Today we’d like to introduce you to Morgann McKunes.
Hi Morgann, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
The story of how I became a Fitness Specialist is never ending, from every twist and turn, passion, experience, science, sports, experiments, and even traumas. And I wouldn’t take back any bit of it, it all brought me to exactly where I am. I was an athlete growing up, main sport being soccer, however I was an active athlete in also the following: Gymnastics, dance, tennis, basketball, boxing, lacrosse. With soccer, I was a track athlete and eventually turned into a competitive Crossfit athlete for six years. To say that my interest in being a fitness specialist was to “help people achieve their dream bodies” would be a lie. The truth is, I am obsessed with my own personal training. I love seeing what my body can endure, achieve, overcome, and I am good at what I do… The passion I created for myself with work was changing people’s mindsets to how they thought about themselves and plant the seeds that as human beings, we have more capabilities than we think, to be able to turn our bodies into just about whatever we want.
I studied Kinesiology at Keene State College in New Hampshire. I was never the best student, I struggled with ADD. Constantly being told in school that I never paid attention. However- although we like to look at labels like ADD as disorders, I found it as an ability. I was always distracted by movements, people moving in class, dropping things, and I was always able to focus on one certain thing even with noise in the background. Whatever I wanted to focus on was all that existed. I turned my work into just that. (I watch people’s bodies in loud spaces). I may have never been the best test taker on paper, but when brought into the gym to be examined by professors is where I always thrived. From there, I built a strong relationship with one of my professors and she hired me as an assistant strength and conditioning coach to all athletes at Keene State. This was truly an experience for me because I was able to work with D3 athletes and be inside their heads. I was an outlet to the athletes, I was their biggest fan, I was their worst nightmare, I was their motivator. And I always told them exactly how it was and explained to all of them that they had the capability to be as good as they wanted to be.
Eventually moving back to Boston, I started working at Equinox Chestnut Hill where I started my first career as a Personal trainer. It took me four months to be a full-time trainer where it took most people a year. The whole time I was wondering what could be next. I had a client who told me to go to California, and when I visited LA the whole world stopped. I told her I had random momentum to move to San Diego, I had no idea why, but the momentum I had was telling me now was my time to go and start a new life for myself. She was the only person in my life who didn’t think I was crazy. See, I knew I had to move when my mindset of what life was, what I was capable of, and most importantly… Where I saw I was going… Was different than those around me. I didn’t believe in the 9-5 East Coast mentality, I knew I had the enduring desire to change peoples mindsets, and I knew that fitness was something I was exceptionally great at, however my wings were clipped working for a corporate company and I had little freedom of expression to train people and talk with them the way I really wanted to.
I moved to San Diego January 14th, 2019, with two suitcases and that was it. I came to SD with 10,000 in my bank account, bought a car leaving me with $2,000 left. I had transferred to another Equinox, starting from scratch with 0 business, and was homeless for a month. (I lived off of protein powder and protein bars for a month, went between airbnbs and slept in my car). Yes it was lonely, yes I asked myself over and over “what the fuck did I do” but I also told myself “You can do this. This is your chance. Make this work”. Finally, I found myself a place and started working with F45 for some extra cash, but realized that my life as a personal trainer was not what I desired and I knew I was made for more. I put in my notice and was told “I would never make more money as a trainer on my own or in my life If I quit Equinox”.
I did what the crazy person I was would do… with the $2,000 I had, I found a place to live and paid $1,000 for rent, and found a facility for trainers to start their own business at Self Made Training Facility in San Marcos. I put $400 down, leaving me with less then $600 to my name, and decided to start my own business. MPowerment Fitness, not people empowering people, but people empowering themselves. This was where my true journey began. I soon became the busiest trainer at my facility, training 6-10 sessions a day, training F45 classes 5-10 am, and then running bootcamps out of apartment complex’s; money was flowing in easily.
2019 was one of the hardest years of my life. The December before I moved to San Diego, I self-diagnosed myself with one of the most gruesome eating disorders. I had competed in my very first bodybuilding show, and the reverse diet and lifestyle I had to put myself into twisted my brain like no other. The greatest part for me was struggling with the fact that I had no control of it, and I could feel my brain warping to different thoughts, thoughts that I never had thought before. And it was running my life. It followed me to California as I began a whole life for myself, also a life alone where I knew no one and had no family. The year of 2019, I was made. However, I was doing far more work than was being shown. In the gym, I was spreading light, positivity and changing people’s mindsets as to how they saw themselves. I incorporated a zero-tolerance policy for negative self-talk and created a space for my clients to thrive and truly believe in themselves. On the other side of the door, I was working on myself wholeheartedly. I stopped drinking to become more present with myself and understand who I was. (realizing I’m way cooler than I thought and I’m a fucking dick when I drink), and I went to a transformation forum after a dear friend said to me “I see you for who you are, and it’s not how you see yourself”. This forum dechackled me from my eating disorder and past identities.
When 2020 rolled in, everything changed. I was finally in a place I didn’t know was possible. I saw myself differently in the mirror everyday, someone I loved… And I was able to bring that human into my work more authentically. Covid tested many of us in the most personal ways… but it gave me the ability to become more creative. Creative with myself, as well as my business. Taking a few different mindsets, myself and another trainer in the gym who I was lucky to fall In love with and start a journey with created a program that changed the game. Combining corrective exercise, athletic training, and bodybuilding, we watched our bodies drastically change and our minds soar. And not just myself and my love, but our clients… Their abilities became greater as they became stronger, faster, they were able to jump higher. They became more confident and happy. Which is what we all needed in covid. At the beginning of 2020, I felt I began to lose myself in the mayhem and negativity consuming the world, so I began my spiritual journey. This as well as helped me connect with myself in a new light and transformed how I view the world, as well as myself; and with that, I can change other people’s lives. They think they are coming in just to change their bodies, but in the end they change their life too.
Overall, my journey has not been simple. It has been bumpy and rough. There have been a lot of tears, but also many moments of complete and total bliss- where I’m sitting by the Ocean with a trickling tear because of how proud I am of myself. I’m not sure exactly what it is I’m supposed to be doing on this earth, but I do know that I am meant to change lives- in any way that I can. I am beyond blessed that I picked an industry such as the fitness world because I am drastically changing every day, and to be able to train not just the body but the mind at the same moment- is something truly beautiful.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Fitness Specialist, trainer at Self Made Training Facility in San Marcos. I specialize in athletic training, body composition, strength and conditioning, and mobilization.
I am known for excessive knowledge in athletic training, as well as my capabilities in my own physical strength and athleticism
I am most proud of who I became when I broke myself away from everything I ever knew. I would have never discovered myself or the impact I could make without believing in the voice in the back of my head telling me I was made for something great.
What sets me apart is how I look at life. Some say I’m in a bubble, but the truth is that I look at life and people in the most beautiful way. And I truly believe that we are all capable of doing whatever we want in life. I bring this mindset to everyone around me, and by the time you’re done working with me, you’ll believe it yourself.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
Breathwork has helped me tap into my intuition and visions. Visualize new ideas to what is next for me, and clear out any negativity. Sananga eye drops- opens the third eye, deep healing emotionally.
Meditation – work through my shadows.
Pricing:
- $100 sessions
Contact Info:
- Instagram: MPowerment_Fitness
Image Credits:
@ladybugtalent
