Meet Eldon Hernandez of Fired Up Athletics in Beverly Glen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Eldon Hernandez.

Eldon, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I change lives by changing the way people think about fitness; removing the fear, intimidation, and pressure of working out.

As a Dominican-American raised in New York City, fitness and nutrition have been in my life since I was a child. My mother is a dietetic technician who taught me about eating healthy foods at a very young age. Fitness has been important to me since adolescence. I’m very passionate about fitness because I’ve seen what it does to boost energy, self-esteem, overall health, body composition, and reducing stress, anxiety, and depression.

I am certified as a Specialist in Group Fitness by the International Sports Science Association and have a P90X Live Certification issued by Beachbody. Fitness and nutrition are not new to me although my new venture, Fired Up Athletics, is. I am bringing the famous Beachbody P90X program to the studio, as well as a Lunch Time Boot Camp program designed for those with a busy working lifestyle.

Fitness has been a part of my life since after college when he signed up for a gym membership at his local Bally’s Total Fitness. I’ve been active ever since immersing myself in activities that involve overall body conditioning and toning. Three years after moving to Los Angeles in 2009 I discovered group training and have stuck with it ever since. After 4 years of group training classes I decided to venture out on my own to deliver my passion and knowledge about this unique training style. I describe group training as “a full body training program that incorporates; warm up, cardio, upper body exercise, lower body exercise, core work, and cool down.”

In spring of 2007, I discovered P90X. I achieved results with this program and saw the benefits it can bring when the program is followed. P90X is a very extreme and disciplined program. This is what yields results. It’s three months of aggressive training and with the P90X Live program, I now teach in the studio and it’s much easier to get motivated when there are others around you to encourage you. Why? Because you are all there for the same thing. To get fit! Many programs are similar, however, P90X Live brings it to the studio where I can inspire you to not only achieve your fitness goals, but exceed them.

I teach Lunch Time Boot Camp classes for those that have less time due to a busy work schedule. The classes are a half hour long and are designed to get you in and out of the studio and back to work on time. These classes have the structure of hour long full body work out classes, but condensed to half the time. All muscle groups are targeted, you’ll get a full body workout, and be back at work within your lunch break. The class structure is quicker paced, and as always, you can go at your own pace, you’ll “feel the burn” in these classes and that’s why they are called boot camp.

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?
It has not been a smooth road to get to where I am. There are many obstacles and I learned a lot about what it takes to open up a fitness business. For example, we all have a concept of how our business want to look like. After much planning and researching I ran into issues of renting space. I thought I could just walk right in and put a deposit into a place, clean it up a bit, get clients, and start teaching classes.

That road is easy, but it’s not real. Negotiating leases is a difficult business if you don’t know what you’re doing and if you don’t have someone in your corner that knows what they are doing and is willing to help you out. As much as I wanted to get a studio rented, there were fees associated that I didn’t know about. It’s not like renting an apartment. It’s a long process with a lot of work and negotiation. After I got through that hurdle, I learned that I could rent a space hourly to get started. This was so much more cost effective.

My next obstacle was getting the word out, many entrepreneurs think that you’ll have clients the first day the business is open. It’s about getting the word out and lots of marketing. With that there is a marketing budget, getting assets, photo shoots, and planning how your campaign will launch once you have all of those pieces together. The one satisfying thing is when it’s all planned out and put it in place, you’ll feel good about what you’ve done and it won’t feel like work. Since I am passionate about it, I just “plant the seed” and watch the business grow.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Fired Up Athletics – what should we know?
Fired Up Athletics is a group training studio in the Beverly Glen area of Los Angeles. I teach P90X and Lunch Time Boot Camps. That is what sets me apart from other studios. I’ve not seen anyone teach P90X and 30 minute work outs. I designed the class blocks around busy work schedules to get people to work out when they have time. Lunch Time Boot Camp classes are 30 minutes long and they get you in and out of the studio in 30 minutes. If your job doesn’t allow you 30 minutes for lunch, you’re at the wrong job.

I’m proud to teach classes that lets the athlete know they can work at their own pace. I like to take the fear and intimidation out of working out. Everyone thinks that they should work out to exhaustion. I tell people to go at their own pace. I don’t want them to hate me, or hate fitness and not come back. You don’t have to be passionate about fitness like I am to be fit. The goal isn’t to be better than anyone else but to be better than you used to be.

Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
Perseverance is the best quality. My father told me when one door closes 10 of them open. At first when starting a business we have ideals on how the process is. Then when the process gets going, it’s seems like a long road, but instead of focusing on the end, the focus on the journey is what’s important. I got it done because I knew I couldn’t get everything done in one day. I did something for the business every day until the doors were open. I didn’t stress out about what I didn’t have, I focused completed the things I knew and what I didn’t know I simply looked up or asked. The answers will come is what I told myself and now look, my business doors are open and I love to go to work.

Pricing:

• 3 DAYS A WEEK with monthly contract $149, no contract $175
• 5 DAYS A WEEK with monthly contract $199, no contract $225
• $35 per class for 1 class
• $32 per class for a 5 class block: $160
• $30 per class for a 10 class block: $300
• $20 per class for a 30 class block: $600
• 1 Year Unlimited: $1,500

Contact Info:

• Address: 8474 W. 3rd Street, #208
  Los Angeles, CA 90048
• Website: http://www.firedupathletics.com/
• Phone: (213) 608-9425
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: @firedupathletics
• Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/firedupathletics
• Twitter: @firedupathletic
• Yelp: https://firedupathletics.yelp.com/
• Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/firedupathletics

Image Credit:
Jeff King Photography
Steven Blank Photography
Jordan Southerland Photography