Today we’d like to introduce you to Serena Muniz.
So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
If you would have asked me three years ago what I would be doing with my life I would have said that I would be a doctor or something of the sort. I completely fell into being a business owner and fitness coach and that isn’t what I envisioned for myself at 23 years old. Growing up, I was an athlete and a kid who put everything into school. I juggled varsity sports, and all AP/honors courses all throughout high school. I finished my first two years of college when I was a sophomore in high school, to put in perspective the kind of work ethic I had for myself at the time. But being 18 and going into college, I realized that by being so far ahead I had actually robbed myself of the extra time you have to kill on prerequisite courses when you’re going fresh into a university. So I said “business major!” That should be easy enough. (Wrong) lol I did a semester at ASU W.P. CAREY and realized quickly that I didn’t feel an ounce of passion for anything I was supposed to be learning in school. I would go to the campus gym and “workout” with my sorority sisters at the time to relieve everything I believe to be stress. My love for weight training really started there. Instagram and the world of social media was also really taking off so it was also around this time that I was able to see how many fitness “models” and influencers there really were in the world. I would look at my bodies and then look at my own and thought I wonder if that’s possible for me. I am 5’2 and at the time, I was 88LBS.
I set out on this “fitness journey” just to see where it would take me, and I had taken to Instagram posting to document any and all progress I felt like I was making. I watched videos that the women who inspired me would post, and I would study it religiously. I started reading books, reading articles and learning all of these things about both my body and about the human body in general that I couldn’t stop giving my attention too. It became my obsession and then I realized that that’s what passion was. I fell in love with myself through this process and I realized I wanted to help others make the same discovery. Girls and women both on Instagram who had been followers of my journey had started shooting me messages – asking if I made fitness programs or if I trained people. At the time, I did not, but this is where I really started to play around with the idea that maybe I could, On paper, I had no “certification” and everything I knew was self-taught or learned through experiences in my own personal life and through things taught to me by others. Mind you, I am a VERY impulsive human so in a split moment I decided to make an 8 week “booty guide” which ended up taking off. Women started seeing results and were loving their progress / experiences. I had done all of this strictly online as a mobile coach and fell in love. The universe started to really align for me from that point on.
Fast forward a year to my 21st birthday. I landed what I thought was my “dream” training job at a big corporate gym and realized sooner rather than later that it wasn’t for me. It was a numbers driven environment and I wanted the freedom to grow what I envisioned to be my own brand and experience for my clients. So, doing as an impulsive person does, I left with the intent to start my own business and build my own brand. (Here is where the fun starts) I was 22 and my life went from up to down in the flip of a coin. Details can be spared on the context of the event because of the emotional trauma it caused me, but to put it very simply l had been trying to find balance in a world of toxicity and verbal/physical abuse from people who were very close to me. Not long after I left my job, I lost everything due to a very personal and traumatic abusive event. I had no home, no income, and I lived out of my car for three months with nothing but a gym bag filled with a handful of clothes and my belongings, and the dream I had for myself and for my business. I pushed away everyone closest to me and surrounded myself with people who fit the environment I felt I needed at the time. I partied a lot of pain and frustration away. I was waiting to move into an apartment complex I had already signed a lease on the back when I was still working my corporate job. Saving money was more difficult than I thought it would be and I spent a lot of nights crying and feeling helpless, lost, and like things would never turn around. I kept my friends in the dark for weeks and weeks, because how do you explain to the people who love you that something terrible had happened to you. I felt ashamed and afraid and unworthy of the love I knew they would try to give me. This was my lowest and darkest moment – my “sink or swim” moment in life as I like to call it. And I definitely had done a little bit of both.
Come move in day, I sat on the floor of this new apartment curled up on the floor, crying my eyes out for God knows how long because even through it was just a bare room with walls, it was a HOME. I had no furniture, silverware, etc. just my little bag of clothes and my plan. I took to Instagram to post about the beginning of my new business. I had a couple of girls locked in for sessions and started training at an apartment gym that one of the girls lived at. And from there, it was a complete snowball effect. One girl told another girl, and she told another and the next thing I knew I had a legitimate growing business. I have been through many ups and downs since then, as I had and still don’t really have any idea what I’m doing in terms of building a business or what I like to consider now to be an empire of beautiful boss babes. I fell into a niche helping women grow their booties. I used to work out mine so much that my friends would call me the BootyQueen, and eventually it just stuck. I was working on mine while helping other women build their own and it turned into a total queendom (a kingdom that’s filled with babes only) Lol, and now that is what I am known for here in the Valley. It’s been an amazing journey to build this brand from scratch, literally.
