Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexya Castillo.
Alexya, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My name is Alexya Castillo, I’m a bilingual Group Fitness Instructor who trains Strength training/Weight lifting classes in the city of Pasadena Tx. I am the proud owner of Strong is Beautiful. An all-women fitness gym that I opened up just last year in December of 2021. But it all started 11 months ago out of my home garage! When I first started, I never imagined to be here today. I have always been passionate about fitness but it wasn’t until last year that I decided to pursue my certification and start this journey to become an instructor to help women grow and motivate them to become better versions of themselves!
When I got certified I contemplated on what I wanted to do. There were some things that influenced my confusion. Such as if I was ready to leave my full time job at the time and start a new job as a personal trainer. That immediately brought financial worries. As a mother of a 1-year-old and wife to a loving man, I wanted to help and contribute to our financial responsibilities. New job meant starting over, and with 0 clients, meant 0 to low income for a while so that was one of my main concerns! I was also so afraid to just start and fail my clients and myself if I took on the new journey. Specially because I was completely new to the industry. So that just made it harder for me to make a decision. But with the support of my family and friends, I put my fears aside and quit my full time job and decided to just start. I didn’t know where this path would take me but I was willing to put in the hard work and sacrifice for my family.
This was the beginning of Strong Is Beautiful. I announced that I was starting group fitness classes through my social media and started with just 4 girls in my garage. I had a garage gym that we had put together after I had my baby, so I had all the equipment I needed. As the months passed, my business started picking up and more and more girls started joining my classes and before I knew it, I was outgrowing my garage! I had 6 classes a day with 8 girls in each class and yes that might not sound like a lot per class, but let me tell you my garage was not HUGE so it was starting to get crowded in there and I remember my husband telling me “ I think its time for you to look for a bigger space” and just the thought of that made me automatically feel fear all over again. I didn’t think I had it in me to take on more clients or to even open up a studio. Specially within that same year of just starting! I thought I wasn’t capable of doing such big things. I was SO comfortable where I was at that I was scared of growing even more!! And I told him “lets just wait, if I keep growing then we will look around” but that was just me pushing It back without realizing fear was once again holding me back from my own success and my biggest accomplishment yet. I finally snapped and told myself If I didn’t do it now, I was never going to do it. To just be open-minded and go look around. So We started looking for spaces and had a couple of doors close on me, until God led me to the perfect space! We started working on it as soon as the paperwork was signed and remodeling little by little all while I was still hosting classes at home, and on Dec 6 I opened up my studio to relocate and host my classes there! Things have been amazing since then! It hasn’t even been a year since I started and I am so so grateful and proud for where I’m at today. All my hard work, all my dedication, and all my hours were worth it all! My growth led me to get a bigger space! And I couldn’t have done it without my family, my friends, my clients referrals, and the main one of them all, God.
I now have 14 girls in each class hosting 7 classes a day! When I started with just 4! And I find myself growing daily. In the business industry and as a person myself. I have other plans in mind for the future that I will continue to work hard towards and cannot wait to achieve them and share them with you guys! If you’ve made it this far into my story I just want to tell you, if you’re second guessing your decision to start something you’ve had in mind, just start. Whatever you want to do, DO IT. Nothing is ever a waste of time if you’re working towards something your passionate about and love doing. Its worth trying rather than never knowing what would have happened if you didn’t try! Remember this: EVERYTHING IS ALWAYS ON THE OTHER SIDE OF FEAR!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has definitely not been a smooth road, from finding a space to dealing with the city, passing inspections and obtaining permits was probably the longest and most stressful process ever. I am also a full time mom, and a house wife so owning a business, hosting 7 classes a day, while trying to manage it all hasn’t been easy and it’s been tough I’m not going to lie, but hustling and obstacles are part of the journey to success, it’s not suppose to be easy. And I love what I do and the fact that I get to work in a place I can call my own, have my own schedule and still come home and spend time with my daughter throughout the day makes it all worth it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Strong is Beautiful?
My purpose for Strong is Beautiful was to change the prespective of weight lifting for women and the beautiful benefits it brings us. But mainly to give women a place where it makes them feel comfortable by being in a room full of other women who are there for the same reason, which is to not be better than one another but for self growth. By being in a positive environment, growing together and enjoying working out with one another. Not having to worry about anyone else’s judgment or any men looking at them. Just positive vibes.
I find joy in what I do because I love Interacting with different women, uplifting them, helping them transform and reach their goals. Just knowing that I’m helping them make a change, makes me feel complete. I don’t think I should be set apart from other personal trainers because I believe we are all in it for the same reason, and that’s to help the community be better. I know I’m not the best out there, but it’s not about being the best, it’s about helping those around us be their best! I do take pride in what I do though and hope to continue to make a difference and a small impact in women’s lives and also hope to continue to grow in the industry!
I run a 6 week in person training Program, for 4 days a week. Monday- Thursday.
I run my business mostly through Instagram. I have 7 different time frames throughout the day.
- 5-6am
- 6:15-7:15am
- 8-9am
- 9:15-10:15am
- 6-7pm
- 7:10-8:10pm
- 8:15-9:15pm
Hope to get to work with many more beautiful women around the area!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: alexyafit
Image Credits
@shotbyerick_
@klvnstudios
@astrids.r.photography
