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

Maria, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Was there a moment in your career that meaningfully altered your trajectory? If so, we’d love to hear the backstory.

A couple of defining moments for me would be

Realizing that one of my members has traveled with me from gym to gym to keep me as her trainer….and we are now at year 7! To know that someone is completely committed to my training really makes my heart happy.

Another small, but meaningful moment for me is my hobby of creating Instagram reels of my clients and classes. Although mine are nowhere near the level of nowadays Instagram influencers. A reel of a class I created recently brought me to tears. Many of my gym members had never picked up a pair of gloves, lifted weights, or enjoyed running. Through my social media posts, I am able to see how much my members have grown in their physical fitness journey with me. It truly is rewarding to see how their consistency and effort has paid off over time through hard work and dedication.

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?

Although my full-time job (career) is in the hospitality management industry. I’d like to focus on my side gig as female boxing coach/trainer. I started training very late in the game at around
the age of 30. Currently, I am 45 years old and a very proud grandmother.

My motivation to step into the fight gym was not to maintain a healthy lifestyle or to seek out
an adrenaline rush like so many others do. As a survivor of domestic violence, I sought out a
means of self-defense. At the beginning of my journey I had no intention of competing or
sharing my knowledge with others. But after years of being around boxing and the mixed
marital arts community (MMA) I became very passionate about it. Over time I eventually
started competing and teaching classes. Mostly kickboxing. A couple more years flew by and
eventually I opened my own gym with a business partner. Due to flooding we had to shut down
and at that time found it very difficult to find another location. I began teaching/training out of
other gyms for another couple of years until one day I found a gym that I would eventually call
“home”…Buffalo Boxing Club located in South Austin. I mainly trained there with Coach Robert Clemente (best boxing
coach in Austin BTW!) in attempts to improve my boxing skills. Almost 4 years later, I was given
permission to start teaching classes there as well. I have been with this gym for 5 years and teaching for
1.5 years. I love it! As we all know, diet is also super important when it comes to working out and living a healthy lifestyle. Somehow, even with the busy schedule I already have, I was also able to start my own meal prep small business, My healthy meals are mostly Korean inspired and focused on portion control. I run all of my business (fitness/meal prep) under one name…MinjaFit.

I am very open with my struggles with depression and anxiety. I am also open to sharing my experiences and personal outlets. Boxing, jiu jitsu and working out have all been a method of therapy for me. There are so many benefits that come out of it. Self defense, stress reliever, self confidence booster, sleep aid, mood improvement and lowering symptoms of depression and anxiety. I hope that I am also providing an outlet for others with similar struggles in every day life. That is what is most important to me.

A victim is defined by the harm that has come to them; a survivor is defined by
their life afterwards. A victim has been destroyed and mistreated; a survivor has
continued to live and prosper despite having been victimized.

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

I believe it is the fact that I am still actively training and competing. There are many personal goals I’d still like to accomplish and I don’t let anything get in the way of that. My age, my busy schedule, the odds…it doesn’t matter what it is. I will find a way. I want my actions to motivate others to do the same. I will always do my best to lead by example.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

In addition to my answer to the previous question (which I feel also applies to answering this question) I’ll share some feedback with you. What I do hear a lot from my members is that they enjoy and appreciate the good vibes and “gym family” atmosphere. It is what keeps them coming back. I believe this motivates them to encourage others to also join us as well.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @minjafit
• Other: For social media I only use Instagram at this time.