We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maja Hart a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maja, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

I quit a full-time position as a library media specialist and educator to start my own business in the fitness industry during the pandemic. I worked in education since 2004 and have been an English teacher for over thirteen years and then transitioned into the media specialist role in a special ed school where I was working at the time. I was also working as a part-time CrossFit group coach at a local gym, and realizes just how much I enjoyed educating people on proper movements, how to get stronger, and how to lead a healthy lifestyle. I then decided to take a risk and quit my job in traditional education at the end of the 2021 school year to pursue a certification through the National Academy of Sports Medicine as a personal trainer and nutrition coach. I created my fitness business from the ground up, getting my LLC, learning how to network in different business groups, and contracting out of various gyms in the area in order to gain and retain clients. I went from a steady job with a regular bi-weekly paycheck and benefits into something completely unknown and daunting. I was responsible for finding clients, making money, keeping a calendar, expanding my network, and learning all about running a business. There were times I thought it may have been a mistake to leave something so safe and secure that I’ve been doing for well over a decade and during the pandemic when people were not comfortable going to the gym still. I grew my client base, worked with local gym owners, and was even nominated as Tampa Bay Personal Trainer of the year in 2022! I now finally have my own fitness studio where I train my clients one on one or in small groups. I’ve grown my following tremendously and even started hosting weightlifting seminars with a former Olympian in local gyms to bring my expertise to those in the St. Pete community. All in all, it was a big financial and emotional risk to take and step out of my comfort zone but it has led me to build something where I can give people the gift of health and longevity, and that feels very rewarding.

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.

I got into the fitness industry as a part time CrossFit coach back in 2017. I then fell in love with the sport of Olympic Weightlifting and got certified as a USA Weightlifting L2 coach in 2018 so I can serve as an assistant coach to one of the main coaches at the gym where I was coaching part-time.

Currently, I offer personal training services, group fitness classes, specialized Powerlifting and Olympic weightlifting coaching, nutrition coaching, pre- and postnatal specialist coaching, Pain-free Performance training, and menopause specialization. I help my clients regain control of their health and rebuild their functional patterns through strength training and smart fueling through nutrition education.

What sets me apart from other fitness trainers is the fact that I had a whole career before this, where I learned the necessary people skills to help anyone that has a problem that needs solving, whether that’s losing weight, building muscle, or improving their eating habits. I am also a woman in my forties who is a national competitor in the sport of Olympic Weightlifting and I have scoliosis, which is a discrepancy that makes it challenging sometimes. However, having the experience working with all sorts of people in education and the personal experience of rebuilding my own body to get ready for such a demanding sport, I believe I offer some unique perspectives and can work with almost anyone, from all walks of life, to help them achieve their fitness goals.

I am most proud of not only opening my own fitness studio, but competing in Olympic Weightlifting on a national level and taking home the silver at the Florida State Championships in 2023.

My brand is all about helping people, and women in particular, realize their potential and to find joy in movement. I love seeing people achieve a weight-loss goal or an increase on a lift that they’ve been chasing for a while and we celebrate all of those victories together. I always tell them, if I can do it, you can do it! I love helping ordinary people achieve extraordinary things!

Have you ever had to pivot?

I had a thriving fitness business going in 2024 and due to life circumstances, my husband and I had to move to Parrish, FL and rent out our house in St. Pete. I tried to keep up with the daily commute in order to continue training my St. Pete clients, but eventually, it got to be too much and I had to look for an online position in the fitness industry. I was happy to accept a position with a famous fitness brand that works with women but was very sad to have to give up the MyFit brand that I’ve been growing since 2021. I had to say goodbye to all of my clients, giving them to other trainers I knew in the area. They were all so very sad but understood that I had no choice at that point.

Once I started working from home with this online fitness company, in just a few months I realized that it was not for me. I felt like I made a grave mistake and I began to panic. Despite my best efforts, it just didn’t end up working out and I realized that I am much better at working with people in person than online. I thrive in a fast-paced environment where I get to interact with all sorts of individuals face to face. So, it appeared that this pivot may have been the wake-up call I needed to bring me right back to being an in-person coach.

I went right back into training people in person but had to work for a larger, corporate gym, and was not longer a business owner but an employee. I was quite successful at gaining and retaining clients on a monthly basis and the manager wanted to train me to become an assistant manager for this large corporate company. I agreed at first thinking it would help me expand my knowledge about how these “globo gyms” operate and I wanted to be the first woman higher up.

However, it appeared that this career pivot was worse than the first one! I understood that this fitness company was all about sales and not people. As manager I would be pushing the sale of personal training packages to gym members who, in some case, could actually not afford it. I felt really slimy doing that, like a car salesman, and stepped down from manager trainee.

I eventually realized, through these two career pivots, that I was always the best at being my own boss, setting the pace and finding my own ways to help people live healthier lives, without the corporate pressure to sell, sell, sell. I was not a profits over people kind of person, and this was a wake up call for me to go back to owning my own business.

I then moved back to St. Pete, restarted MyFit, and opened up a studio to welcome my old, and some new, clients in!

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I will begin way back in my journey to where I am now as a successful owner of MyFit Performance. I owe all of it to my experiences in childhood.

At the age of 12, I had to flee my country of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992 due to the genocide that was taking place there. My father bravely got me, my brother, and my mother out of the country and we came to the US as refugees with just 4 suitcases. We were sponsored by my uncle and aunt who were able to provide us with a meager apartment with three mattresses on the floor, a table and 4 chairs, and a TV. My father had to work in a factory and we were on food stamps for a long time. Not only did I have to adjust to this new standard of living as a refugee, but I had to learn a brand new language and way of life in the US as a young girl.

I overcame so much during those early years of my life, including losing my mother to breast cancer at the age of 16. At that point it was up to me and my father to keep flighting to put food on the table, and I took on the roll of caregiver to my younger brother while my dad worked the night shifts at the factory. Not only did I have to go to school, but I somehow had to find the time to also help my father with household chores daily.

Despite all of these setbacks and traumas, I was an honors student, an athlete, participated in high school plays and other activities, and got into a great program at UConn. I went to Uconn and majored in English and I always think back how I couldn’t string a sentence together when I first came to the US and I now currently have an M.A. in the very language I couldn’t speak.

This is why I was not afraid to start a brand new career at the age of 40 and during the pandemic. I have already overcome so much in my life that this seemed like a new challenge that I knew I could handle. My resilience as a young child has only given me my current “get-after-it” mindset and I know that if I can overcome genocide, move to a brand new country, and survive the death of my mother, I can do anything!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://myfitpersonaltrain.wixsite.com/myfitpersonaltrainin
• Instagram: @coach_maja_myfit
• Facebook: MyFit Personal Training