We recently connected with Erin/Samantha Saba/Dawson and have shared our conversation below.

Erin/Samantha, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Let’s start with a story that highlights an important way in which your brand diverges from the industry standard.

At Ohana we are so much more than just a fitness studio. One of the biggest things we pride ourselves on is our community we have built. We believe one of the most important things to focus on is surrounding yourself with positive people in an encouraging environment. Our community is truly unlike any other. They not only support each other through the ups and downs in life, they are also so welcoming to each new client who walk in the door. We offer events every single month, outside of just fitness related classes, that help bring the community closer together. We also run quarterly challenges that help our clients get to know each other on a deeper level while being supported on similar journeys. Change is hard but you don’t have to do it alone.

Who would have thought in naming the business “Ohana” it would stand up to it’s name. Ohana means family – we had a vision of that and used that as a driving force as we continued to grow the business. This has had a ripple effect on our clients and we are proud to say that our studio is a home away from home for so many.

Erin/Samantha, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

Erin Saba- I am 35 years old, mom of 3 girls, wife to Jake and live in Macomb michigan. I am a certified personal trainer, nutrition coach, and a pre and post natal coach. I got into the fitness industry because of my own personal struggles with weight and body image. I became determined to not only heal myself but help teach others a different way to have a healthy lifestyle and actually enjoy it. It became my life’s mission to help change the life of even just one woman and I can confidently say I have done that :)

Samantha Dawson- I am 33 years old, dog mom of 2, recently married to my husband Dan and live in clarkston michigan. I am a certified personal trainer, group fitness instructor, corrective exercise specialist and full time entrepreneur. I got into the fitness industry by getting dragged into a kickboxing class by my roommate in college and immediately realized how much I needed it in my life. I became a group fitness kickboxing instructor and LOVED it. But shortly after, I developed an unhealthy relationship with food and through my nutrition courses was able to overcome disordered eating. I knew I wanted to help other women with this and started to realize my purpose in this world was to help inspire women to live healthier, happier lives.

Ohana-We are a women’s fitness studio located in Shelby Township, Michigan. Our mission is to help enhance your quality of life through fitness, nutrition and mindset development. Our focus is to build women from the inside out and empower her to be the best version of herself. Ohana is a place to escape the daily stressors in life and make yourself and your health a priority. We provide a safe space both online and in-studio that offers support and coaching through all stages of life.

When we first started the business we knew that there was something missing in the fitness industry, especially related to women’s health. Most women were encouraged to follow a strict diet while over exercising to see a calorie deficit while their mental health/mindset were completely ignored. This would often cause women to see early on weight loss, followed up by gaining the weight back plus more. We realized that this needed to change and that mental health and mindset is actually the first place you should start when looking to lose weight or get healthier.

This is when we created our signature 6 week program called the Little Black Dress Transformation. This is a well rounded approach to lifestyle change vs. strict dieting and overexercising. We know that in order to see lasting change in your life you need to work on all 3 of the following areas, fitness + nutrition AND mindset. But not just that, we also strongly believe that community plays a huge part in seeing sustainable motivation and consistency. Having support from a large group of women who are also working on becoming a healthier, happier version of themselves makes it so much easier to stay inspired and accountable.

This program has become an integral part of our business and has swept across the country helping impact thousands of women’s lives.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

What’s crazy is that we did not know each other before we got into business. We went to the same college, had hundreds of mutual friends and even lived near each other yet we never crossed paths. Then one day Sam requested Erin on facebook and the rest is history! We realized how connected we were without knowing, and ended up running into each other at a Tigers opening day tailgate. From then on, we continued to have encounters that led us to realize we were meant to cross paths for a reason. We started collaborating on projects, classes and workouts and before we knew it Erin was helping Sam pickout paint colors for a studio expansion. We realized that we were on to something and our personalities and work ethic fit together seamlessly. We then joined forced and decided to become business partners of Ohana Fitness and Wellness and here we are now 8 years later so happy that we listened to our gut.

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

Like many other business owners in the great state of Michigan, we were impacted by the results of Covid and as a gym, we were forced to shut out doors for over 6 months of 2020. We were then left with two options, close our doors, or become more resourceful than ever before. We quickly realized that without the incoming revenue our business savings would dwindle if we didn’t do something fast. Looking back at it we moved freaky fast to create an online platform that would take what we do at Ohana and place it into the living rooms of our clients! We were lucky enough to have such an incredibly loyal community and clientele that supported us throughout the entire pandemic shut down and kept our doors open. In the end this helped strengthen our business model and community more than we could ever have imagined.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.ohanafitnessandwellness.com
• Instagram: @samanthadawson_ @erinsaba_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ErinGlaros. https://www.facebook.com/SamanthaLazaris
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw5R4op4lWESG061KsiOUqA

Image Credits
Lindsey Garland Photography (for the images of Sam and I)