketing-PR firm DeVries Global, and then a career as a ballroom dance competitor and teacher, Hooper immersed herself in the world of gardening. She was invited to become a trustee of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden and then of the Berkshire Botanical Garden, where she has been Vice Chair for the past 10 years. She has visited many of the finest gardens in the United States and Europe and developed relationships with leading horticulturalists, garden designers, and plantspeople. However, her passion for gardening left her with many aches and pains. A friend recommended she see personal trainer Jeff Hughes, who taught her very quickly how correcting her body movements would relieve her pain and enable her to garden more enjoyably and productively. These newfound habits were the inspiration for the GardenFit television show and workshop program. Hooper and her husband live in Columbia County, New York, where for the past 20 years they have devoted themselves to maintaining Rockland Farm, a 10-acre garden they created from scratch.

Hughes is an award-winning fitness trainer with more than three decades of experience. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and began working as a fitness trainer at the Turnberry Spa in Miami. He went on to own and operate fitness businesses in Los Angeles and New York City, creating programs for a wide variety of clients from celebrities and CEOs to golfers, farmers, moms and dads. In 2004, Hughes opened his TrainerFit Studio in Columbia County, NY and coined the phrase “train the mind, the body will follow,” which incorporates a cognitive slant to conventional fitness training practices. Hughes won 1st place in the master’s category at the 2015 OCB Big East Natural Physique Championships in New York and is a retired class A Interior, volunteer firefighter. Hughes has also pursued his passion for entertainment. Along with being an accomplished singer/songwriter, he is an experienced actor and his credits include “Days of Our Lives” and other roles on soaps and nighttime television, as well as playing Oliver North in Spike Lee’s film “She Hate Me.” Hughes currently lives in South Florida with his wife and daughter. He loves to travel, incorporating his passions for hiking, scuba diving, snowboarding, surfing, sailing, ancient history, and meditation into his destinations.