Fitness trainer, Zongwane breaks barriers

CALISTUS KOLANTSHO

For the many years I have been in the media industry, this week, I had a unique interview with a fitness instructor, my first. I have never taken a class or a training session offered by a fitness instructor. However, I have been following the Fitness Candy social media pages and was intrigued. Mmegi Staffer

profiles Candy Gorata Zongwane, who is pioneering a path in a male-dominated industry

Fitness Candy Facebook page has over 77, 000 followers, while the Instagram page boasts of 4, 450 followers, and the director, Candy Gorata Zongwane, has about 44, 000 followers on her personal profiles.

Fitness training is largely male-dominated, but Zongwane is changing the industry’s narrative. She is a fitness trainer, fitness model, and fitness influencer. She told MmegiSport this week that her interest in fitness started back in 2011 when she was 19.

“It was a personal journey, and at the time, it was not intended to turn into anything public or big. Although it is an industry dominated by men, I am not under pressure because a lot of women will prefer women trainers,” she said.

The Mmadinare-born Zongwane established Fitness Candy in October 2016 as a social media page. Eventually, in 2018, the brand was registered and started providing services.

“At the moment, my individual services are online. I have an online service called Shape Up. I provide diet and workout plans for clients. I provide guidance and they get to check-in weekly.

Services are open to everyone; men and women. When I provide personal services, I believe in consistency. Personally, it works for me,” she said.

Born 32 years ago, Zongwane did a short personal training course in 2017, which was mostly about training and human anatomy, briefly touching on nutrition.

When asked what sets her apart from other trainers, Zongwane believes that she is a walking advert and her process is what she is willing to provide.

“I understand what the average Motswana has and does not have access to;

I put that into consideration. When it comes to fitness, I believe my role model is my younger self; I had more drive and motivation. That is what keeps me going to this day,” she said.

Her large following on social media somehow attracts the wrong attention at times.

“I get random messages from men that are not fitness related hence why I share my business number and email, any Whatsapp messages that are inappropriate are simply blocked because, at the end of the day, this is business,” she said.

She said Batswana are interested in fitness more than ever before, but there is still a long way to go before people truly understand what it entails.

Zongwane holds an Honours Degree in Business Enterprise and currently works for an insurance company under its Finance Department in Gaborone.

“Besides work and exercise, I mostly spend time with my daughter watching cartoons or going to the park,” Zongwane said.