We recently connected with Vanessa Rivera and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Vanessa, thanks for joining us today. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

A defining moment in my career.. growing up I was considered the “fat” sibling in my family. Being the oldest and not holding up to a certain “look” had an effect on me on my upbringing. I never liked sports but I loved dancing! I ended up being in my schools dance team growing up and this really helped me on my body image. Once I was about to graduate I knew I wanted to be in health space due to the lack of resources I had. Once I entered college I ended up studying exercise sports science with a concentration in rehab.

When the pandemic had hit I was still trying to figure out which route I wanted to take. Did I want to be a Physical Therapist or an Occupational Therapist I was not sure. It was the summer going into my junior year of college I decided to take a risk and take my first official internship at a gym facility in Austin, TX. It was something I was nervous about cause I had never been consistently active until I got this gig. It completely changed what I wanted to pursue which was rehab and made me want to become a coach!

The way they trained these athletes and the general population blew my mind and completely changed my outlook on strength training and how incredible our body’s are. The way the human anatomy is designed and how our bodies were meant to move in different planes of motions, situations, or just day to day life is incredible to me. I also think since always being called ‘fat’ in my family and not being where I wanted to be made me take the first leap.

I ended up working at another gym after that and meeting a bunch of knowledgeable coaches I started take my course to become a Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). All these coaches helping me, being supportive, and pushing me to start now than later because I was only 21 at the time. All of them encouraged me to start young that way I was more established in the upcoming years. Just having the support from these coaches that have been doing it for decades was amazing to me. That’s what pushed me to officially start and got me motivated to coach.

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?

I’m Vanessa’s who came from an immigrant father from Mexico and a mother who was born and raised in Illinois. I was born and raised in Texas and coming from a family who came from nothing my parents never failed in pushing me to become better. Being the eldest daughter of a Mexican family there was a lot of pressure for sure. I had to get good grades, be a good student, work twice as hard having a part-time job right when I tuned 16 and having drill team on top of that was rough. I’d be the first one to go to college and end of becoming a professional in the health and fitness space.

How I got in the industry was by working at a gym meeting a bunch of professional coaches in the industry who have been in it for decades and pushed me to get my CPT. It was truly incredible how many coaches believed in me and let me know it doesn’t matter where you come from anything is possible.

The type of services I provide is Personal Training packages. Recovery services like mobility and stretching as well as specified programs for individuals! I am here to help people get back into the gym and help them not be afraid to take up space! I want people to be able to feel strong, healthy, and remind them that fitness is not about “aesthetics” there’s not a standard on how their body should look.

What sets me apart is I want to teach people that fitness shouldn’t be a punishment but a type of self-care. I want them to feel confident in their bodies because that’s their home. That’s who they will be with the rest of their lives & that their health is the #1 investment they can make.

What I am most proud of is my clients. I wouldn’t be a coach without my clients & they don’t only learn from me but I learn from them too. All my clients show up for themselves each and every day if that’s with me or not. It’s incredible the testimonies I get from them on how they feel strong, losing pounds, and sticking to moving their bodies each and everyday they can. That’s what I am proud of is them.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn is that there is no quick pill or powder that will help me lose weight. It’s all about daily life skills I needed to adapt and learn. From quality of sleep, making better eating habits, exercising on a daily, and not stress about the things I couldn’t control.

The backstory is my up bringing my family didn’t have the resources they stuck to what was passed on from each generation. To eat everything on the plate even when you are full, thinking a “magic pill” could solve the weight gain, and that we needed to look a certain way that lifting weight was “bad” for us. When all of it was completely false.

If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?

If I could go back I would still choose the same profession but truthfully I wish I had discovered the weight room in high school compared to college. I would always question my husband on why they were always in there and since I did drill team we had “no reason” to go in there. I truly think now as a coach dancers would have benefited from going to the weight room with the right training program designed for us.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://chrysalis-lizard-77lh.squarespace.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trainwithranessa?igsh=MXg5YnB5aHByaXhq&utm_source=qr
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@Trainwithranessa?si=YsymvEIQvaDbGUry
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@trainwithranessa?_t=8m869dOJf14&_r=1

Image Credits

@inhousemediatx