I don’t think those activities necessarily qualified me as an athlete, I think that is the kind of stuff we all did as a kid at the time, while growing up in my neighborhood. I think I was just a very happy, energetic and active kid, who would bounce around, and was physically active from sunrise to sunset. I did not become an athlete until I started playing organized soccer in school, and got picked up by a travel team. Truth be told though, both teams that I played for always underperformed, and consequently, we lost the majority of our games. As a result, at a young age,  I had to learn how to accept and deal with defeats, put them behind me, and tried not to let it affect my preparation for the next upcoming game. On a personal level, I think learning how to deal with defeats is a good coping skill to have, as we navigate through life, where we might have ups and downs, as well as losses.  

Now, let’s connect the dots. Joy of Life Fitness came about after several injuries that I have suffered over the years while playing sports both as a child, and as an adult. Consequently, I have experienced how inconvenient, debilitating, depressing and sometimes embarrassing injuries can be. I would admit that when I was younger, like most young people, I thought I was invincible, and would push the physical boundaries of my body which is not a bad thing to do, but sometimes I would go overboard until I got hurt. Then, I would realize that I needed to take care better care of my body which also means knowing my physical limitations, smartly measuring my risks versus my benefits while choosing my physical activities, and giving my body the proper amount of time it needs, to rest, and recover from the physical inflictions I put upon it.

As I got older, I have realized very quickly that I could no longer ignore my injuries, and push through them like I used to do when I was younger which was not very smart. It became imperative for me to learn how to work out properly, seek help for my injuries, and be mindful of my injuries, and physical limitations while staying active. When I became  a Certified Personal Trainer, it afforded me the skills  that I needed to work around my own injuries, and help my clients to overcome their own.

At a very young age, I realized that I really like helping people, and would sometimes go out of my way to do so. Those traits led me to work in the financial industry, the medical field, the social services sector, and ultimately in the fitness industry where I have been blessed to help more people than any other industry that I have worked in. I have worked as a personal trainer where I have put in over ten thousand training hours and I have mentored, trained, and developed other trainers, and gym staff at different capacities. I have also consulted with, and managed various commercial gyms both on the east coast, and the west coast, and also owned, and operated gyms, and personal training fitness studios over the years. When I moved to San Diego from Boston in August, 2017, I brought some of my personal training equipment with me, but never really thought that I would be opening another personal training studio. At some point, I thought maybe getting a managerial position in the fitness industry would suit me well, given my background and experience. But the more I help people, the more I feel the urge to get involved a bit deeper into the industry, and offer my clients something more meaningful with my own personal touch on it, and that it is how Joy of Life Fitness was born.  In a nutshell, I love helping people, and fitness is the vehicle that I use to do so. My burning desire is for Joy of Life Fitness to become your fitness sanctuary, and your go to place, where you can get all your fitness needs met.