Today we’d like to introduce you to Bonnie Lefrak.
Bonnie, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I fell in love with fitness way back in the early 90’s with my local Jazzercise class. I loved everything about it especially the community. Soon I was teaching classes and learning more about exercise, I was hooked. By 1998 I had moved on to personal training, and teaching spinning, kickboxing, and muscle conditioning classes in large gym facilities while also working full time in fitness management. For 12 years I worked for all the best fitness brands in the Boston area where I learned the ins and outs of running a fitness business. But what I enjoyed most was working with clients one on one or in the group exercise room. I loved teaching women to lift weights and seeing them progress mentally and physically. I loved the connection,
There are many chapters to my fitness story between 1998 and 2010, including working as The Director of Education for a Personal Training School. owning my own Kettlebell Gym, and becoming a PRO Bodybuilder but nothing compares to what I have learned and who I have met through The Fitness Asylum. When I left Boston and corporate fitness for good, I contacted all my former clients (from my Kettlebell gym days) and started to train again subletting a room in a small local fitness studio. A few months later I had found a perfect spot to call home right in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts and The Fitness Asylum was born (January 2011).
The Fitness Asylum is wrapping up year 7 in business and we could not be more grateful to be part of so many amazing transformations and fitness journeys. When we first opened I taught all of the classes, did personal training sessions and literally did it all (emptied the trash, cleaned the floor, did all the sales and marketing…) and was there 6 days a week for the first 3 years. But over time we grew. Our staff including instructors, class ambassadors and team captains all were clients at
one time. Their passion for the programs and community was the draw to become even more involved.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
No road worth traveling is smooth right? The fitness business is glorious. But it’s not easy. It means early mornings, late nights, no holidays, no weekends, no time off and a lot of hustle.
In 2007 before most people have ever heard of a Kettlebell – I opened a Kettlebell gym. By 2009 it was apparent that this was too much of a niche, too specific and not going to make enough money to pay for itself. Luckily the building owner lets me out of my lease early and I was able to move my business into a larger local gym and while my first fitness business was not a success – I certainly learned a lot.
While being ahead of the curve usually pays off- sometimes being too far ahead is not ideal.
Please tell us about The Fitness Asylum.
The Fitness Asylum helps women (and men too!) become fit, healthy and confident. We specialize in transformation programs from as short as 30 days up to 12 weeks. We also have a transformation program for women looking to take their fitness to the stage with contest preparation. In our 12 week Body Challenge, we teach people- not about dieting but about eating, and about how macronutrients (“macros”) work and how to get leaner by eating more real food.
I am most proud of how we have changed lives. When people tell us about going to their yearly physical and having their physician take them off certain meds that they no longer need. When people start living their lives because they feel more confident – they are applying for new jobs, working on better relationships, taking up new hobbies (like spartan races ) or just feeling more energetic and happy- these are things that let me know we are making a difference.
Contact Info:
- Address: 56 Summer St. Shrewsbury MA 01545
- 65 Shrewsbury St, Boylston MA 01505
- 90 Cherry St. Hudson, MA 01749
- Website: www.fitness-asylum.com
- Phone: 617-967-0042
- Email: bonnie@fitness-asylum.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fitnessasylum/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFitnessAsylumShrewsbury/
Image Credit:
Reg Bradford
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