Disy’s Covid Story

My story is kinda weird because everything that happened before the pandemic was sort of preparing me for the effects of the pandemic. If I were to go back to 2019, I’d tell my past self to do exactly what I did.

For the better half of 2019, I wanted to purchase gym-related equipment that I could easily carry around, and I went ahead and did that. I bought a lot of stuff, and they were pretty cheap at that time since no one was home training and all that. So when the pandemic hit and I started getting calls from clients, I didn’t have to start rushing to look for equipment because I had them already. In fact, maybe I’d tell my past self to even buy more equipment. I look back at that time now, and I can’t believe it. And everything is still there – nothing is spoilt, everything is still there, and I’ve been using them to date.

It’s interesting because I was actually buying the equipment for myself. You know there are times when you want to work out, but going to the gym is another hustle altogether, so I asked myself, “why don’t I use this extra money to purchase equipment so I can do my workouts from home.” And that’s what I did. I didn’t buy them knowing I’d be doing personal training for people at home. I just bought them for myself, and then when the pandemic struck, I had everything I needed. It wasn’t planned for personal training, just for my own use, but look at what they did later on.

As COVID was happening, I shared my experience with someone, and they thought I must be having a hard time as a trainer since, as trainers, we get our money from the gym, and gyms were closed. But as much as COVID came and did a lot of bad, for me, it was a blessing in disguise. I started making money that I never imagined I could while being self-employed. Gyms were closed, and our salaries stopped coming. That’s when I started going online and reaching out to people, telling them I could offer COVID-friendly training sessions. I was boxing with my mask on, which was quite hectic, but the amount of money I was making in a day sometimes was so impressive. At the end of the day, I’d sit back and go, “this is not bad. Why didn’t I think about this earlier on?”

Even now, as the measures are being relaxed, many people still embrace home training. Some people find gyms to be a bit expensive, and if you have someone who can bring the gym to your house, why not opt for that. So during 2020 and 2021, I had a steady stream of income and there reached a time when I couldn’t even accommodate more clients. Even if someone cancelled, I’d get a new client. It helped my livelihood be comfortable during the pandemic; I wasn’t really suffering as much. I appreciated the fact that God gave me a gift, and He brought the right people at the right time. For me, all this was a silver lining during the pandemic.

The training is still going well. I remember when the measures were relaxed a bit more, some people opted to go back to the gym because there’s a variety of things you can do there. But those people who opted to go back to the gym pulled me along with them. It’s not like they told me, “the gyms are open, bye.” It was more like, “the gyms are open. Can we maintain our usual training time at this certain place?” And if that gym allowed external trainers, that was well and good. Though some gyms don’t allow external trainers. I think I lost about two clients during that time. But in going to the gyms that allowed external trainers, I gained even more clients than the two I’d previously lost.

It’s not easy commuting from one client to another. It’s harder than just sitting in a gym and waiting for everyone else to come. Those are some of the difficulties. Time-management as well – if you can’t manage your time well, you lose clients. Most people want to work out in the morning before they go to work or in the evening immediately after work before they go home. If you don’t keep time for such clients, they can easily switch and pick other trainers.

I believe if you’re given something to do, even if the rewards are not there or visible at that time, then do your utmost. That’s what I live by. Do your best. If something good comes out of it, that’s OK. If nothing good comes out of it, maybe it’s still in the kitchen being prepared.