We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Minky Kim a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Minky, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?
Han, is a Korean term – it is said to be an inherent sense of rage and anguish that is essential to the Korean identity and a result of the forced occupation, oppression, and colonization of the Korean people by various nations around them. So much so that the term for Koreans in Korea is ‘hanguk-in’ – literally translating to ‘the race (or peoples) of han’
Though the term ‘han’ may be specific to the Korean identity, this deep and powerful fury in the face of imperialism and Western supremacy is something that resonates with many marginalized communities. It is a part of what unites us and allows us to better empathize and understand each other, so that we may forge unbreakable and fierce bonds that can overcome the systemic injustices of our world.
It is a reclamation of this grief/rage that I wanted to embody in the space I’ve created – a way to channel this into something greater by learning to build a relationship with oneself, which I believe allows us to break past the arbitrary barriers of our world and grow together as a community.
Minky, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Personal training was not my original life plan. At the time I began training, I was working a full-time career unrelated to fitness, and got certified to train as a passion project to create safe and body neutral movement to the queer/trans community. I was working a full day and coming home to train folks in the evening, and did so from Nov 2019 until 2 months after we opened in January 2021.
When the pandemic hit, the world was shaken in a lot of ways that was necessary to begin the conversations regarding systemic/social/cultural inequity. And it got me thinking about how those things have shown up in my relationship to movement, to my body, and my part in serving my communities. I found it difficult to find training spaces or trainers themselves that were informed on the issues that queer, trans, POC, disabled, fat, and/or low-income communities navigate. It was a need that needed to be filled. So I decided to rebrand, and ventured to find somewhere Han Training could call home.
The focus of my movement philosophy is on intention. On understanding one’s own body, how it moves, how it functions, how it feels – as a way to reconnect with yourself. I remind folks that the weight of your lift or the depth of your stretch are aspects that will come, but not if they don’t move the weight or stretch that limb without a focused awareness of your body. Be intentional about how you move your body, and that can translate into your intentions in the ways you take up space in the world. I think there’s something remarkable about trusting your body that I believe should be accessible to everyone.
Building out the space was probably one of the more difficult but rewarding parts of Han Training. Every little part that we could control, we put so much intention into. We took out and replaced the floors, created the reception desk, retiled the bathroom, painted with our brand colors, used Korean mulberry paper to diffuse the lightings, and the same paper to make the blinds. Ramps at every entrance, and thought was put into the organization of the space and our equipment in order to make the space as accessible as possible to all folks. It is one of the foundational pillars of the mission of Han Training. I may have created it, but our community really brings it all together, because the communities are the ones that keep us accountable. I am proud of how we, as a team and as a whole community, make sure to continually learn and adapt and stay true to our values.
How did you build your audience on social media?
I honestly haven’t spent a dime on marketing.
Most of the marketing we get is from word of mouth or from my social media. I originally started by sharing my fitness journey, when I was hosting community get togethers as an individual, and also shared little bits of myself that related to what I was trying to do with my training. Eventually I separated my personal brand and the business brand to keep things a little more separate.
Though it wasn’t especially curated – and honestly still isn’t – my personal social media has brought the most attention to the gym.
My biggest advice, is to be honest. To be clear. To be willing to take responsibility for the sway you might have as your audience grows. People respond to what touches them, and it hits a little stronger when you are able to be vulnerable enough to share the experience with them. Show them that you are human.
We’d love to hear about how you keep in touch with clients.
I am lucky enough to be able to see my clients in person. I make it a point to get to know and be familiar with every one of my members, and important parts of their lives.
We send out monthly newsletters, maintain our social media (and tag folks), and also regularly host public community events with great success. Almost every event I meet someone new, who has never stepped foot into the space but wanted to check it out – more often than not, we will see them at the gym within the month.
I think it is the safety, the comfort, and the acceptance of folks as who they are into the space that really builds loyalty and trust. I regularly remind my members that it is an honor to have their trust throughout their journey, and that it is a gift to be able to serve them in this way. It isn’t enough to say it, but to believe it.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.hantrainingchicago.com
- Instagram: hantraining