Celebrating over 10 years in business, two Million Instagram followers, over 2.3 Million Facebook fans, 14 plus workout locations worldwide and her very own Train with Lyzabeth app; introducing Lyzabeth Lopez, the woman behind the Hourglass Workout franchise.

I recently had a chance to sit down with Lyza, after a workout of course, to hear about her journey in following her passion.  What I came to realize is that while some of us have goals and plans we work towards, others just fall into what they are meant to do.

Lyza's journey started with the city of Toronto, where she held a position for five years as a Community Recreation Programmer.  I mean working for the government, with a good salary and benefits, while having a few side hustles, like training fitness models; what would make her want to take a leap of faith and work for herself?  Call it faith, call it vision and/or call it luck; in the end Ms. Lopez left her stable, good paying job with benefits to turn her side hustle into her career.

The path was not easy at the beginning as Lyza right out of the gate experienced individuals who didn’t pay her for work she completed, friends who said they’d support her new venture and didn’t and the endless list of hardships entrepreneurs experience when you don’t have a steady income.  Amidst all her struggles Lyza dug deep and focused on what she needed to do to turn this all around. Now what she did was not for the faint of heart as what she did was believe in herself and her abilities and put that believe to work.  

In 2003 Lyza entered her first fitness model competition and won.  She vlogged her last 25 weeks to stepping on the stage and so began the online presence this power house created.  Lyza's training style was different because it was drug free, required her to train longer in order to naturally bulk and as a certified nutritionist, she introduced different types of eating plans to her daily regiment. On top of winning the fitness model competition Lyza turned pro in 2003, ended up having 15, 000 YouTube followers and so began the journey of the Hourglass Workout Franchise.

Lyza remembers the ups and downs in getting her business going and credits her husband and business partner to how her business model transformed.  We all know differently though!  As one of the individuals who participated in some of this journey with Lyza I say it’s because of the woman behind the franchise.  I single handedly witnessed how she inspired women to look beyond what they thought they could do to what they can do; by pushing their abilities during workouts. I saw entrepreneurs develop right before my  eyes as relationships blossomed through partnering in workout classes.  I saw friendships and support systems evolve during monthly fun day activities and/or nutrition classes.

As a woman, Lyza understood how other women connected with one another and what is needed to push women out of their comfort zones.  She transformed many lives and probably didn’t realize that this was her contribution back to this thing we call life.

Lyzabeth Lopez thanks for your contribution to the fitness community.  10 years back a woman's only gym in Toronto was a niche market. These days I see more and more of them now with a young group of women who have certainly elevated the industry and the game.  I’m excited to see more women taking on the entrepreneurial spirit and even more excited to see so many boss ladies.

Thank you for sayings like “Eat Clean Train dirty,” “Got Booty,” and “I Train Like A Girl.”  We, at Shades of Influence, can’t wait to see what the next 10 years hold for you and your team!