Today we’d like to introduce you to Rasheed and Michelle Terry.
Rasheed and Michelle, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Michelle and I were born on different coast. I’m from Brooklyn, NY and Michelle is from Compton, CA. We are a husband and wife team and co-owners of Point Target Fitness in Brea, CA. Michelle is a former collegiate athlete, nutritionist, fitness trainer and studying to become a Doctor of Physical Therapy at Azusa Pacific University. I served in the Army, deployed in 2 campaigns overseas and served as Master Fitness Trainer for soldier’s physical fitness. After 11 years, I was honorably discharged and currently Master Trainer at Point Target Fitness.
Michelle and I started this business just before my enlistment ended in the Army after a series of health issues we both faced. Years of partying, drinking and eating unhealthy caught up with us both. I became allergic to almost every food the Army fed us, my liver was under stress from alcohol abuse and I suffered two fractures just months before discharge. Michelle has a blood disorder called Sickle Cell Disease, a disease that attacks the red blood cells and after years of the overworking demands of corporate America she became very ill. On her way to work she started bleeding from the nose uncontrollably for hours and had to be admitted to the hospital. She almost died that day. After her recovery, we decided to change our lifestyle to a healthier one and give ourselves the freedom to be our own bosses and set our own terms.
We moved to Orange County and started Point Target Fitness wanting to help people take back control of their health and empower them to accomplish big goals in their lives. After a year of training clients in our apartment’s fitness center and in parks, we struggled to gain the exposure needed to grow professionally and financially. We struggled paying rent and was evicted from our apartment. The week before eviction we attended a church in Brea, CA seeking for answers and calling on God. After one of the services we saw a small warehouse for lease across the street and checked it out. We figured there was no way we would get this place. The day before our eviction Veterans Affairs sent us a large payment for my service connected injuries and we knew God blessed us. Instead of getting a new apartment, we took a huge risk and went back to the warehouse, spoke to the landlord and said “we have bad credit but we have cash can we lease this place from you?” To our surprise he said yes.
Unfortunately, we had nowhere to live so we stayed in hotels for six months as we built up our book of clients but being in our 1st year we were still in the red. We eventually had to move into the gym with our 13 years old son. This is where doubt and depression began to set in. The gym had one bathroom and our upstairs space was literally an attic space. We spent the Winter living in a small warehouse with no heat, no shower, no kitchen. We partnered with a meal prep company for our clients and the sales actually paid for our meals. After six months, a bigger location 2 doors down opened up so again, we asked the landlord not to run our credit but “can we lease this building?” He said yes. This building (our current location) had upstairs offices with heating and air conditioning. We lived in this location for almost three years training clients from 5am til 9pm trying to crawl out of the financial hole. Our biggest clients were our Personal training clients we’ve trained musicians, an artist for Warner Brothers and a niece of an NFL Hall of Famer earning her a scholarship to Kansas State University. None of our clients knew we were living there.
After almost three years of living in our gym with our son the Lord opened a door for us to manage an apartment complex in Brea and live there completely free with all of our utilities paid for. During this time, we had no idea how much God had his hand over our lives. After our uncle passed, we attended a funeral and in that moment, Jesus saw fit to reveal himself to all of us. A week later, we were saved and became born again Christians. Since then, we struggled and almost closed our gym until the Lord spoke to us and told us not to close it and He revealed that He gave it to us to steward over. Since then, our focus and purpose has changed to serving our community through fitness, nutrition, and spiritual fitness. God has blessed us with opportunities to co-lead our church’s Love & Unity Christian Fellowship, Health Awareness Ministry where we get to serve LA county communities as well as our community here in Brea. God has shifted our focus to serve serve serve and serve some more while “He supplies all our needs according to His riches in glory.”
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
This definitely was not an easy path. Being homeless made it really difficult to see a way out of it. Through all of our successes we found ourselves unable to get out of the situation. We sacrificed a lot and did without in many cases. God was in midst the whole time and we didn’t even know it. We trained and competed in bodybuilding for four years which was a blessing because we were able to maintain our health. Michelle had only one blood transfusion during the entire three years, where she would normally need it every month. The challenges we’ve had to overcome were marketing and building a brand. The use of social media was so important, and strategically using companies that could get us at the top of Google searches. NFL Hall of Famer Tony Gonzalez found us on Google, we found out later he chose our gym because we were the only gym available to answer the phone and was prepared to offer our training and nutrition services for his niece.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Point Target Fitness – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
We are children of God and have the responsibility to serve people just as Jesus did. We have over 20 years of experience in fitness and nutrition between the both of us. We are very personable, knowledgeable, and experienced in functional fitness and athletic training. We conduct a full-body analysis using the “InBody 570” scan to analyze body composition, body weight, body fat, muscle mass and body water. We’ve also collaborated with a Doctor of Chiropractic Dr. Elidge Anderson out of Long Beach to provide services for clients and patients in and around the surrounding counties.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We are led by the spirit. So, as for plans for the future our hope is in God. If it’s the Lord’s will we intend to open a full training and rehab facility in the LA area.
Pricing:
- Personal (Private) Training w/Nutrition ranges from $340 – $1200 per month
- Semi-Private Training w/Nutrition range from $350 – $700 per month
- Group Fitness (Unlimited Monthly) $165 per month
- Nutrition Coaching starting at $100 per month.
Contact Info:
- Address: Point Target Fitness
793 W. Lambert Rd.
Brea, CA 92821 - Website: www.PointTargetFitness.com
- Phone: 714-256-4559
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @PointTargetFitness
- Facebook: @PointTargetFitness
- Other: www.ShopPointTargetFitness.com
Image Credit:
Allen Freeman, Daijzon Eason
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