Becoming fit becomes a new path

 

Hi again! I'd mentioned I'd be offering a story about the Hullabalooer, Dave Hull this week. I'll publish that on Tuesday, I haven't forgotten. That being said, a member of the Los Angeles radio community is offering a free resource that can be very helpful in these pandemic times, I wanted to get her story out as soon as possible. 

When Don Barrett did his daily columns for LARadio.com, he was always interested in those who reinvented themselves after their time on the air. Ronnie Loaiza is a good example of someone who’s on a different journey as a fitness trainer and now, a wellness coach. She now has a free online fitness summit through November 4 about personal fitness and care, more on that in a moment.

Ronnie was born in New York (“my heart will always be there”) but didn’t live there for very long before eventually moving to Tampa, Florida. After graduating from the University of South Florida, she went to France intending to spend five months studying the language. Instead, she stayed for five years, where she first found work as a freelance journalist. “I kept bugging the CBS bureau there until they finally gave me an opportunity, that story turned out to be the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989,” said Ronnie. She was a field producer for a number of major stories (“I even got coffee for Dan Rather – he liked his coffee hot”) while overseas, including the first Gulf War, better known as Operation Desert Shield. “We were the satellite office for CBS in London when the network decided to close their Paris bureau, my ability to speak French was helpful.” Ronnie later helped produce feature stories for ABC Sports  and NBC Sports.

It was Dan Rather who encouraged Ronnie to consider on-camera work. She returned to the states to become a reporter at San Diego’s “News Eight” (KFMB-TV). She later worked at KFMB and KOGO Radio before Ronnie was laid off from the latter. “Then Leah Brandon got my demo tape to (KFI News Director) Chris Little,” which brought Ronnie to KFI’s news department from 2008 – 2016.

“I worked overnights and weekends. One thing was that wildfires always seemed to break out during my shifts,” she said. It’s worth noting Ronnie was already familiar with the voice of then KFI and now KNX newscaster Rob Archer while she was still in San Diego (“his voice stood out to me”). They met at KFI where they eventually started dating and later married. “I fell in love with his voice, then I fell in love with him,” said Ronnie.

When she was in her 40s, Ronnie started to experience pain in her hip and lower back. “It happened overnight, I hadn’t done anything to strain it,” she recalled. Diagnosed with degenerative disc disease, Ronnie was given the options of oral medication (“I’m not a pill popper”), patches, and surgery. One option was surgery to fuse her vertebrae. She asked the specialist, “Doctor, if this was your wife, would you advise her to have the operation, and he said no.”

After trying acupuncture, decompression, and chiropractic adjustments, Ronnie still hadn’t experienced any significant relief. She tried four different chiropractors when a friend recommended one more practitioner. She argued “but I've been adjusted, pulled, poked, and rubbed with cold gel followed by ultrasound… nothing has worked!” Nonetheless, the chiropractor offered a free consultation, so she decided to give it one more try. The doctor said Ronnie’s pain was a “quality of life issue,” that she didn’t know how to stay active without aggravating her discomfort. The chiropractor recommended a personal trainer who specialized in corrective exercise.

“Guess what happened? I stopped hurting” declared Ronnie.

She then started reading about fitness, nutrition, anatomy as well as learning more about training. Eventually her personal trainer encouraged Ronnie to consider becoming a personal trainer herself. She first laughed off the idea, but then realized this was a new opportunity as she contemplated her future.

“At the ripe age of 46, I studied hard and got my certification,” said Ronnie. “Most trainers are in their 20s, many are working as trainers while pursuing another career such as acting. I’m my own walking billboard. My clients can relate to me because I’m like them and they can trust me.” Her website (www.heyronnie.com) offers both individual and small group training, specializing in pre / pregnant / postnatal fitness plus specializing in training seniors. “I want to focus on each individual I work with.”

She started to see her business slow down as her clients dealt with the Covid 19 Pandemic. “They’re anxious about losing their jobs, they’re spending all of their time in front of the computer.” Realizing she had to adapt, Ronnie somewhat reluctantly decided to go online. “It was something I hadn’t done before, I didn’t want to have to put on makeup (for video). But with Rob’s technical support (setting up her computer in the garage, Ronnie now offers classes via Zoom. The platform allows her to monitor the progress of her clients. With an online presence, Ronnie sees her business gradually picking back up.

“There’s a lot of anxiety out there, people are feeling guilty about taking care of themselves and their fitness. My clients need to know they need to take care of themselves in order to work efficiently.”

Ronnie was hearing from her clients they had a lot of colleagues, friends and family that simply seemed unmotivated or lacked the mindset for self-care. She decided it was time to do something about it.

Starting on October 10 and continuing through November 4, Ronnie is offering a series of summits addressing wellness and fitness. “I put together a FREE 26 Day Series with 26 various experts in their fields. From Time Management to Professional Organizing to Mindset, Lifestyle and Fitness Coaches, plus Gabrielle Carteris the National President of SAG-AFTRA. They are conversations surrounding topics, insights and resources to help women apply healthy habits in these weird times to your lifestyles and lives!”

One of her featured presenters is Karith Foster, a comedienne, TV and radio host, including her time as the sidekick on Don Imus’ nationally syndicated show. (She is black and she was hired after ‘the nappy comment’.  “We’re evolving in how we understand each other. (Karith) talks about ‘inversity,” a different approach to today’s conversation about diversity and inclusion.”

As for advice to current and former people in the industry, Ronnie offered what she’s learned. She cites Mark Cuban, the media entrepreneur, TV personality, investor and owner of the Dallas Mavericks. “He always leans into what he’s afraid of,” which is a good model when looking for new opportunities.

To her current and past colleagues, Ronnie said “you’re talented. Don’t wallow if you’ve lost your job. They say follow your passion, passion is energetic enthusiasm, but it’s an overused term. Find out what you want to do and work from there.”

As stated earlier, our next story will be published on Tuesday, a brief tale about the marvelous Hullabalooer, Dave Hull. Please feel free to leave your comments. I welcome feedback, just not in my headphones.