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Marina Kamen/aka/MARINA, is the winner of the first People's Choice Award in Podcasting for Health & Fitness. She is also co-owner of Kamen Entertainment Group. Born a native New Yorker in 1959, MARINA started dance at age 4 in New York City, added violin and piano at age 7, and then , by the age of 11, went on to study opera and violin at the prestigious Manhattan School of Music. By the early 1980's, MARINA started to pursue a career in the entertainment industry. While supplementing her income by waiting tables and teaching voice lessons she pioneered and spear headed the aerobic exercise industry as one of the original instructors at Body Design By Gilda in New York City.

In 1983, MARINA met her partner for life, recording engineer Roy Kamen, at The Music House, a major music/audio production studio in New York City. It was at that time that MARINA honed her craft in the studio. After a two year internship, MARINA took on the obligations of bookings and contracts for actors and musicians as well as studio sales and general management. In 1984, MARINA launched the first voice over casting department in New York City.

By 1987, Roy & MARINA opened Kamen Entertainment Group, Inc.

In the world of TV and radio commercial advertising, MARINA's credits have included working as vocal casting director & vocal arranger on campaigns including PopTarts, Febreze, Dairy Queen, Starburst, etc.(View Complete Client List)

By the mid 1990's, MARINA decided to turn her attention back to her roots: "live" performance. A tough road to travel seeing that at the time her 3 children were all under the age of 10 and MARINA had ballooned up to 215 pounds. It was at this time that MARINA started to write and produce music aimed at the dance market. Dance music in the mid 1990's was a producer driven industry, giving the "invisible" artist a chance to release tracks to the DJ community.

Before long, MARINA discovered that dance driven "high-nrg" tracks were perfect for walking to. As a matter of fact, they were perfect for any workout much like the music from the 70's and 80's that MARINA had grown to love during her years of teaching aerobics.

Before long, MARINA discovered her winning combination of walking, dancing to her own tracks, and a portion controlled well balanced meal plan. Within a year, MARINA dropped close to 100 pounds!

By 1997, MARINA released her debut album, "Um-Lotty-Da." MARINA's reputation grew quickly within the dance club scene in New York City. MARINA's ability to write, produce, sing and perform as well as choreograph spectacular stage shows to accompany her record releases in the clubs brought her to the attention of the Dance Organization of America (DOA). This committee was made up of the "who's who" in the dance music scene and landed MARINA the job of director/choreographer. Some names associated with DOA included Columbia Records, BMG Records and The Naras Foundation, which successfully campaigned for a Dance division category in the Grammy Awards.

By the year 2000, MARINA had started to tap into her knowledge of the music business and the aerobic exercise market and started to sell her music within the fitness community. MARINA's ability to crank out product along with her weightloss success story, lead to MARINA establishing herself as a leading force within the fitness market. By 2001, MARINA had written music and acted as choreographer, developer and host spokesperson for clients including QVC/Direct, Jazzercise, Dynamix, Equinox Gyms, Jackie Chan's CableFlex and Strive Enterprise with Bill Kazmier (ESPN).

MARINA has been motivating women, children and people like herself to get off the couch and moving! As MARINA says, "working out does not have to be a homework assignment. . . It should be fun! Have Better Times Workin' On Out, NOW! . . . Never Stop Movin'!"

MARINA's "high-nrg fitness" TV cable show as well as MARINA's high-nrg fitness product line of musical interactive fitness products, workout videos, audio CDs, Meal Planner and Workout Calendar were all written and developed by MARINA.

MARINA's eclectic career has given her the opportunity of working with an impressive list of clients as well as numerous celebrities including Gloria Gaynor, Patti Labelle and James Earl Jones as well as appearing on British TV on "Reborn In The USA" . . .produced and televised from New York City by the producers of "American Idol."

MARINA has been seen on The Discovery Health Network, PBS and Nickelodeon (The N) as well being covered in the NY Times, The Daily News and Family Circle Magazine.

MARINA has volunteered her time to New York City Department of Parks and Recreation helping to promote the "Parks Membership Drive." Parks and Recreation Deputy Commissioner Kevin Jeffrey believes that MARINA's fitness and entertainment background coupled with her personal experience of losing 100 pounds by walking the city parks positions her to spread the word about the many fully equipped recreation centers offering low cost fitness alternatives to the city's residents.

MARINA's unusual combination of being a business owner, writer, producer, vocalist and instrumentalist, together with her dance and choreography abilities, makes her a rarity within the industry. This, together with over a twenty year marriage to Roy Kamen and their 3 children, gives MARINA the winning combination it takes for a woman to balance Home…Work…Family & Fitness in America today!