Marcus Lucy

“I went to college at Concordia in River Forest. During my sophomore year, I was very into exercise. I was a major in secondary education when my cousin passed away from congestive heart failure.”

“He was 29. I was 19. He was my first cousin who lived across the street. I grew up with him being a mentor, a protector. There were so many things that I would have never been exposed to if not for his guidance. I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to be in college if it wasn’t for his energy, like, making sure I was taken care of.”

“I was already taking anatomy and biomechanics and similar classes, which are essential to how you feel. I realized people were just uneducated on fitness and wellness overall, what it really took to be healthy. And so I saw this path I didn’t even know I could take. That was the catalyst to pursue fitness.”

“I started working towards a career in fitness in November of 2000. I was training friends and other people here and there, but I had my first paying client in March of 2001.”

“Fast forward to today, I’m trying to motivate staff as well as clients. Quality staffing is one of our biggest challenges. Finding people who not only align with the fitness aspect, but also like the mental aspect that we try to improve with our clients.”

“Then from the client perspective, our retention and sustainability is so unpredictable. Some people are in what we call a flash-pass mindset where they just try a bunch of stuff out. That’s fine if it’s what you want, but it’s not sustainable for long-term success. Consistency is one of our major themes and people are not committed long term.”

“Inflation is definitely hitting me on the personal side. My building right now is going to raise rent to cover their costs.”

“I got one or two faulty parking tickets. I paid the meter, but they didn’t tell me I was ticketed. So it went in too late. I tried to contest it, but you can’t contest late tickets, even though I had proof of paying the meter.”

“They even threatened to take our business license because of the outstanding ticket payment that wasn’t even legitimate. It contradicts with the city’s saying that they’re trying to support small business by kicking us at the same time.”

“Within personal training, people often think they can’t do the workouts, when it’s only a mental block. Then the journey of training is helping people eliminate the blockage to get maximum results.”

“Taxes and fees from the city are frustrating of course, but I don’t let it influence my mindset because it’s simply out of my control.”

Marcus Lucy
Founder, Urban Grind Fitness
Chicago, Illinois