Meet Mapela Motshabi Custodio | Fitness Expert and Wellness Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mapela Motshabi Custodio and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mapela, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I am a military spouse who had a career in Sponsored Research Administration but also had a passion for fitness. I used to work my office job in this day time and worked as a Group Fitness Instructor in the evenings, this was a happy place for me until we were given military orders to move overseas. While living overseas, there were not a lot of opportunities in Sponsored Research Administration and this led to me focusing mostly on working in fitness. I secured a contract job as a fitness trainer with the Army Morale, Welfare, and Recreation (MWR) department and that led me to securing another contract with the Air Force MWR. This experience and motivation from other entrepreneur military spouses I made connections with, motivated me to start my own business. Starting my own business gave me the flexibility to fully support my spouse in his military career because I can move my business with me every time we have to relocate. It also gave me the opportunity to have flexible working hours that enabled me to easily manage raising our children (mostly as a single parent due to my spouse’s military deployments). Entrepreneurship opened the door to follow my passion for fitness and helping empowering others while tackling the challenges of parenting as a military mom.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Fit Vitae is a health and wellness service provider offering personalized programs to women, coaching them and inspiring them to pursue their fitness goals. We empower women through health and fitness by providing them with holistic training advice, customized exercise programs, mindset coaching, and nutrition advice. We educate and motivate women to achieve their wellness goals and support and inspire them to make body and mind transformations.

What sets us apart from others is that we meet the client where they are by providing programs that are specific to their goals, we DO NOT have a one size fits all approach.
What keeps me going in this business is the feedback that I get from my clients. When a client comes to me after a session and tells me that when they walked into the workout session they were feeling down but now they feel happy and much better than they did before, or when a client tells me that I make them feel good about themselves and their body, that lets me know that I achieved my mission for the day (to empower women). We live in a world where most women have body image issues and it is my goal to encourage women to feel good in the bodies they have and love themselves as they are while they are working towards the body that they wish to have. Self-love is an important facet of our business because when you come from a place of love, you can proudly work your way up to the place where you want to be while being kind and patient with yourself.

Running a business as a military spouse and parent while always relocating is a big challenge, but it has taught me to be very patient, tolerant and it also has taught me to appreciate every achievement, no matter how big or small. These experiences help to keep me grounded and I believe that they make me a better coach because I have a lived experience and can relate to most of the situations that my clients are faced with (time management, prioritization in life, parenting challenges, raising happy kids while taking care of yourself).

These are the lessons that I have learned along the way:
Everything happens for a reason, when you are going through something hang in there one day you will know why it happened.
Every hardship does come to an end.
Every little bit you do counts to something big, keep showing up, remain consistent and it will pay off.
Do everything from a place of love, this will help you hang in there when the going gets tough.
Change comes when you get out of your comfort zone, you have to push yourself a little bit extra to achieve your goals.
Surround yourself with people who make you want to do better and be better.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I am not from Charlotte, but since living here I have found a few things I enjoy doing. If a friend came to visit, I would take them out for breakfast to Cafe Monte, a charming French Bistro in the area. From there we would take a day trip to Ashville and spend the entire day at the North Carolina Arboretum, go on a hike on the trail and come back and check out the gardens and the exhibit that they will have in the garden at the time. I haven’t had an opportunity to explore most of the places due to COVID restrictions but I am looking forward to exploring the Queen City more as businesses are starting to open up more.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My first Shoutout goes out to Rosette Obedoza, Owner of Capstone World Travel, an incredible goal-getter, military spouse, and mother. When I met her, she owned an elementary school in Okinawa, Japan and she encouraged me to pursue entrepreneurship. Without her help and guidance, I probably would not have pursued this path. I also want to Shoutout to two incredible entrepreneurs, Charmaria Gurley, owner of Moxxi Body Co and Gurley All Freight, and Davina Ismal, owner of Ini Sips. These ladies always pick me up when I am down. They always help me see the good in every situation when I don’t. They inspire me to fearlessly chase my dreams and to never give up when it gets tough. I also want to Shoutout to Bridget Jackson, she is always in my corner cheering me on, and encourages me to get out of my comfort zone and to fiercely tackle the challenges that life brings.

Instagram: mapela_fitvitae

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/mycustodio

Twitter: @MapelaCustodio