Meet Suzanne Barker | Body-Positive Personal Trainer, Instructor, and Nutrition Coach

We had the good fortune of connecting with Suzanne Barker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Suzanne, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
After working for other brands in the fitness and wellness industry (even the Four Seasons which has its’ perks), I knew I wanted to have my own business. Almost all things in life come with a trade-off. With my own business, everything begins and ends with me. If I don’t push sales or keep up with the back-office work, etc., I fail. There is no one to fall back on. But I love the freedom of schedule and space for creativity and fun to do whatever I want with this! For me right now, the pro’s are worth the cons.

What should our readers know about your business?
While I earned my certification in personal training in 2010, I didn’t start working exclusively for my own brand until July of 2021 when we moved from Dallas, TX to Atlanta. Last August, I made a goal of where I wanted this business to be by this August and I’ve met it! I wrote it down and looked at it daily. A new goal has been made for next August.

I’ve worked at great places like the Four Seasons Sports Club in Dallas where I gained enough confidence to realize I really could do this on my own. For me, it’s been a journey of growing in this confidence and bulldozing the doubts…the doubts still come sometimes but it’s easier now to get my headspace back in the game. The Gift of Failure is a book I read for parenting but it ended up helping me more than them. I never felt really smart and that book highlighted the fact that just because natural talent is present, it doesn’t mean that person will automatically succeed and gave examples of people who went against the odds and came to success because of their determination, desire, and work ethic. That was hugely encouraging to me.

I love working especially with postpartum moms as they learn to appreciate and work with this amazing body that’s undergone incredible changes. But my current clients consist of male and female and range from 20’s to even 90! Seriously, he still works out at 90! My clients who are undergoing physical therapy, I ask that they bring a copy of the exercises they’re supposed to be doing on their own and we include them in our session and I even try to connect with that therapist to make sure we’re getting it right. I train in person if local to me but mostly virtual training. I lead a few corporate groups in online sessions as well.

My business name is Just Beet It Fitness. At 53, my dad had a massive heart attack and triple bypass surgery (he’s 72 and fine now). He’s always been “healthy” and had the heart attack while exercising, 2 weeks after his doctor said “you couldn’t have a heart attack if you chased one down”. I started doing some digging and ended up taking a course from the Cleveland Clinic in plant based nutrition. I work with my clients who consume meat and dairy but I highly recommend this plant based way of eating. So many benefits! So, when it comes to blocked arteries or more normal things like wanting to feel empowered or less stress “just ‘beet’ it” with exercise and good nutrition!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I love hiking up and down Stone Mountain, so I’d take them there and do some core and stretching and hike back down. Then, we’d hit up the Four Seasons Spa and have a healthy lunch. After that, we’d go to the Slutty Vegan for a burger and fries (all in moderation, right?) because that place is so good and so fun! Next, we’d go to the Ponce City Market rooftop for drinks and games and views. Saturday morning (not too early) we’d walk through the historic cemetery in Decatur, the downtown area there for a little sightseeing and shopping, then Folk Art for brunch.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My spouse deserves a huge shoutout to the current success of my business. Yes, he checks the box with the big things like believing in me, having patience with all of my tech questions, helping me create marketing materials. But it’s the daily things he does that allow me to do what I do. He is also a business owner working from home in the tech space and schedules his day so that he can make dinner and take the kids places after school. We trade off when necessary but if it weren’t for this daily help, I couldn’t do what I’m doing.

Website: https://www.justbeetitfitness.com/

Instagram: justbeetitfitness

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGa824UYlSZJOWazPlEOcUw