Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Allanah Bucu and Stephen Doxy. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Allanah Bucu and Stephen Doxy, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
Both of us grew up having a close relationship with our parents. We definitely believe that it has had a huge impact on the success of our journeys.
Allanah: Both of my parents are the hardest working people I know. Working hard and to the best of my ability is really all I’ve been familiar with because of my mom and dad. My parents have always encouraged me to reach my full potential while supporting my passions and dreams which was big for me especially when it came to opening up a personal training business/gym. Ultimately, I would never be here where I am in this journey if not for the support of my parents. They’ve allowed me to build and grow what has became doxy and I’s dream and vision literally out of their house. My parents selflessness and faith in us gave us the foundation we needed to prepare us for bigger and better. The love and care they have always provided me translates through my job, in my client relationships, which makes my journey with each client very special. I could never thank them enough.
Doxy: Growing up, my parents always kept all of us (brother, sister, myself) in a routine. We went to school on time, everyday no matter what. It would have to be a real emergency for any of us to miss school. Homework had to be done before doing anything. Even on the weekends, homework had to be done Friday night. I was enrolled in piano lessons and karate growing up, so routine has always been a thing in my life. Fast forward to today, in order to run a successful business the way that we do, you have to be able to be accountable and actionable. My parents always kept the three of us in church, sports, or some sort of extracurricular activity so we were constantly exposed to different personalities. At our gym we have every personality you can imagine, so its just more of the same of what I’ve been doing my whole life.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Body by Bucu is the personal training service that you (and your friends and family) are missing out on. My name is Allanah Bucu and I am the founder of Body by Bucu. My name is Doxy and I am a head trainer at Body by Bucu. Together, we are besties, certified personal trainers, and the owners and operators of Body by Bucu. Both of us have been involved in sports our whole lives so the inclination to stay fit and healthy has come naturally. Having graduated from college with degrees in Psychology (Allanah) and Sports Marketing (Doxy), we were open to exploring different job opportunities. Both of us did so (working retail jobs, coaching jobs and also substitute teaching) up until the spring of 2020 where, like most of the world, we were on lock down. With everything being closed, including gyms, a need to workout was created. At the same time, a need for socialization was also created. We started with quick, circuit like workouts at our local high school’s football field with some friends, a few times a week. Our 20 minute daily classes quickly blossomed into an organized, daily activity that many people continued to sign up for. Although we kept our workouts short and sweet, we also added in different components such as weekly and monthly competitions which were followed by awards. We also started our online presence by granting daily online zoom access. After a few shorts months of success with group and online classes, come the fall of 2020, we were faced with some new challenges. We had to transition from outdoor circuit workouts to a small garage like facility, outfitted with free weights, dumbbells, and cardio machines. This is what we called home for the next three years. In October 2023, moving into the 4th year of our operation, we moved to our current location in Kenilworth NJ. A much bigger and and better facility where we are confident we provide the most efficient and effective workout sessions. Ultimately, what sets us apart from everyone else in the fitness world is the community and sense of belonging we’ve created. Most fitness journeys fail because of lack of consistency and not only do you have two trainers who genuinely care about your success as our client, but you become surrounded by others who also hold you accountable. We can guarantee you won’t find another gym offering the affordability that we do in our packages. We supply all of the tools physically to succeed in whatever your fitness goals are, along with providing a comfortable, motivating setting, all while doing it at a rate that you can afford.
How’d you meet your business partner?
We grew up together and became friends in middle school. We grew closer in high school. but it wasn’t until college that we really formed the bond and friendship that we have. We had the same friend group and due to that, in addition to our common interests, we spent a lot of time hanging out. In our time together, we spent a lot of it working out, watching sports, and talking about our individual goals, which has helped start the cultivation of the successful partnership we have. We had to learn the importance of being honest, patient and understanding with one another. As we’ve grown older and more mature, through some trials and tribulations of course, we’ve been able to build our friendship into a beautiful business relationship and our lives have truly changed because of it.
Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?
The most effective strategy for growing our clientele has been our ability to provide genuine, effective training services. Our daily reminders to our clients are not an auto generated message, they are personal texts. From a client’s point of view, you have to directly tell us that you need to cancel a session, versus just clicking on an app. We want to see our clients everyday, it makes us feel great watching their progress over time and we know consistency is the best way to get results. Not only do we hold them accountable, we work to build trust with our clients which pushes them to not only show up but to also work hard. Bringing this full circle, we produce results, so much so we could guarantee them. A strong social media presence is obviously an important aspect of growing clientele, but we strive to provide a service and environment that our clients can’t wait to tell others about. Health and wellness is something that literally any/everyone can/should invest in and a major factor of our growth is attributed to referrals.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.bodybybucu.com/
- Instagram: @bodybybucu
- Twitter: @bodybybucu
Image Credits
J’Nia Mainor Scott Faranda