We were lucky to catch up with Andre Zemnovitsch recently and have shared our conversation below.
Andre, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear about the things you feel your parents did right and how those things have impacted your career and life.
My Folks are my best friends. Their boundless love, wisdom and excitement for living is what is responsible for molding the Modus Operandi of my life! My Dad is going to be 83 years young in January; Mom just turned 70, God Bless their beautiful hearts. They’ve been married to one-another for almost 52 years.
In a paradigm where finding that quintessential “Soulmate” is almost impossible, it warms my heart to see two together in such blissful harmony. My Folks have experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows together; regardless of what trials and tribulations came upon them—not only did they forbid the storms from blowing them apart from one-another—they transmuted the elements to grow the most beautiful gardens from their lives.
Their first major adventure together: was emigrating out of the Soviet Union; this was a tricky thing to accomplish in the Seventies. The journey out of the ‘Iron Curtain’ was a slippery one; soon after leaving the CCCR, the Folks had settled down in beautiful Italy—with oh-so-many anecdotes to share from their travels. Wisdom accrues! Can you imagine the vibe of living in Western Europe in the 1970’s—HEAVEN! Adriano Celentano and Mina would sing fabulously from their red corvette’s radio as they drove through the winding hills of Tuscany—holding one-another’s hands through the “ups” of their together-journey.
After enjoying a few magical years in Italy and Western Germany, my Folks decided to move, and ultimately settle in iconic NYC! My Parents settled humbly in the borough of Queens; my older brother was just a year old when they had arrived in the States. My Father started to drive a yellow cab to support the family; eventually buying and selling his own taxi Medallion—which had allowed him the opportunity to open up the first of his renowned Euro-Russian restaurant/nightclubs.
The 70’s, 80’s and 90’s were heavenly for my folks; their nightclub was appropriately called “Paradise”, and together they’d grow their Garden of Eden the way that they saw fitting! Paradise helped to launch many now-famous Russian and Ukrainian musicians and the parties were lavish! From Gypsy Weddings to Celebrity Events—Paradise was the chic place for Russian-speakers living in NYC to go revel in. Mom loves to dance, she studied Ballet back in the Ukraine; the legendary Baryshnikov was a couple years older but in the same ballet company as her. The Folks sold the club in 1999 and that’s when a very long period of the “lows” came around.
Through diligence, grace, cunning, strength, and of course love, they stayed together through another (quite long and arduous) round of the tempests. Mom is currently in the editing stages of writing her soon-to-be-released memoirs: she says that she wants to teach the younger generations the skills and sagacity it takes to grow gardens out of any desert that kismet might plant you in.
It’s about to be 2025 and all of us feel and pray that my Folks are due for another nice and long streak of “ups”; and of course, as they always have and always will—no matter what—they will always harvest new seeds for their glorious gardens from the accruing wisdom of aging gracefully together! Whenever it is that I train a client to grow into their best self—it’s all thanks to my Folks for teaching me how to do the very same!
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
Hey Friends!
Andre here, many call me Drey. I’ve been in the fitness industry for more than half of my life. I was always around very fit people; not just physically fit, mentally fit as well. I was a neurodivergent heavyset kid growing up. As much as I had wished to be athletic and popular like my cool older brother and his friends, I had a thick wall in front of me that prevented me from materializing those goals into fruition—I was undisciplined!
The undisciplined kid grew into an even more undisciplined teenager, one that now also had hormones, OCD, anxiety, ADD and random Tourette’s-like stims to deal with. So, one day when I was 17 years old, I decided to try to neutralize my lack of discipline by turning my OCD into something positive; I turned my weakness into a power! I started hitting my local gym every single day! Rain, shine, snow or Armageddon—I was at that gym every day for hours at a time! I went from undisciplined to unstoppable.
I started learning from the OG’s (Original Gangsta) weightlifters that frequented the gym, which had become my sanctuary. Within a year and a half I was a top trainer for the gym.
If I had stayed solely with fitness—I’d probably be a world famous personality with a hundred gyms by now; unfortunately, I also decided to become a music journalist. As Confucius said, “the man who chases two rabbits, catches neither.”
