It’s March 2020 and imagine being Damian Motlo, the owner of Damian Motlo Fitness based in Phoenix, Arizona, and just one of the many personal trainers forced to close their doors because of the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic.

“I was training my clients at a local gym and most of them started to leave as the virus continued to spread. I felt uncomfortable so I made the conscious decision to also leave the gym, although I had no idea what I was going to do next or how I was going to work with my clients,” he said in an exclusive interview for ICON.

That’s when one of Motlo’s clients, Bobby, suggested training outdoors.

“Bobby told me about Sumida Park near his house, so I checked it out. It had a couple of workout stations and I had a limited amount of equipment from my days as an in-home personal trainer. It would take some creativity but I told myself that I’m going to make this work!”

Immediately, Motlo made the decision to move his programs outdoors. He recalled that it was actually a very pleasant change for him and his clients.

“For my clients and me, it was a beautiful experience. It was outdoors in perfect weather, you felt comfortable and safe, overall it was a nice shift and change of energy!”

Motlo estimates he did lose about 1/3 of his clients but training in Sumida Park came with unexpected free exposure.

“The neighborhood people would see us moving and the passion that was taking place during our sessions. People would ask for my business card [and although] not all became clients, some of them signed on and are still clients today!”

Trying to run a business in the beginning of a pandemic created a lot of uncertainty for entrepreneurs, many of who are still trying to power through it today. Motlo stresses if you keep pushing your passion forward, you can overcome huge roadblocks.

“For me personally, I’ve been in this business a long time and I’ve put in so much time, effort, energy, commitment, dealing with my own ups, and downs to finally being successful. I look at my business like it’s my baby and you can’t let anything get in the way,” he says, adding that doing a mental reset and not letting it psychologically get him down kept him moving forward. “That mental piece can really mess with you as a business owner.”

Motlo is proof that perseverance in the face of unexpected change can lead to great outcomes and he currently continues to serve his clients through personal training, stretch therapy, and nutritional coaching. You can find out more about Damian and his programs at damianmotlo.com.