Four days before we were set to open, I woke up in my apartment downtown to a phone call. It was my then-boyfriend. He was screaming, panic shaking in his voice. “GET OUT! GET OUT OF THERE NOW! SOMEBODY’S ATTACKED TO WORLD TRADE CENTER!”

I started as a personal trainer when I was 18 – right out of college. I was living on my own and it wasn’t a lot of money – I was literally living off eggs and cans of tuna. But none of that mattered: I loved it. I always wanted to do something I was passionate about, and this way of helping people just felt like the right fit. For the first time in my life, I felt a sense of purpose, a niche, an industry in which I truly felt I could make a difference.

In those early years I decided to learn everything I could about every aspect of the fitness business. Personal training, sales, management, the list goes on. Long story short, I ended up thriving in management and was swiftly promoted to a position in which I’d be opening up a club in Downtown NYC, right around the corner from Wall Street. It was only my second position as manager, so of course I wanted to knock everyone’s socks off! I recruited an amazing team and set our grand opening date: September 15th, 2001. Everyone was so excited, and the buzz was getting out that we were starting something special.

“I had no idea how life changing this experience was truly about to become.” 

Four days before we were set to open, I woke up in my apartment downtown to a phone call. It was my then-boyfriend. He was screaming, panic shaking in his voice. “GET OUT! GET OUT OF THERE NOW! SOMEBODY’S ATTACKED TO WORLD TRADE CENTER!” I ran to turn on the tv – a cable-less antique from the 70s with bunny-ear antennae – and all I could see were these vague, fuzzy images of the towers burning. I looked out my window and saw people running down the street covered in soot. Was this real?

I didn’t have time to think: I ran to leave and was met by dozens of people storming the stairwell yelling “get in!” It was pure chaos, unlike anything I have ever experienced in my life. As I ran back up to my apartment, the second tower was hit. I looked out my window. The towers fell. And all I could see in front of me was pitch black. And for the first time in my life, I dropped to my knees and prayed.

The following days were like a war zone outside. The soot, the smell, the eerie silence in the streets. My club’s opening was obviously delayed, so we went around town from club to club helping where we could. Yet there was nothing we could do. No one wanted to train, no one was coming in. And I was the one responsible for keeping the morale up. I felt all but defeated, sobered by the events around me and the now seemingly unrealistic image for our launch I had created in my mind.

The night before opening, we all sat in my furniture-less office together. How can I motivate my team? I thought. So all I asked was one question: “What do you see for this opening tomorrow?” I was expecting somber responses – attempts at positivity, suggestions to keep it small and non-obtrusive in light of all the horrible events around us. This is how I was feeling on the inside, and I was sure my team felt the same.

Out of nowhere, I saw Gennaro, a tiny Italian bodybuilding machine start to get excited, his eyes lighting up and talking a mile a minute. “We need to make this HUGE, Natania!” he exclaimed. “We need tables outside, music–“

And then Will, the smooth-talker with the deep voice, chimed in, “Yeah, Natania, we gotta make this town ours!”

“Oh my gosh yes! Let’s put up balloons” bubbly Danielle suggested as she rattled off color schemes and arrangements.

As my team excitedly brainstormed, I sat there in awe. At that point,

“I realized that success and fulfillment in this business is all about who you surround yourself with. People who add. People who have a similar vision and passion. People who see possibility. “

Water Street, NYC Fitness Team 2001

Needless to say, our club went on to become #1 in the entire corporation. But the bigger takeaway was that the experience defined what I now feel fitness is about. Our club’s success, and my success as a manager, was about the stellar team we had and where their focus was. Each one of them focused on what they could give, not what they were getting. Not what was going on with them. And when you come from a place of service – coupled with surrounding yourself with the right people – that is where you find the biggest rewards.

 When I created Vision Fitness, I did not want it to be under my name. I did not want it to be about me. It’s not about me, and it’s not about picking a name for my business that is simply catchy. It’s about YOUR vision. Not mine. I now find myself training clients one-on-one and teaching group fitness, working under both Vision Fitness and for multiple fitness facilities in the Los Angeles area. I love group fitness, and some people ask me why I made the “switch.” I always emphasize that I did not switch: I just expanded my focus. And somewhere down the line I realized that it is a different way to give, and give to many people at a time.

 I love my students and I love my colleagues. They are both inspirational and aspirational. I want to reach the masses. My motive for being in the industry is all about the way people are affected after they leave me. It’s about your growth, your way, and the way we’re working past your obstacles together.