Life & Work with Gil Correa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gil Correa.

Hi Gil, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my fitness journey in Brazil with martial arts. I practiced karate, kung fu and tai chi for about eight years. The love for martial arts made me look for studies that involved human body and kinesiology. I ended up going to university in 2007 for what would be equivalent to sports medicine/kinesiology/exercise physiology in the US. During my five years at university, I explored as much as I could in the fitness industry (group classes, weight training, Pilates, yoga) being a trainee at gyms and projects in my city. I also got involved with gymnastics and circus activities. After graduation in 2012, I moved to Calgary AB in Canada where I worked with gymnastics and personal training and after 1,5 years living there, I moved to Los Angeles. I took a short break from fitness but realized I needed to come back because I really missed it. I started my own business around 2015 and I have been working for myself ever since.

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Things were not that smooth. I changed Country twice so every time I had to start from zero. Building your own business can take some time and patience and figuring out who you are in the industry while you are working takes some more time. It was a tough road but I learned so much with all my experiences and if I am where I am right now it’s definitely because of everything (including challenges) I have gone through.

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
In all my 15 in the fitness industry, I worked with all age groups and many activities related to fitness: Group classes, yoga, tai chi, circus, gymnastics, you name it. Right now I work as an independent personal trainer and I specialize in people that are 50 years and older having had my oldest client at 94 years. It is really one of the age groups that brings me joy and fulfillment to work with. I still have some clients that are younger than this age group but most of my clients and my focus has been to that specific group. I would say what sets me apart is my ability to adapt to my client’s needs and the care I am able to provide during training. I deal a lot with people who have some limitations like injuries and other things caused by the aging factor. That requires not only a good amount of knowledge but also intuition and sensitivity to what they really need. I believe that my ability to connect and make people feel safe with my work, the impact I can make in someone’s quality of life because at a specific age, to be able to go up the stairs in their building without falling can be a big achievement, to be able to be independent and self-sufficient, confident and healthy, to age with quality, I believe my ability to provide this service set me apart from others. If I am able to provide all that to a client I am fulfilled.

What do you like and dislike about the city?
What really attracts me to Los Angeles is that is a city that provides almost everything for everyone. There are just so many options of things to do, places to go and people to meet that if you pay attention, you won’t ever be bored. What I like the least is because it’s such a big city, sometimes it can be hard to establish true connections since everyone gets so caught up on their own things. When I mean hard I don’t mean impossible, with a bit of effort you can find amazing friendships and connections here.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gilcorreatrainer.com
• Instagram: http://www.Instagram.com/gilcorreatrainer