We had the good fortune of connecting with Roy Belzer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Roy, how does your business help the community?
I love this question because the entire concept behind what I’m doing with my business is to create a social impact. My business is rooted in creating safe spaces for people to pursue their fitness journeys in a meaningful and judgement free way. My focus as a personal trainer is on body positivity in fitness, specifically in the LGBTQIA+ Community. There are stigmas that have been created in the community that I am slowly trying to break down. Stigmas in which you have to look a certain way to fit in, or that you have to meet certain standards to be considered valid. In a community that has spent decades trying to be accepted by the masses, these “standards” unnecessarily ostracize. By utilizing my platform and business, I want to be a part of the change that our community needs. A change that is well overdue.

What should our readers know about your business?
One of the biggest challenges that I have faced in growing my business is the exact thing that helped me grow as well. I’m a personal trainer that doesn’t focus on fat loss. When I am working with my clients, the last thing that would look as is loss of fat because that has no direct correlation to my client’s health. Strength, flexibility, functional movement, mindset, and quality of life overall are the pillars that I focus on with my clients. This was important to me because I personally have a heavy history with Eating Disorders, so allowing myself to work on fat loss goals wouldn’t have been good for my own mental health.

When I started training and avoiding fat loss goals, I lost out on a lot of potential clients. Clients that easily could have made or broken my business. I am so glad that I stuck to my guns and avoided it because in doing so I attracted the type of people that I truly wanted to work with. It took time, but it was so worth it in the end. It gave me an opportunity to build a business of clientele that are likeminded and are exactly the people I imagined myself helping.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I am currently living in Philly and traveling the world, but if we were to be home for a week we absolutely have to hit up a few of my favorite places!

For food, I am absolutely taking them to Parc. A French inspired restaurant on Rittenhouse Square. The food is simply exquisite and the view of the park is so romantic. Like a Parisian fantasy!

For entertainment I would drag them to go axe throwing! This is one of those activities that most people don’t think to do when visiting a new city, but Bury The Hatchet is such a unique experience that it is a must!

The obvious thing to do when I have friends in town is to do a historical tour. The Liberty Bell, Independence Hall, Betsy Ross’ House, and more. Philadelphia is such a great place to take in the history of the country.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Some of the biggest inspirations in business have been the friends that have pushed me and believed in me since the very beginning. There were big moments of doubt that I went through. Moments that I didn’t know if I would be able to pay my bills or whether I would be able to see my next meal. These friends pushed me to continue to persevere because they knew that the world needed what I was putting out there. They knew that what I was doing was going to make a difference in peoples’ lives and that I would grow when the time was right. I’ll never be able to thank them for that undying faith in me.

Website: https://www.roybelzerfitness.com/

Instagram: @roybelzerfitness

Facebook: @roybelzerfitness

Other: TikTok: @roybelzerfitness

Image Credits
Alexis V Capestany

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