Today we’d like to introduce you to Marie Neuhaus.
Hi Marie, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
It’s my pleasure. And thanks so much for featuring me! When I was in my 20’s, I partied hard, ate crap & smoked a pack of cigarettes every couple of days. In 2008, I attended my grandfather’s funeral & was surprised that it was a military-honored funeral. I had no idea he had served! He never talked about it. I was super inspired. When I returned home, I researched all branches of the military & met with the Navy, Army & Marines Officer Recruiters. I was interested in the Army until my meeting with the Marines recruiter. He showed up looking so sharp in his dress blues & the last thing he said to me was, “This is going to be hard. Maybe the hardest thing you’ve ever done & you may not make it. Are you ready?” Hell yes! But I realized I SO wasn’t. I HAD to change.
Overnight, I changed everything. I stopped drinking alcohol & smoking, started running & strength training, stopped eating crap, started eating REAL food & started drinking water. I lost 30 pounds in three months. Definitely not the weight loss method that I recommend for my clients, but at the time I had no choice if I wanted to be selected for Officer Candidates School (OCS). I was indeed selected & on day three, while running the three-mile run in the physical fitness test, I dropped from heat stroke. It wasn’t particularly hot that day, so I attribute it to my body not being ready. I almost died that day. I’m so very thankful that I’m here to tell this story. The next year, I decided to pursue OCS again, but this time, I took it slower. I was selected again, returned in 2009 & was Commissioned. I did amazing things with my body that I didn’t think was possible. This is why I wanted to pursue a career in fitness. To show people that you can do amazing things with your body & that even when you make small changes, over time, those small changes lead to BIG change. And that’s worth working for.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road, but every challenge has a lesson & I truly believe everything happens for a reason. My Marine Corps career definitely didn’t go as planned & finding the silver lining took about 10 years. After my two-year stint as a Marine Corps Officer, I got an entry-level job at a big bank. As much as I made my career my own, advancing from Executive Administrative Assistant to Event Marketing Manager in four-ish years, I always had in the back of my mind that I could do more. After eight years in Corporate America, I was about to turn 40 & I knew that if I didn’t make a change now, I likely never would. I quit my six-figure income job at the end of 2019 & in Jan 2020, I started my journey to pursue my longtime goal of becoming a Certified Personal Fitness Trainer (PFT). I got a part-time job as a Sales Associate at Orangetheory Fitness (OTF) while I studied & also set my sights on being an OTF Coach. Then the pandemic lockdown happened. Talk about a bump in the road for most all of us! Gyms closed, so I turned my attention inward & viewed the downtime as a gift. I studied like crazy because clearly, I couldn’t do anything else, right? I also worked out at least twice per day to put into action what I was studying. As soon as testing centers opened, I took my NESTA Personal Fitness Trainer & AFAA Group Fitness Instructor exams. With certifications in hand, I started my business, Haus AF Fitness. Once gyms opened again, I also auditioned to become an OTF Coach & was selected. At the beginning of 2021, & after trying for almost a year, my husband & I found out we were pregnant. Fantastic! However, shortly after I was exposed to a COVID-positive member at OTF & decided to call it quits coaching clients in person for the time being. Since my departure from OTF in early 2021, I’ve solely focused on building my fitness business & serving my Personal Training clients. I’ve loved every minute of it! I have a solid passion for walking the health & fitness transformation journey with my clients. I thrive on their successes! I’m also an aspiring Health & Fitness Influencer, so I keep my ear to the ground about hot topics my network wants to learn about, research & trends in the fitness industry + easy & fun ways to inject health & movement into daily life.
