We were lucky to catch up with Virginia Kinkel recently and have shared our conversation below.

Virginia, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

After three years of working together as Personal Trainers, and finding success 7 years ago, my then-boyfriend (now husband) Kris and I knew that we wanted something greater in the world of Fitness. We wanted an opportunity to serve as concierge fitness professionals which extends beyond just the workout, but into the wellness, nutrition, physical performance and injury rehab and prevention side. In doing so, Kris and I left our secure and well paying jobs, emptied our (small) savings accounts, and invested everything we had into Bodymass. We truly did not have an option other than to succeed. We focused, every single day, on what it is that needed to be done to make that day successful. Our goal was to start stacking these single successful days upon each other to slowly build the foundation of our business. Today, 7.5 years later, we have 2 Bodymass Gym locations as well as 3 other Bodymass Composition Testing locations and are eager to continue on the path of growth and sharing our passion with others!

Virginia, 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?

I have always found the human body and its abilities completely fascinating: what it’s capable of, how it can adapt and chance, and most importantly how we are able to manipulate our body composition breakdown. In college I studied Kinesiology and developed my knowledge base, but I also worked daily at our Campus Rec Center building a practical skillset as well. Being around people who were focused on fitness gave me an opportunity to connect what I was learning in text and tests with what people were actually experiencing in their day-to-day at the gym.

At Bodymass Composition Testing, we focus on just that: how can we combine the detailed, scientific and specific data of DEXA scan and Resting Metabolic Rate testing with the behaviors of nutrition, fitness and lifestyle in order to help our clients achieve improved body composition and health. Our clients come to us wanting to focus on a certain goal: Improve muscle mass, decrease fat. mass, track bone density trends, establish healthy habits, etc. We provide the data to show whether their daily behaviors are (or in some cases aren’t) helping their goals, and how to course correct if needed with lifestyle, nutrition and fitness so that we can help set everyone up to be as successful as possible!

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

Without a doubt, grit. As a small business owner there are so many nuances of the day-to-day. While my education and experience is in fitness, and that’s the general basis of our business, a majority of what we do each day stretches well beyond the world of fitness. I’ve had to learn about finance, accounting, janitorial work, marketing, communication, outreach, business negotiations, and that’s just the start. If I succumbed to the mentality of “just doing what I want to do” (ie fitness), Bodymass would be very short-lived and not here today.

In addition, the grit required as a small business owner transcends the ebbs & flows. There are moments where you feel like the most successful person around- business is growing, employees are happy, and everything is operating smoothly. Just as quickly, things can change and the very next day might be stressful, dealing with upset or unhappy clients, and negotiating even bigger challenges like having to close your business due to a global pandemic.

Without grit, there would be no success!

How’d you meet your business partner?

While most people might find this to be impossible, my business partner is my husband. I absolutely love having my husband as my business partner for several reasons.

We actually met working together, 11 years ago in Washington DC. From the very early days, I was drawn to his work-ethic. It was the primary trait that attracted me to him, so even before going into business, I was well aware of his mentality around fitness, his desire to grow and create more for himself and the fitness community, and how on a daily basis he is able to buckle down and focus.

Once we started dating, a majority of our time was dedicated to day dreaming and conversation about an improved world of fitness. While we didn’t exactly know how that looked, we both shared a common goal of wanting that. Because we have both invested our time, money, career and life into Bodymass, we continually work together as a team to focus on the larger outcome and knowing we cannot succeed. Bodymass is our career, but it is also our life.

With a mutual respect, common goal, understanding for the other to achieve, and both knowing we need to balance entrepreneurship with our two young children (18 months and 2 weeks old!) we’ve been able to effectively communicate but also each fulfill our end of the partnership. I love being able to work with my husband every day, spend our time together, and works as a team towards a successful future for our business, our relationship and our family!    

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bodymasscompositiontesting.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/bodymasscompositiontesting
• Facebook: facebook.com/bodymasscompositiontesting.com
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/virginia-kinkel-petersen-5a0a7398/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bodymassgym6317
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/bodymass-composition-testing-tampa-bay?osq=bodymass+composition+testing