Today we’d like to introduce you to Aimee Welu.
Aimee, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
After spending fifteen years as a reading specialist teaching middle and high school, I decided to take my passion for health and wellness to the next level by becoming a fitness professional and training for and competing in natural bodybuilding competitions. I was quite successful on the stage, competing in seventeen shows in three years and winning over half of them. It was a natural progression to combine my strengths and successes in both fitness and education by becoming a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach.
As a single mom of three kids and owner of a thriving private tutoring business, I knew that I wanted to be my own boss. I began training health-conscious moms out of my home studio, a business that quickly grew to include a clientele of executives, special needs children, elite high school and college athletes, and adolescents struggling with body image and eating disorders. I also coached small and large group boot camp, strength training and boxing classes at a fitness facility on the Northshore for both adults and children.
A year ago, I launched my brand ‘Boss Body by Aimee’ allowing me to expand my home studio, partner with a new gym in Northfield, and bring the Boss Body by Aimee philosophy “Fuel it. Train it. Own it” to a clientele that has grown to include businesses, sports teams, park districts, and schools.
In June of 2018, my fitness journey came full circle when I won my pro card in the UFE, the world’s largest, natural bodybuilding organization.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
This road has been surprisingly smooth, which I attribute to the magic that happens when your life’s passion balances with your strengths and discovers a platform that positively impacts the lives of so many. The struggles I experienced as a child and young adult prior to pursuing this path, actually prepared me to connect with my clients on a level that enables them to fully trust and embrace the process of developing and celebrating an emotionally and physically healthy lifestyle.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Boss Body by Aimee – what should we know?
Boss Body by Aimee is business that offers an unprecedented level of Personal Training and Nutrition Coaching for adults and children, with an emphasis on empowering and strengthening the mind, body, and spirit from the inside out.
I have the unique opportunity to bring fitness to more than just my personal training and nutrition counseling clients. I also am the Official Fitness Coach for Illinois International Pageants, prepping the contestants and queens for their pageants. As a professional bodybuilding figure competitor, I also have a solid clientele of both male and female athletes pursuing their goals as competitors who come to me for all components of competition preparation. Some of my proudest moments and most rewarding work come from training elite high school athletes, many of whom continue on to play D1 and D3 football, baseball, rowing, wrestling, and soccer.
What sets my business apart from the competition is my unique ability to discern where a client is mentally, emotionally, and physically and then design a program of exercise and nutrition that enables that client to reach the highest level of wellness while at the same time healing from the inside out. I have found that what holds a person back from achieving fitness goals often has nothing to do with fitness, but rather the false and negative beliefs that need to be turned around in order to find the motivation and commitment necessary to do the work.
I am most proud of the transformations that I have seen take place in my clients as a result of proper training and nutrition, not just physically in terms of reduced body fat, increased lean muscle, making the varsity team, or recovering from surgery; but also and perhaps more meaningfully, on a deeper, level in terms of confidence, leadership, pride, positivity, joy, assertiveness and an overall sense of self-worth and value.
My advanced certifications from NASM include specializations in: Mixed Martial Arts Conditioning, Youth Exercise, Senior Fitness Specialist, and Fitness Nutrition.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
My three children, Danny (18), Bella (15), and Eliana (9) deserve the credit for the level of success I have reached as a fitness professional and competitor.
There were countless mornings where, as a single working mom, I was already with a client as early as 5:30 am when they had to work together to make breakfasts, pack lunches, and get to school on time. They have developed a heightened level of camaraderie and responsibility that has strengthened their sibling bond and solidified the concept that it truly takes a village.
My kids have always been my biggest cheerleaders when it comes to preparing for a competition and actually hitting the stage. They don’t hesitate when I ask them to critique a pose, take yet another progress picture, help me cook pounds and pounds of protein, clean up the studio, and rub my shoulders after a tough workout.
Secondly, I would attribute my success to my countless clients who give me everything they have when they step into the studio. I am so impressed with their motivation to succeed and to learn what it takes to develop and sustain life-long health and wellness.
My proudest moment thus far was hearing my name announced on stage as the UFE Champion and seeing the entire first row of family, clients, and friends leap from their seats cheering and celebrating my accomplishment. I told them that if I won my pro card that night thus reaching the height of competitive bodybuilding, that trophy would be for them.
Pricing:
- Personal Training $95/hr. Ascending price reductions for training packages of 1x,2x, and 3x per week.
- Nutrition Coaching $240/60 days. Meal Plans, Macro Counts, Supplements & Vitamins, Recipes, Shopping lists.
- Competition Preparation $95/hr includes meal plan, peak week, backstage prep.
Contact Info:
- Phone: 773-615-5466
- Email: bossbodybyaimee@gmail.com
- Instagram: @bossbodybyaimee
- Facebook: @bossbodybyaimee
Image Credit:
Don Bersano
Getting in touch: VoyageChicago is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