We’ve been impressed with Haus AF Fitness, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Awww, thank you! My brand, Haus AF Fitness, was built out of my love of health & fitness + thinking of my body as my house. It’s a play on words: haus, the German word for “house.” And to top it off, it’s an incorporation of my married last name, Neuhaus. What does the “AF” stand for? I get asked this all the time. Here’s the thing. When I was in Corporate America, I struggled to be ME in all professional situations. Not because I couldn’t be professional but because so many interactions felt inauthentic to me. Here’s the real me: I cuss, I laugh & I love talking about so many things other than banking! So, owning my own business has enabled me to be ME with my clients in my social posts, advertising, networking…you name it! You always get ME in every interaction. I am real. AF means what you think it means, but it also has so many other applications in marketing my business (I come from a Marketing background, remember?). So, I’m the Awesome Founder, I have Awesome Fitness clients who have Aspirational Fitness goals. See? It works! It also means I can train you hard AF (said with a wink & a smile).
I am Haus AF Fitness; I love to make fitness challenging yet fun & I love my clients. They know how much I support them from the first time we meet during a free strategy session where we discuss their personal goals, health history, likes, dislikes, etc. I get to know each prospective client. It’s important to me that we have a chemistry so that my clients enjoy fitness training & enjoy getting fit with me. When prospective clients decide to train with me, one-on-one, each client undergoes a Fitness Assessment so I can get familiar with their movement patterns & spot any imbalances to address with training. When we start training, all of my clients receive programming that I create specifically for them based on their individual goals. There’s no one-size-fits-all when it comes to fitness. Sure, on my Instagram or Facebook pages, you see me showing 3 exercises for this or 5 moves to build that, but that’s to help people who need a little inspiration. I aspire to be a Fitness Influencer, so I have to cater to the masses in that arena. But when I’m able to hone in on one person at a time, that’s when customization is key. Everyone needs that customization, but not everyone can afford a Certified Personal Trainer so that’s where social media can help.
I’ve also looked deeper into what my current & future clients may want or need from me as their health & fitness coach. Since the majority of my clients are busy, professional women, I’ve really honed in on women’s health needs. While I was pregnant, I earned a couple of certifications: Pre/Postnatal Fitness Specialist & Core Confidence Specialist. Pelvic Floor education is one area of the health & fitness world that’s getting a lot of attention right now & I’m super passionate about bringing knowledge of pelvic floor health to my clients, local community & social media followers. Improving your pelvic floor health isn’t just for women who have had babies. It’s for ALL people. Men & women alike. We all have pelvic floors & they all need attention. Most of my clients also express that they need help with nutrition, so I’m currently working on my NESTA Fitness Nutrition Coach Certification in order to offer nutrition counseling to my current & future clients.
75% of my clients are virtual. I train them on Zoom from my home studio & they are in the comfort of their homes with the equipment they have available. It’s super convenient for them. I can train across time zones or from the other side of Dallas (I live in Lewisville) without them paying for my travel time.
I’m most proud of the attention I’m able to give my Personal Training clients. I’m more accessible than a Personal Trainer at a gym. If my clients have questions, they ask them & I answer. All hours of the day & night. They share their successes with me throughout the week & we celebrate them in the moment. I’m not just there for them during their Zoom training sessions. I walk the journey with them. I’m the coach, cheerleader, mentor, trainer & guide.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The pandemic taught me to be flexible & patient. As I mentioned earlier, I viewed the extra time I was given as a gift. That time was definitely frustrating & confusing because I had no idea how I was going to operate a fitness business once gyms opened again. I was unsure if people would still want to train online once they could return to their gym life. But they did! Virtual coaching & having an online presence in the Fitness Industry are here to stay. I’ve learned that people, especially women, have some reservations about going to the gym. They don’t like being watched. They don’t always know what to do in a gym, how to use the equipment or even what equipment to use. Their self-confidence plummets. So coaching my clients virtually allows them to train in a comfortable environment & focus on the things that really matter: getting strong, getting healthy & making longterm, life-changing choices that stick. The pandemic also forced me to start my business online. From the beginning. Which was a shock to many in my industry who were used to training solely in person. But for me & my business, we knew nothing else so I’ve thrived on providing the best services to my clients in the ways that fit their needs – virtually via Zoom based on a schedule that works for them. I still have a lot to learn, & I’m super excited about the future, but I’m so very thankful for the path I’ve walked so far.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hausaffitness.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hausaffitness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hausfitness
