We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Julissa Brown. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Julissa below.

Julissa, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s kick things off with your mission – what is it and what’s the story behind why it’s your mission?

I started my journey in 2015 after facing familial trauma & getting sucked into a very dark place. I knew I needed a vice that would help me start a healing journey but I was also aware that I was not ready for actual therapy, so I searched on YouTube for a leg workout (I used one from Whitney Simmons actually-she was my free trainer for a while LOL) & I threw myself into the gym. I was very consistent for years & then decided that I loved it so much that I wanted to share my passion & got certified as a personal trainer. Now 3 years later, I have a small business and community of women who are dedicated to living a healthy lifestyle and I am so grateful to be a part of their journey. Turning my turmoils into triumphs is forever my success story. And I will say, the fact that I get to make a living doing what I what I love, makes this process ten times 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?

I honestly have never talked about my personal journey on a platform, not even my own. I usually just show my daily life routine or show off my clients, because they are really my pride & joy, as funny as that sounds. So yeah, y’all are definitely getting the Julissa B. FIT exclusive. As, I stated before, I started my journey after knowing that I needed a healthy way to start healing myself. The gym was a perfect escape from the darkness I was going through at the time. ( and I will add that I did eventually go to therapy for a few years and I highly recommend it for people who are struggling deeply with their mental health). Once I started training clients, that’s when I knew that this was the path for me. I offer in person & online training through my app, which provides personalized meal plans & workouts for my girls. I am currently working on expanding into different areas of fitness and business, but for now my main focus are my clients and to continue growing my community.

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

I am always thinking of creative ways to grow my business/community of women. I think when you’re truly a “girl’s girl” it’s easier to create genuine connections with women, especially those who turn into a client. I not only want my clients to evolve physically, but also mentally. Everything starts with our mental health, so I make sure to create an environment for my clients to feel safe and have that outlet/escapism and in turn I believe it helps retain my current clientele and they often speak about me to their friends/family members, who then reach out to me for training.

I also use social media as a way to show my own fitness journey. (although I could be more consistent on socials LOL) I try to remind people that this lifestyle isn’t linear and it’s okay to start over and over again. I think I am just very relatable and realistic, so my energy and drive attracts the clientele who want that lifestyle change.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

I think I had to train my mind to feel like I deserved my flowers. I did not grow up very privileged and I always had to work hard and be very disciplined to get to where I wanted to be. Having to unlearn certain ways to deal with personal issues trickled into my business, especially because part of my business is customer service. I had to learn how to deal with people on a professional level, but I also found a way to involve my morals and ethics into it. It was very difficult to not let people take advantage of my kindness, but setting boundaries for myself has definitely helped escalate my business.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @julissabfit and @julissabrown_
• Tiktok: @julissabfit

Image Credits
Photographer: @johnwavy