Today we’d like to introduce you to Ervin Santana.
Ervin, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I originally started my fitness journey roughly two years ago. At the time, I wasn’t satisfied with where I was physically. I used to work out a lot in college but not being disciplined, working full-time and other life situations happened that got me out of an active and healthy lifestyle. I just decided one day, “I am going to take this seriously”. So I started working out and slowly but surely I started working out 4-5 times a week. I started creating workout videos and documenting them on Instagram stories and tagging my friends in the posts to encourage them to work out and hit the gym.
The tag line in those videos was, “where y’all at?” I was very consistent with that and people started checking in and creating their own workout videos and documenting their journeys in response to my Instagram tags. This started to pick up steam and people were actually holding each other accountable via social media and other sources. My other passion is bringing people together and building community and real, authentic friendships amongst people. So I decided to invite friends and posted on Instagram that I was going to Stone Mountain Park to hike up the mountain on a Saturday morning. It was a nice turnout, we had a bunch of fun and real authentic relationships were being built.
From there, I continued to host these Saturday morning gatherings in different parts of the city. We started working out at Piedmont park Saturday mornings and running through the beltline area, working out at Rec Centers and I hosted Thursday night runs through the midtown area in the heart of the Atlanta Skyline. I called the movement Peculiar Workouts and later changed it to Peculiar Fitness. Peculiar meaning Special, Unique, Different. The workouts aren’t necessarily what makes the movement Peculiar but the people and what stems from the workouts is what makes it Peculiar. The goal is to grow both physically and spiritually and build real, authentic community amongst each other. So you only don’t just get a workout, but you get an opportunity to cultivate real relationships, grow in your faith amongst other people and grow more as a person.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It wasn’t always smooth sailing. Originally I had a nice turnout of people coming and understanding the purpose behind Peculiar Fitness. But there were times that only a few people showed up and the numbers weren’t always what I thought they “should” be. It tested my patience, perseverance and faith and I started questioning if I should even continue to do this. Also, right before Peculiar Fitness even started, I was healing from a difficult situation with someone that caused me to lose some confidence in the things that I knew and wanted to do.
In these moments, I realized that life happens, and there may be times that are tough and you don’t feel like what you are doing matters and that’s okay. But I realized you can’t stay in that mindset and I firmly saw that joy comes in the morning and you have to continue to move forward and enjoy this life that God gave you and carry out the purposes and vision that he gave you. I knew the vision of Peculiar Fitness and that drove me on a pursuit to remain faithful because the vision was bigger than just me.
I knew that there was such a bigger reason and purpose behind Peculiar Fitness if I remained faithful, humble and consistent. I knew the present struggles couldn’t compare to the greater purpose that was to come from this. So I became extremely motivated to continue and not give up. The numbers may fluctuate, life may happen but my faith will remain strong.
Peculiar Fitness – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Peculiar Fitness is centered on growing physically and spiritually and building authentic community. We meet up in different locations and may do HIIT training, weights and cardio in a Rec center, work out in different parks, run a few miles through the heart of midtown that includes group workouts and many other unexplored endeavors to come. We use the world as our gym. While this is happening we simultaneously build true, genuine friendships and community that stem from these workout gatherings. We grow in our faith in Jesus Christ and grow with each other by having fearless conversations, being open and vulnerable with each other.
Life is not meant to be done alone or at the surface level. Life is meant to be done in a community, with fellowship, with deep conversations and with people that are ready to grow in every area of their life. I am proud of the consistency of people. I am pleased of real friendships being built. I am proud of people growing in their faith in Jesus. I am proud of people getting healthy, stronger and having fun working out and I am proud of people doing life together and growing overall as a person. What’s sets us apart is you don’t just grow physically with this Peculiar movement but you get the opportunity to grow spiritually, grow in friendships and community and grow as a person.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My favorite childhood memories were all the times I played different sports with the other kids and how those activities brought us together and allowed us to form bonds and deep friendships. We played basketball, football or anything we could get our hands on and get outside and have fun. It really allowed me to see what friendship meant and how sports, running and being active can really bring people together and make people feel that they are apart of something that is bigger than themselves.
It allowed me to learn about teamwork, accountability and it gave me a drive that I carry to this day. You can take something that you have passion for and turn it into something that grows people, instills accountability, cultivates relationships and overall contributes to the greater good of humanity. No matter what gift you have, as small as it may seem right now, if you remain consistent, humble and hungry, you can make a difference in this world and in people’s lives.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @ervsantana (Personal Page) @peculiarfitness (Business Page)
Image Credit:
@peculiarpictures
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