TALE END
Josh Leffler
Activities Director
Welk Resorts Desert Oasis
34567 Cathedral Canyon Drive, Cathedral City
760-321-9000
welkresorts.com/palm-springs
Sometimes, not getting the job can turn out for the best. After quickly being promoted from fitness instructor and personal trainer to gym supervisor to pool supervisor at Welk Resorts’ Escondido property near his native San Diego, Josh Leffler applied for the activities director position there. But his higher-ups had something else in mind and offered him the same job in what we believe is a far more attractive market: Greater Palm Springs. The 30-year-old took it and ran in January.
In a gig he likens to that of a cruise director, Leffler oversees such extracurricular pastimes as cupcake wars, virtual-reality games, and local craft beer tastings while personally leading aqua fitness, archery lessons, and an “ultimate margarita-making” class by the pool.
“I love to put on my trunks and be hands-on with my aqua-fit students,” he says, conceding that the occasional bachelor party was all he knew about the desert prior to relocating. And while he finds the summer heat intense, high season’s perfect weather more than makes up for it. “My goal is to keep our guests on property, having fun. I try to target everybody from 5-year-olds — I do the ‘treasure dive’ with the kiddos — to adults 80 and over. I love helping to create memories they’ll remember forever.”
Josh Recommends
“Dringk Eatery + Bar at The River in Rancho Mirage. I like the atmosphere — very cool, relaxed. Not bougie, not fancy. I love playing pool, having a drink with buddies, meeting new people. I can literally show up in flip-flops and not be judged.”