Today we’d like to introduce you to Mitzie Rojas.
Hi Mitzie, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I got into fitness & nutrition when I started training to compete for a pageant where I grew up in El Paso, TX. I fell in love with the journey so I decided to change my major to Kinesiology while attending the University of Texas-El Paso. Later moved to Manhattan, KS to pursue my Dietetics degree at Kanas State University. I immediately began to work at the rec center as personal trainer and later a group fitness instructor. I also had the opportunity to later work at the Douglass Community Center where I met so many great people in the community. They became a part of my Zumba and fitness family. After some time away from Kansas, who knew that a decade later I would be back working as the Assistant Director of Fitness at the rec. Life is funny that way. Fortunately, it’s allowed me to reconnect with friends and colleagues that I missed. Coming back to Manhattan has reminded me of the entrepreneurial spirit I once had. Which is why I decided to launch my own nutrition practice.
I’ve had the opportunity to work with college and high school athletes as well as strength coaches and athletic trainers. I hope to utilize my experiences in recreation and collaborations in athletics to help me continue to grow my practice.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Completing my 1200-hr Dietetics internship and working full-time. There was a lot of waking up at 5 am to get to work by leading yoga classes, go to my internship all day, go back to work at 4 or 5 pm to lead more classes and/or train clients. Go home around 10:00 pm to do homework, repeat the next day. I also taught some weekend fitness classes. I did this for like a year. But it paid off as I am now a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) and a Licensed Dietitian (LD) in Kansas and Texas.
A few more recent obstacles I’ve had was simply to launch my own business and keeping up with social media. Still figuring out social media but I started putting myself out there. I’ve done a few speaking engagements with youth athletes and active adults. I hope with my education and experience, I can continue to help young athletes and recreational athletes get in sync with their nutritional needs.
I am also pursing a Master’s degree which had reminded me of my internship years but luckily have been better able to manage my time better and stay on top of my work and studies. I also have a great support system with family and new friends I’ve made in Master’s of Public Health – Physical Activity (MPH) program.
Lastly, one thing I have struggle with is not to take things too seriously and it’s okay that something isn’t perfect. It’s hard sometimes to feel like I don’t belong because I may not fit the “mold” of my profession but I look back to how connected with others and helped them on their fitness and nutrition journey. Going back to launching my own business, it took me years to launch because “I was waiting for the right time”. Now, things move too quickly, that I felt, I might as well just get started and do something because done is better than perfect. I still put in some effort and work and build some systems that I still work through and change things to better serve my clients. But, I had to just start and remind myself that, we are allowed to shift our change if something no longer serves us (that’s the yoga instructor in me coming out). But we have to put in some effort to see if works us and aligns with our values and see what brings us the most joy and fulfillment while helping others. And, as I mentioned, not take myself too serious and have some fun along the way. Because in the end, this business is mine to build the best way I can how I want.
One more thing! Balancing everything I do and also staying on top of my own nutrition and workouts. As professionals we sometimes struggle too. Luckily, I’ve been able to become more motivated by my dog Mia. She loves her naps but she keeps loves to parkour around the house. I can’t wait to move take her out for longer walks/jogs as the weather cools down.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I believe what I am most known for is Zumba. I love to dance and when I became a licensed Zumba instructor, I connected with so many other instructors and communities along Manhattan, Topeka, and Kansas City. My world was full of music and dance. It was great! My participants loved it and I loved instructing for them even more. I also taught other classes like yoga and strength based classes between Douglass Center and the rec center at K-State and for a few years a local yoga studio. Therefore, for me it was obvious that nutrition and fitness go hand in hand and I wanted to play a role in both.
I still lead a few classes but my main goal now is to grow my nutrition side of my business.
My goal is to better guide my clients with my expertise and use my local connections to refer them to others that I believe could help too. I think, having lived here for so many years since 2010 and the connections I’ve made has helped set me apart along with my various experience in city and collegiate recreation along with my fitness & nutrition experience and knowledge. I’m also bilingual and find joy in being able to help those who may feel more comfortable speaking Spanish. Another goal of mine is to grow my Spanish speaking clientele. Growing up, I was one those kids that would need to translate for my parents. That’s why it’s important for me to be able to help the Spanish speaking community that also wants to be active and learn to eat nutrient-rich foods but without eliminating cultural foods. I do believe all foods can fit but we also have to keep our lifestyle in mind, as well as our daily habits, any conditions we may be prone to or already have. But, also be able to enjoy life. Quality of life matters, especially as we get older. As I mentioned before, I love to dance and part of my Mexican roots always involved music and food. That’s why I’ve enjoyed my journey to motivate others through music in my fitness classes and now helping them build a healthy relationship with food and help them stay consistent with their physical activity, workouts, or sport.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
Having our young adults and even the general population turning to social media or AI tools for nutrition information is a big shift that is growing so quickly. I think they can be useful tools but can also become a thing that some may rely solely on. And that can be providing altered information that may not apply to them. There are so many credible online resources but it’s become more common to talk about what is on social media of what we heard. And it can make for great conversation but I sometimes hear some things related to nutrition that is way off. We have easy access to so many online resources, and but with it also comes misinformation. Everything that is available online can be a great tool but it can also be overwhelming. That is why, I believe it is important for credentialed professionals and experts in their fields to have some kind of online presence to help better guide people that are looking for credible answers to their, health, fitness, and nutrition questions and needs. This can also be virtual which is something I do as well. Whether I meet with a client in-person or virtually, I believe there’s something about the human connection that makes a difference when helping people.
Overall, I think it’s important for people to take a moment to research some fitness or nutrition related topics or challenges they’ve heard of because it may be harmful for some people. Realistically, it’s about consistency in most populations but that may not bring in the most engagement on social media which is why we don’t see that as much online.
Other shifts that I believe are important for to keep in mind is mental health and behavioral change. Since the pandemic, I believe the importance of mental health will continue to be addressed, and should be, along with how nutrition plays a major role in that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://mwowcoaching.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mwowcoaching
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mwowcoaching
