WAKA Fitness

Kigali, Rwanda

November 23, 2013

Reasons Why I am Excited About the Waka Fitness Opening

Someone asked me today if I was in the fitness industry.  For them this had to be the most conclusive reason why I was opening a gym in Kigali.  I have answered many variations of that question many times on this journey  - “no, I’m a fitness enthusiast, my business partner Dennis has worked in the industry and is a certified personal trainer. I’ve just always had a passion for fitness and health so it made sense.”  

It’s a pretty half-hearted response that I’ve grown to be more critical of each day.  What is a fitness enthusiast? Is it necessary for me to attend a health/fitness institute or get certified as a trainer for me to be a good owner of Waka Fitness? Am I representative of my business, or more specifically, does my body or fitness level compare to other fitness professionals?

There is probably no one answer to any of these questions.  But here is my good faith effort:

What is a fitness enthusiast?

I think a simple answer would be someone that is excited about fitness and enjoys integrating fitness into their lifestyle.  This excitement is also enough to make a lawyer from New York so hopeful about changing the fitness scene in Kigali that she decides to open a gym with her best friend in Kigali, Rwanda.  I’ve been a football player, a high jumper, a competitive swimmer, a marathoner, and most recently, a gym buff.  When I moved to Kigali I found it hard to find a gym that was as excited about health and fitness as I was – that cared about helping me achieve my fitness goals or really tried to create a sense of community among members.

It just so happened that my partner Dennis felt the same way we were crazy enough to believe that building our own gym might be the only way to nurture our enthusiasm for health and fitness while sharing/learning from others who felt the same.

Is it necessary for me to attend a health/fitness institute or get certified as a trainer for me to be a good owner of Waka Fitness?

Maybe.  But if I think about any gym or class I have ever disliked there is one common theme – the facility or instructor was promoting an unattainable ideal for an average person like me.  I am no professional athlete – I am a lawyer by day who has been through every fad diet and exercise program you have (juicing, Paleo, no-carb, P90X, Insanity, etc. etc) and I want a gym and instructor that understands someone like me.  I experience enough guilt trips on a normal day watching supermodels prance through my TV screen and avoiding the bread aisle at the grocery store – what I want when I go to a gym is a honest fitness experience that tries to meet me where I am in life.  If I can’t workout everyday – fine, if I hate running on a treadmill or running period – fine, we will make it work.

Fundamentally Dennis and I want to change both how your typical gym operates and how most people react to gyms.  We want to make sure that we create an environment and experience that is designed with you in mind – whoever you might be reading out there.

Am I representative of my business, or more specifically, does my body or fitness level compare to other fitness professionals?

In many ways, yes, and in many ways, no.  I am fitness conscious as I am sure many of my friends and family can attest to.  Those same people will also tell you I love a good party and with that goes a few good drinks.  What I have learned from the start of the Waka journey is that fitness is not a New Years resolution or a campaign to get ready for a beach vacation, it's a lifestyle.  There are the hard decisions – like choosing to stay in on Friday to wake up on Saturday to train for your marathon, and then there are the easy decisions, like attending a yoga workshop instead of engaging in binge viewing with your favorite TV show.  

This is all to say that I try harder each day to be representative of the business I want Waka to be.  Waka is, and will likely always be, a work in progress – just like myself. Sometimes I am the person that goes home early to rest for an early morning workout and sometimes I am with the group that closes down the bar. Either way, one of the reasons why I wanted to build Waka Fitness is because I got inspired – by what Dennis and I could accomplish and by what we might inspire others to do.

These thoughts have all helped me reach a very important conclusion. The answer to that question is: “it doesn’t really matter.” There are too many other better and honest reasons why we are opening Waka Fitness.

Truthfully yours,

Jeannetta Craigwell-Graham

Marketing Director

Waka Fitness