I majored in International Business and minored in Spanish and Sociology. It’s safe to say that being a trainer was not on my radar. In all honesty, I had no interest in going to college at the time. I did not know what I wanted to do with my future. I only knew one thing and that was that I wanted to travel. I’ve been so fortunate to travel to so many amazing parts of the world. Australia, Greece, Belgium, Cuba, South Africa, Portugal, and so on. It was important to me to expose myself to knew people and cultures. That concept is actually what led me to training. Yes, I played sports growing up and was a dancer for a long time. However, it was people that got me into coaching before movement. I had a corporate desk job just out of college and I was miserable. I knew it wasn’t for me. I was not meant to sit in front of a desk. I felt that I was not helping people which is what I ultimately wanted to do.
I mentioned to a friend who owned a strength and conditioning gym at the time that I was considering coaching full-time. I said it rhetorically really, but he took my comment very seriously. He quickly connected me with a friend at FFC here in Chicago. Two weeks later I was hired until I received my personal trainer certification. Honestly, I was absolutely terrified. I had no idea what I was doing. I quickly realized that I was getting what I always wanted and that was to work one on one with people. I felt that I was making a difference. All the material I knew I could learn and I was lucky to have some incredible mentors who offered me their time and knowledge. I was like a sponge. Soaking up every bit of information I could to project me forward. It was probably one of the most difficult, amazing moves I’ve ever made. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I was walking into the role of becoming a small business owner.
Being a personal trainer was what I thought I was at the time and I technically am, but in reality I was walking into a role that holds more responsibility than I ever expected. Nine years later I could not be more proud of my business. Running a small business is no small feat and it takes a village. I’ve had so much love and support from multiple communities to get my business where it is today and it still has so much potential. I am grateful that I have the option and privilege to do what makes me happy and turn that into a full-time job. I will never take that for granted.
