I've been on the verge of a breakdown for the better part of a year, worried if I was going to make enough money to survive each month. I've been eating away at my savings chasing a dream to become a better Coach and Educator in the fitness Industry. I currently work training people out of my partner's garage and it has been a struggle to say the least, yet more preferable to the way I was living prior.
Before committing myself full time to coaching and fitness I was working in the restaurant business for 12 years. I began working in the catering hall as a server and worked my way up to Production Manager. It was a great experience and I learned a lot from it. As head of production I was working 60+ hours a week and trying to use the remainder of my time to lift heavy weights... you can imagine how that went. For the amount of hours I was working I wasn't earning that much and on top of that I was burning out. I knew it was time for a change. I quit in April of 2014 and began working for my coaches at South Brooklyn Weightlifting Club. Unfortunately this didn't work out and I left shortly after. Let's just call it a miscommunication on both our parts and leave it at that. I am thankful that they gave me an out from the restaurant. After I left there I was unsure how I was going to move forward. I was intent on continuing my career in fitness and not return to the restaurant so I decided to set up my own gym out of my partner's garage. It was not the best decision monetarily, but I was eventually able to acquire a decent amount of clients to train. Some months were a struggle as I was making less than $500! If I didn't have the support from everyone around me I would have quit a long time ago. I keep at it because I know the experience is worth more than the dollar I make for it.
We signed the lease in October and were hoping to hit the ground running, gathering all of the contractors necessary to complete the job as fast as possible. Finally, I thought... I will be able to breathe for a while... nope. We found out right away it was going to be a bumpy ride. Permits, building codes and regulations, letters to city officials and more. Even getting our business name approved took a few submissions.
As we get closer and closer to opening and as the end of the year creeps up on us, I've become more and more stressed out. We were hoping for a January Opening, but we've been pushed back to February and possibly March. This means more time spent waiting and biding our time until we can officially say, YES, WE ARE OPEN! I'm anxious to begin working, programming and meeting new people. This by no means will be easy. With all my fears and anxiety, I believe that if we can power through the first few months and endure the inevitable exhaustion of working morning to night, we will be alright. Hopefully CrossFit Dark Athletics will be the light at the end of this very dark tunnel. (No Pun Intended!)
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