Into my twenties I was booked solid with clients; I was training athletes and all sorts of international and local celebrities, I trained top models and Forbes-listed businesspeople. I could’ve grown myself and my practice into something world famous; unfortunately for me…I was partying way too much via my side-hustle gig. I was moonlighting as a music journalist and getting deep into that whole “sex, drugs & rock n’ roll” lifestyle. Long story short…I had partied way too hearty and had hit rock-bottom at 27.
In hindsight, though extremely tedious, those dark days were some of the biggest blessings of my life: as they had introduced me to Zen, Kung-Fu, Breathwork, Meditation, Tai-Chi, Qigong, Acupuncture, and various facets of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).
I was always a fan of the best-of-all-worlds approach to health and wellness. Being blessed to be in the industry as long as I have: I have been graced by the wisdom of so many amazing masters of their respective craft; each style has its own amazing array of benefits. Yoga, Pilates, MMA, Strength and Conditioning, Physical therapy/Correctional exercise, Endurance Training, Restorative Fitness, Boxing, Dance, Aerobics—you name it—I’ve been blessed to pickup elements from all of the aforementioned and more.
When I train a client, my promise is: “you will get healthier after every session with me!” It is impossible for a client not to benefit from learning how to better their posture, improve their breathing, better their balance, strengthen their core, turn body fat into skeletal muscle, sharpen their minds, balance their stress hormones, increase their range of motion, up their stamina—all leading them to be faster, stronger and exponentially more focused!
What sets me apart is that I teach my client how to fish instead of just giving them a fish. I teach my client to build a beautiful bond, a rapport with their mind and their body. Aside from learning a vast cornucopia of techniques from the top fitness pros in the Country, I have also completed the top certifications a trainer can, including graduating with a Master Trainer Certification from the revered FPTI (Focus Personal Training Institute). I teach my clients everything it is that I know, and I know quite a bit about health and fitness.
I have been honored to train for the top gyms in the World. This year, I have officially launched my own brand, High-Chi Fitness, to bring my philosophy to the masses! My philosophy of never plateauing and always evolving is one that benefits each and every one of us. Think of Alchemy: each element is amazing in its own right but, when you start fusing the best aspects of their respective selves together—you get something next level! This is exactly what High-Chi is! High-Chi Fitness is a place where each of us powers-up everyone else in an exponentially, perpetually, infinitely and cumulatively-upgrading way—E.P.I.C!
What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?
Results and warm-heartedness!
I believe that we are all reflections of one-another. I will train every single client as if we’re family; we are all brother and sister from the same Celestial Mister! Personal Training isn’t inexpensive; when somebody is paying me their hard-earned money for my hard-earned knowledge and guidance—I’ll make darn sure that they’re getting back everything that they expect and much, much more.
Results are of utmost necessity and I fathom that they are achieved much smoother and swifter when teamwork makes the dream work. I have had clients that were in really bad mental shape; once clients realize that they control their destiny and can willingly turn the “I have to” mentality to “I get to”—they truly start enjoying the ride which is their fitness journey.
The great Taoist philosopher Lao Tzu famously said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
The first step to being a successful trainer is having a noble heart of integrity—for oneself and everyone that should cross paths with you. Wonderful progress will soon follow.
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
At High-Chi Fitness we believe in seeing how strong both the mind and body can get; one complements the other like the fabled Yin-Yang. When the connection between one’s mind and body is synchronized, there is no limit to the greatness that one can attain.
There are so many inspirational books that helped mold me into who I am today. Alan Watts was one of the first great Zen Masters that I was introduced to. Takuan Soho’s work, “The Unfettered Mind” was a book that helped me experience a quantum leap in consciousness; he was the 2nd Zen Patriarch who was known as the greatest swordsman in history; the aforementioned work was written on his deathbed as a gift to future Martial Discipline Masters. “The Way of Qigong: the Art and Science of Chinese Energy Healing” by Kenneth S. Cohen, which had initiated me into the amazing Mastery of Qigong, was another important work for my development.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://highchifitness.com
- Instagram: @highchi_drey
- Other: https://www.patreon.com/c/HIGH_CHI_FITNESS
Image Credits
Luther Cherry
Alizarin Waissberg