March 6, 2017

Meet Minna Herskowitz of Sandbox Fitness in Sherman Oaks

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Minna Herskowitz.

Minna, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My husband, David, and I were recovering from shoulder and knee surgery and we wanted a way to get an intense workout without the impact on our joints. We knew about sand training, so we drove down to the beach to see how it would feel with our injuries. Well, not only did we have the best workout ever, but our joints weren’t killing us. We started to drive down to the beach several times a week just to workout. After developing specific moves which utilize the natural resistance of the sand, we thought, “why not bring the sand indoors and invite people to come play.” And Sandbox Fitness was born. As the studio grew, so did our classes and ideas. We now have several different classes, each one intense, fun, challenging, and fit for all fitness levels.

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?
We realized how difficult it was to start a business. One, we had no money. Two, it wasn’t easy to obtain all the necessary licenses and permits. Once we did, we faced the challenge of running a business. It was a lot of trial and error, but we knew if we focused on the quality of the classes and, most importantly, customer service, that we would thrive.

Sandbox Fitness – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
We are a group fitness studio where all classes take place inside a giant indoor sandbox. The sand provides natural resistance and also absorbs the shock, so your joints don’t have to. Any workout done in the sand is 3 times as hard. You can burn 30% more calories in just a fraction of the time. We have strength classes, boot camp style classes, yoga, Pilates and barre inspired classes, as well as TRX suspension training, and Surfset. Surfset is a giant wobbly surfboard that is challenging to balance on and engages your core and those little stabilizer muscles that are hard to target.

We are so proud that the community fell in love with sand training as much as we have. We are also so proud of the family of clients and trainers that we have developed. Every person that walks through the door is another member of the Sandbox Fitness family. We are so blessed to have them a part of this dream.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The proudest moment was our grand opening. All the hoops that we had to jump through, the construction, the lack of money, and all the other obstacles couldn’t stop us. The day that we opened was the proudest day because we were able to say, “WE DID IT!”

Pricing: