May 17, 2017

Meet Mina Michael of Muscles On

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mina Michael.

Mina, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I was born in Greece and spent all my childhood in a small and beautiful town, full of history from ancient times. My hometown is surrounded by the Mediterranean Sea and thousands of olive trees. My dad was an accomplished athlete, competing with the Greek National team in the 3,000 meter steeple chase. He brought home several medals from competitions all over Europe. He was also honored twice to carry the Olympic flame for the Olympics in Russia and Mexico.

Some of my earliest memories are working out with him at our personal gym, practicing and performing gymnastics, playing handball, snow skiing, mountain biking and competing in the 150 meter sprint. My whole life has been built around fitness and my great love for classical music. Since my childhood years I studied classic guitar, the theory of music and synthesizing. I always had a battle between fitness and music, not enough time to practice both of my passions.

After I finished high school I studied Management and Business Administration at the Economic University of Athens, as an attempt to get educated in a different aspect, one very useful in everyday life, even if it was never my dream or passion. It definitely gave me a great perspective of “real life.” I was fortunate to work for the biggest TV station in Greece as a project manager. I gained great experience and knowledge, but it was always something that I was good at, but never my passion.

In 2005, I moved to the USA and started a new chapter in my life, doing exclusively what I loved the most. I got certified as a Fitness and Kickboxing trainer. I opened my own fitness studio, Muscles On, where I am thrilled to train and meet with different people daily and help them achieve their own personal fitness goals.

I am passionate about fitness and helping individuals to grow into what they have dreamt of becoming. I strive daily to embrace their true nature. Everybody is born with specific potential. But never, never underestimate the human ability for growth and change. Everybody is capable of moving forward and developing his gift. There are no limits; everybody chooses a different route for his trip. It is each person’s choice to decide where he wants to stop. For me, it’s a trip with a dream destination, with several stops in Life is given to us. It is a gift that needs to be treasured and used to love, to achieve happiness, self-enrichment, generosity, humanity and discover one’s soul. I live a life in full, practicing what I love the most, fitness and music, and helping individuals to rediscover themselves. Fitness is not something that starts or stops as part of our physical existence. It’s something that definitely involves mental work, emotional discipline and a strong work ethic.

Has it been a smooth road?
Fitness besides being a passion, a lifestyle, a healthy approach of living it definitely involves challenges and inquires devotion and faith to yourself and purpose. They are times that you are physically or emotional tired but you have to keep going. At the end there is always a reward waiting for you. Fitness can definitely lift your spirits up and make you feel euphoria. There is undoubtedly occasionally a sense of physical discomfort, since you are using your whole body and you push its limits. But that’s when the transformation happens and the results show. And if you observe life, you will realize that almost nothing in it is given to you freely. You need to visualize first, then chase it, fight, sacrifice, prioritize, experience difficulties, experience gains, devote yourself, repeat and keep going, Moving Forward! That’s actually my motto almost in everything, Move forward!

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Muscles On story. Tell us more about the business.
Muscles On is a private fitness studio that combines the fine decor along with fitness training. It doesn’t have always to be a dull studio, with grey mats on the floor, walls covered in mirrors from side to side, and awkward smell. It can have polished wood floors, gold mirrors, leather sofas, flowers, great lighting and music system and big windows overlooking in a courtyard full of big trees and green grass. That’s exactly what you expect to see when you walk inside the Muscles on studio.

The studio’s vision and approach is to create everyday Athletes among us. Meaning, individuals that they are trained safely with factional moves in order to improve the quality of their everyday life and also achieve a trim and healthy body figure. Always trained according the fitness principals, we combine fun and effectiveness, variety of exercises. Burden and routine is absolutely a No. The studio currently operates for 3 years and we are so happy to see our clients transform their life in all levels. Because fitness training doesn’t work motive only your physical state but you mental one as well!

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
Fitness is definitely an industry that is going constantly through some transformation and develops rapidly. It’s indeed since the world and individual needs and lifestyle change constantly. I am happy to observe every year more and more people getting motivated and understanding the importance of physical exercising. Obesity is really one of our century’s big problems, connected undoubtedly with the hectic everyday lifestyle. The media and health organizations are doing a great job spreading information out there about the health benefits of exercising. Information is the key to everything. It is the reason to keep you on tack and motivated also.

Fitness industry on the other hand is trying to keep it fresh and change it up, break the monotony. New trends and techniques are constantly being created. Some of them have combined and included the new results of the health science. Some other ones though it’s just a word game, just a different presentation of the same thing. Not underestimated since it’s capable to motivate people and create new interest. Some other trends are rather extreme and often not precise to the fitness principals. Well, that’s where the information steps in and defines the good or not so good choice. At the end, it’s always great and it’s important to change up your fitness routine, as long as it serves additionally a purpose of improvement.

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