My actual business is called “Sweet Physiques” because the physiques my girls build for themselves truly are peachy keen. If you had asked me when I was sitting alone in my car seven months ago, where I thought I would be now – it definitely would not be here. I am so fortunate and so blessed to get to work with the women that I get to work with. I totaled my car not too long ago in a pretty bad accident and my girls all had stepped up and offered me rides, Ubers, other options, etc. They give back to me always and show their appreciation for what I have built in more ways than I could ever thank them for. This is why I have put my whole heart and soul into this brand and now I am even extending my reach. I have been invited to host a workout event in August at the HardRock hotel in San Diego at their SunBurn Pool, and I will be hopping on a podcast here soon with Build Your Empire to share my story. I have one other podcast under my belt that is linked to my Instagram profile, (@thebootyqueen__) and I have a new 12 week Booty program coming out online in July, in addition to the 8-week program that already exists. (Both are global and can be done by anyone in the world) I have been so busy working on myself and on this business, and as happy as I am now I never forget where I was before all of this excitement started rolling in. I have created a beautiful community for women that is SAFE and comfortable.
My girls are not just my clients, they are also my friends and my family. The girls who were with me in the very beginning have been able to experience all of the lows and highs of this process and I am so thankful for them for seeing in me the things that I did not see in myself. I used to want to be a doctor so that I could fix people, but now I realize as a trainer that you cannot fix people, you can only give them the tools to use to fix themselves. (And I am not talking about external physical issues) I will never forget receiving the first text I got from a client that said “For the first time in my life, I am comfortable in my own skin. I finally love myself. Thank you.” And since that moment and since every other moment following from so many other babes – I decided that this is what I was always meant to do. I share the gift of love and healing with women all across the globe through my online and in person programs and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Running a girl gang has truly been the greatest experience and I wouldn’t change anything wrong that has gone on in my life prior to this because that is what turned me into a successful 23-year-old female entrepreneur. I love empowering women to be completely themselves and empowering others, in general, to know that you can lose absolutely everything, and rebuild yourself and your life over and over again until your losses feel like distant dreams. Were those mishaps even real?? I am so very thankful to be here doing what I do around the community and the globe both and I cannot wait to watch my business grow more and to add more girls to this boss babe clan of mine!!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
The road has been anything but smooth. I lost my job. I lost all of my money. I went through physical, emotional, and verbal abuse from multiple people who played roles in my life. I lost my home. I lived out of my car. I wasn’t sure how to cope, or how to heal so I made poor choices that led me astray for a little while. I got passed it in the worst way (at first) but then I found a way to come out above all of it and put it behind me. Through TRUE healing and self – reflection. I am also thankful for the people who knew I was struggling at that time in my life and fought for me to chase my dreams when I couldn’t do it on my own.
Please tell us more about what you do, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I am a health coach or personal trainer. Women come to me from all over the place to build their booties, which is why the name “The Booty Queen” has been coined on me. I am most proud of the fact that this brand exists at all. I had absolutely nothing before this, and my love for people and the healing I wanted to share as a product of my own losses kept me inspired. I felt like I had lost so much, that the only way out was to love my way through. So I turned my pain into passion and built an incredible growing girl gang and family. It’s not just me as a trainer training clients. My girls have all become friends. I am 23, and they all range in age from 18-42. I have never seen such a large and diverse group of women get along so well. I made a point to build my business with intimacy because I wanted women to have a space that they could come to feel safe and totally comfortable to be who they are. We all uplift each other and push each other to work hard – both inside and outside of the gym. We are all each other’s inspiration and that is what makes this business so special. It is a support system before it is anything else, and not only just for MY girls but for all women. Whether they are a part of my programs or they are not.
How would you describe the type of kid you were growing up?
It’s funny because I was actually very shy growing up. I was type B through and through. You would never catch me striking up a conversation or cracking a joke or doing anything like that. Girls also bullied me all throughout school. I didn’t get along well with people my age, I would always hang out with the kids in grades above me. My self-esteem was low and I put all of my time and energy into school and studying. I really didn’t start coming out of my shell until I was 20. I am a completely different human now, polar opposite! It still blows my mind to this day.
Contact Info:
- Email: serenamfit@yahoo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebootyqueen__/
Image Credit:
Alexandria Vargas
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