We were lucky to catch up with Diana Zuniga recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Diana thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

Back in 2020 when the lockdown happened and the gyms closed down I had to find a way to start training from home. I started buying equipment little by little and building my home gym. Months later I started inviting friends and family to train with me on Sundays and I I used to call this sessions Self Love Sundays. I know how beneficial exercise is for your mental health and I wanted my close friends and family to relieve some stress and have some fun since we were going through some hard times. I then realized how much I was enjoying doing this and decided to get a certification as a personal trainer so that I could start offering these services to more women. At that time I was living at my mom’s house and started building my home gym in her garage. I was offering morning and evening group sessions since I had my 9-5 job. Things were going well but like a year later my mom started asking me when I was going to get my own place for the business, because she felt like she had no privacy at home because people were coming in and out from the house. Back then I was in a lot of fear and did not see my self renting a space for the business by myself. I ended up looking for houses so that I could have my own place and build my gym at my own place. Fast forward to January 2022 I had bought a condo that had a one car garage, I wanted a bigger garage but couldn’t afford a bigger place.

Also in December 2021 I had hired a life/business coach because I felt I needed someone to guide me and help me grow the business. I paid this coach a lot of money and throughout the coaching he would always talk about how I needed to quit my corporate job and go all in on the business. Because of all the money I paid I felt that I needed to take the risk and just do it. In April 2022 I ended up quitting my job, which was three months after I had just bought my condo and it was the first time ever living by myself so you can imagine how scared I was but I didn’t want to let fear stop me from doing it. Me and a friend had plans to partner up, we were looking at places, talking about the packages we were gonna offer and I remember finding a place. We were working with a broker and were about to sign a lease, and after the contract was sent to us this friend disappeared and I never heard from her again. I remember being really stressed and confused, I knew since I had just bought my condo I was not gonna be able to afford a lease for a gym on top of my mortgage. I had my one car garage at home but for some reason it didn’t feel right to build my gym there, I didn’t like how small it was.

So after quitting my job I was still seeing all my clients at my mom’s house but I knew my mom didn’t want me there anymore so I was really stressing because now that was the only income I had and I don’t know if It was due to the stress but I couldnt see any other options for me. I was having a really hard time through that time and felt like nobody understood me, at least in my family. I felt like I was loosing myself, my confidence was crushing cause I felt everything was going wrong. I remember I didn’t even feel like doing marketing anymore or looking for more clients cause I knew I needed to get out of my mom’s house and I didn’t know where to train my clients. In August 2022 I ended up cancelling all my clients, I wasn’t doing good mentally, I felt I was failing big time and I was running out of money from the savings I had. I started looking for jobs but nothing paid as good as what I was making at my last corporate job so even though I was so embarrassed to go back to my job I had to put my ego on the side and asked if they could take me back. I went back to my corporate job in October 2022.

Fast forward to today, I ended up renting my condo and I rented a house with a bigger garage and this is where I am training my clients now. I now have some different plans and some other new things that I want to do. I do believe everything happens for a reason and even though that experience was hard for me I am very grateful for it because I can honestly say that I am not afraid of taking a risk again, or “failing” because at the end of the day these are always lessons and I know next time I decide to quit my corporate job Im gonna be better prepared and will how know how to handle any obstacles better.

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?

Since I was a teenager I was really into fitness. I had my first gym membership when I was 14 years old and I remember always being in the cardio machines since I had no clue how to do weight lifting. I used to be very shy, had really low self esteem and even though I wanted to lift weight so bad I wouldn’t go to the weight room because I would think people would make fun of me. As the years passed by I started joining bootcamps and started learning how to do strength training. I also joined an MMA gym and did some jiu jitsu and boxing which help me build some confidence since I started to see what I was capable of doing. I then hire my first personal trainer, I learned a lot from her. She was very fit and used to do CrossFit so I got inspired to try CrossFit. When I started doing CrossFit I started lifting heavier weights and even ended up competing which helped me build my confidence even more. Lifting heavy weights made me feel empowered and I started to see how my body was changing little by little and how more energized and better mood I would be in that I started to fall in love with the journey.

Due to my low self esteem I got myself into a very abusive relationship which affected me a lot. I can honestly say that exercise helped me in so many ways. Exercise always felt like a therapy session, it was my safe space, the place where I would forget about all my problems, the place where I would feel strong and more clear. I can say that as I gained confidence and strength physically and mentally I was able to leave the relationship.

I like to show women that lack confidence, that doubt themselves, that don’t like themselves that they can change. Their identity can change, their story can change. They don’t have to suffer, they don’t have to stay in relationships or situations where they feel miserable because they don’t feel good enough and have to settle. They don’t have to settle for anything and exercising is a great way for them to see what they’re capable of doing and how strong they can be to face any challenges life throws at them.

Do you think you’d choose a different profession or specialty if you were starting now?

I love what I do, however I have a passion for learning about human psychology, human behavior change and how powerful the mind is. As I been learning more about myself I discovered I have more of a visionary archetype and I love speaking, story telling, sharing different perspectives or teaching things that have helped me. I eventually see myself having a podcast, creating you tube videos or doing some kind of mindset coaching. At the end of the day my message is the same, whether is through fitness, podcast, videos or coaching I want to help women turn their self doubt into confidence so they can go after everything they have in this one lifetime experience we are given.

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

From my experience I can say the way I make my clients feels is so important. Having empathy for them, understanding they all have a story and different reasons for why they want to start on this journey. Making them feel valued, heard and understood.

The way I show up is very very important. Being present, my mood, my energy plays a big part so I always like to make sure I am taking care of my self mentally, physically and spiritually so I can give them the best of me every training session.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: Dianaezunigaa
• Facebook: Diana E. Zuniga