Julia Johnson Fitness Thrives in Sahuarita
By Tara Kirkpatrick
Julia Johnson Fitness is just one example of entrepreneurial success in Sahuarita.
Johnson’s tri-weekly, early-morning boot camps, held outdoors in a town park no matter the weather, have become a community staple, as are the group training sessions in her garage.
“I started this about five years ago in our community,” said Johnson. “I’ve had people that have been with me for all five years. It’s really something special because you’ll get people that don’t know any neighbors or don’t know each other, and they come to the group, and before you know it, they have these friendships.”
Johnson, a mother of three whose husband serves in the U.S. military, chose Sahuarita to live and felt it was a place where she could build her fitness business. “I needed the community feel because I knew that I wanted to start my boot camp here. I needed something that felt a little more personal.”
Fitness has been an accidental, yet fulfilling career path for Johnson. As a military wife and young mom, she attended classes in other cities to meet people, and stood out for her natural ability. “I had people come up to me and ask if I was an instructor,” she recalled. “All these little seeds were planted. I realized, I love this. I was already going to school for something else, but once I switched it, it was like I came alive.” She would go on to earn her bachelor’s degree in corporate fitness.
Her Sahuarita boot camps are just the beginning. Johnson holds a “Ladies Night” once a month where participants paint or go to movies, etc. and then the group also plans a hike or a run outside of class. “I open this up to anybody that wants to come and be a part of it,” she said. “I’ve built a good business and it’s not about me, but it’s really about the people that are in it and the friendships made.”
Her garage training sessions are a by-product of her boot camps. “It’s been about two years now, and I’m so thankful that I started it. When you see other people that are pushing themselves….it makes you want to go harder. It just really makes such a difference”
Johnson is one of the participants in Grow IN Sahuarita, a free local program that helps local entrepreneurs progress their businesses. She meets with economic development specialist Alex Magallanes consistently to develop a plan for growth.
“We’ve only worked together for a very short amount of time…but I will tell you, in those two or three months, I really learned so much from him. How cool that our town is so invested in businesses.”
Magallanes and Johnson have created a 90-day plan and he essentially acts as her accountability coach. “Every month I am getting five new clients and it’s just doing small things,” she said. “I’m not even investing money. It’s more about being smart with my time. Having him as my accountability partner, I’m so grateful for it.”
Pictured above – Julia Johnson, Founder, Julia Johnson Fitness. Photo by Brent G. Mathis
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