Today we’d like to introduce you to Sajel Roller.
Hi Sajel, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
It all started when I was in college at OSU and started going to the gym and weight training. I had never stayed consistent with exercise in my life until I found lifting! After about a year of lifting I saw an advertisement for a program at OSU where you could take personal training courses for free if you were a student and I thought to myself “well I like working out and I like helping people so I think i’d be good at this!”. I got accepted into the program and got certified as a personal trainer in 2019. Shortly after I was training clients at OSU during my last semester. After I finished school I didn’t know what I wanted to do but I really liked training. However working for OSU I wasn’t making a sustainable wage. Coincidentally shortly after I finished school in summer 2019 I met my first mentor and old owner of the gym who encouraged me to start a personal training business so on an impulse I did! I started my business and was renting space out of his gym to train my clients.
Fast forward to 2023 and my personal training business had grown a lot and was to the point of outgrowing the space I was renting. My friend was actually wanting to sell the gym at the same time so the timing was perfect and I bought the gym from him! One of my biggest motivators for wanting to own a gym was to provide a safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. Prior to gym ownership, our clients would often tell us that we help them feel safe and comfortable in the gym so I wanted to take that to the next level when the topic of gym ownership came to light. Especially because there are no LGBTQ+ centered gyms in the area. Around that time I was shopping at target when they launched their pride collection for that year and there was a doormat that said “gayest place in town” so of course I had to have it for the new gym! That doormat then sparked the idea of nicknaming the gym “The Gayest Gym in the 614” because it really is! Launching the gym as the Gayest Gym in the 614 made it clear to everyone that our space was a safe space and clients came flooding in! And for anyone who is asking, our gym is a private personal training gym and we focus on small group strength training!
After about a year of gym ownership we started having some issues with the landlords (not going to say too much about this due to legal reasons but maaaaaan haha) and we unexpectedly had to find a new location and move and rebuild everything we had worked so hard for. We have been in our new location for about a year now and Gayest Gym in the 614 continues to live on and provide a safe space for our community which is so needed in today’s political climate.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Ooops I may have answered this in the previous question haha but I can go into more details.
The first thing I can think of of course is the pandemic in 2020 and the shutdown. I had recently started my personal training business the summer before, so I learned very early on in my entrepreneurial journey how to pivot and adjust to circumstances and roadblocks that are outside of your control. I had to figure out how to go from being an in person trainer at a gym to a traveling trainer (I used to travel to my client’s houses to train them haha) and an online trainer in a matter of a few days. But I did it! It feels like that period of my life was so long ago haha.
When I first came into gym ownership in 2023 and coined it as “The Gayest Gym in the 614” I got some pushback from the other trainers who were renting at that gym (cis het males haha) who ultimately left and made it clear they were not about my message and were uncomfortable with a young, queer, woman of color being the new HBIC. So with that there went a good chunk of my income haha but it was for the best!
During my first year of gym ownership I encountered other challenges like managing and firing some trouble employees, financial hardships, and ultimately having to suddenly move locations after being locked out of our location for almost a month (again wish I could share more about this!! Off the record, our landlords terminated our lease and locked us out without warning due to their homophobic beliefs. While we were locked out we have surveillance footage of them ripping down our rainbow decorations, it was insane). There was about a month between us being locked out of our old location and moving into our new space, so we had to find a temporary gym during that time so we could continue to train our clients.
Now about a year ago we moved into our new location and new Gayest Gym in the 614! We are continuing to push forward and build our community as well as connect with other local queer businesses and organizations.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
oopsie I also think I answered part of this already haha.
So yes the actual name of my gym is Inclusifity aka The Gayest Gym in the 614! It is a private training facility operated by my personal training business, SajelFit. We offer small group personal training with a focus on strength training. While we do help you hit your fitness goals and get stronger, of course our other priority is to provide a safe fitness space for the LGBTQ+ community. There is no other gym in Columbus that is outwardly pro LGBTQ+ and focused on providing a safe space. We aim to help people feel safe and empowered and find community through our gym and strength training.
Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I’m going to say good luck has played a role in life and business. Even through the hardest of times, everything has worked out for the best. For example we were able to find and move into our new location relatively quickly and it is in the same area as our old location.
Pricing:
- Yes! We do not do “pay per session” pricing. But we have different payment plans like biweekly, monthly, paid in full, etc. There is no one “set” price point as the pricing depends on the individual based on their needs, goals, budget, schedule, etc etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sajelfittraininggrounds.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sajelrfitness/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sajel.roller
