Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Trish Evangelista. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Trish , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you recount a story of an unexpected problem you’ve faced along the way?

I purchased Babylon Crossfit in October 2019. It had been an existingCrossFit facility since 2014. Two months later, in December 2019 I found out I was pregnant with my first child. In addition to buying a small business, I had a full time sales position that was based out of NYC. On March 16th 2020 my small business was shut down due to COVID restrictions. On April 13th 2020, I was laid off from my full time sales role due to COVID, and I lost my health benefits. Our family went through every up and down that an American family could have seen throughout the pandemic. When we received approval to reopen the gym in June 2020 it was with very strict restrictions and we were only allowed to train outdoors. Due to these restrictions being in place, we also faced challenges with the local government in our efforts to reestablish our business plans to survive. My son arrived in August 2020 and my business was still not allowed to operate at its full capacity. Through all of this, Babylon Crossfit remained true to its community-first approach which is how we came out the other end, now with a vastly larger facility and member base.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Before owning my own business I worked in the natural food and beverage industry focusing on sales and marketing. On weeknights and weekdays I pursued my passion of coaching soccer. After my collegiate soccer career was over I needed more to keep my fitness and health a priority. One of my players’ moms asked me “Have you ever heard of CrossFit?” At that time I hadn’t, after my first one-on-one session, I was hooked!

CrossFit is constantly varied functional movements done at high intensity. If you walk into the right CrossFit gym, with the right coaches, your life will be changed forever. The foundation to our program’s success is nutrition. At Babylon CrossFit we offer group classes, personal training, nutrition, small group training, and so much more. After having a baby I also launched Fitness Through Motherhood, a program dedicated to supporting and educating clients, gym owners and coaches about pelvic health.

We’d love to hear the story of how you turned a side-hustle into a something much bigger.

My passion for CrossFit began  11+ years ago, and is just as strong as it was the first time I picked up a barbell. Coaching CrossFit was always my side hustle, in addition to my full time gig. I always wanted to own my gym but never had the nerve to do it. After coaching for multiple affiliates, I felt I learned enough to try and go off on my own. There is a perception in the CF world that affiliate owners cannot make money. The gyms I have been a part of in the past were never run as a true business. I knew with my experience, knowledge, and hustle that I could make a CrossFit affiliate a lucrative business opportunity. When the opportunity finally presented itself, my husband Steve encouraged me to take the leap. After COVID and I had the baby I never went back to my full time career. I am now living out my dream as my own boss for my own company.

Okay – so how did you figure out the manufacturing part? Did you have prior experience?

I founded Fitness through Motherhood in 2023. When I was pregnant there really were no resources in the fitness world for me to rely on. There are lots of different theories, and it was very hard for me, as someone who lives and breathes fitness, to decipher how to scale my activity.  I decided to educate myself so I could continue to train through my pregnancy. After a difficult pregnancy, followed by an even more difficult postpartum journey, I knew I wanted to make an impact in this space. My c-section reopened 2 times in my postpartum journey, and not because I was in the gym or doing the wrong things. I left the hospital unsupported by the healthcare system and unaware of the minor things such as walking up stairs or getting into bed that could cause my incision to reopen and become susceptible to infection. I also connected with a Pelvic Floor therapist and learned everything I possibly could about my postpartum journey and helping my body properly heal. When I started to share my story, I realized I was not alone. So many mamas feel unsupported, and I wanted that to change. In 2021, I started working with my first mama and I haven’t looked back. I now host an in-person motherhood group 4 times a year at Babylon CrossFit. I now also work with virtual clients and have a traveling seminar for other gym owners, coaches, athletes, and mamas. In 2024, the seminar will go virtual as I look to continue to expand this offering outside of CrossFit as well.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.babyloncrossfit.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/coachtrishbc/ https://www.instagram.com/babyloncrossfit/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BabylonCrossFit/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwaGfiomhD3_xF2jWOc9-mg