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

Rena, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What’s something you believe that most people in your industry (or in general) disagree with?

Most people believe that overweight people/ Fat people are naturally lazy, unhealthy, , and have health issues. This makes my movement a lot harder. instead of judging me based off of my accomplishments or even coming to a class, they judge me off my appearance! I disagree because I’m one of those overweight people who works diligently to maintain a healthy lifestyle! I eat good, i train even harder, I have no underlying health issues due to my weight and I continuously educate myself on my body and others to be able to provide the correct resources to lead a healthier lifestyle!

Rena, 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?

Since my adolescent years, I’ve always been obese. In middle school I was the “chubby girl”, in high school I was the fat girl”, in college, “the Big girl” and so on! It was so annoying being describe by my weight. I’ve never really lacked confidence or hated being plus-size, but the heavier I got, the more uncomfortable I was. I could barely shop in my favorite stores due to lack of extended sizes and even started to hate the way I looked in certain clothes that I would normally love. At that point I decided it was time for a change and so my journey began.

I was on the hunt for a way to lose weight without feeling so much pressure. I started doing online dance fitness workouts from home. The next step was attending Zumba classes at my local Club Fitness where I fell deeper in love with dance fitness. One thing led to another and I was ready and finally certified to become an instructor. One year later, I took a leap of faith and created Curvy Gang Fitness, LLC.

Over the last 5 years, I have successfully lost over 100 pounds. It has been one heck of a journey, but I’m thankful for the process. During this journey, I have found that it is so much more to losing weight than working out and eating right! If you don’t have the mindset, it will definitely set you back. It has been a blessing to help women like me, who have also struggled with their weight, find a fun and creative way to drop those pounds. I now teach 3 different classes at two locations in north county! Classes are steadily growing so I’m excited for the opportunity to help more

Trapercise: a high intensity dance class energized by trap music!

Curvy Camp: station style workout for a full body burnout!

Curvy&Confident: A sensual and intimate beginners dance class for ALL my curvy women!! Curves come in many different shapes and sizes so what better way to celebrate our curves than with a little body appreciation. This is an environment in which we encourage one another and help build self-confidence.

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

I think being extremely sociable and genuine helped me grow and build my reputation! I’ve never claimed to be the best or know the most, I’m simply just using the knowledge that I’ve researched and my own need to lead a healthier life style guide my way! I take a lot of pride in building a successful reputation! I try to be active in my community by teaching at community events, for community organizations, and also going into the schools to teaching the importance of wellness to the youth!

I think social media has also had a big impact on my reputation. As weird as this may sound, that Covid year was good for me as for exposure! Everyone was at home and online so I took advantage of that by offering virtual classes! This brought a lot of numbers and impressions to my social media platforms and my website! Once we were able to get back in person, my following has tripled!

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

Fortunately for me, funding my type of fitness business has been some what a breeze! My initial certification to teach was funded by a Fb post! I made a post to my friends asking for $1 of support to my business! Before I knew it, the post took off! I was blessed with enough to get my certification and also my LLC! From there, I worked under some one else until I made enough money to fund my own wants and needs as far as business! Once I built my clientele, it all came together from there and now my clients, my contracts, and private lessons are steadily increasing and bringing more revenue to my business!

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/curvygangfitness?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CurvyGangFitness?mibextid=LQQJ4d