Amen Iseghohi Narrates the Roots of his Success Behind AmenZone Fitness and the AmenZone Foundation

By: Cindy G. Castillo

“It’s not about how you start the race; it’s how you finish it that matters.”

Life lessons such as this motivate Amen Iseghohi, founder of AmenZone Fitness. Born in Belgium with both parents of African descent, Amen moved to West Africa to live with his grandmother at the age of eight.

“She, like all grandmothers, held us to certain standards. A lot of the things she taught us I use in life. She always said life is about movement, and without movement there is no progress,” Amen said.

It was throughout his journey to West Africa, his grandmother’s words, and the tires found in his backyard, where Amen learned his most valuable life lessons. He incorporated these into every aspect of his life, and brought them with him to the United States.

Upon his arrival, he did the unthinkable. He left a secured career with a business partner, their own flooring company, at the very height of success.

“Coming in as a foreigner, all I saw were opportunities. I had traveled all around the world and I said to myself, am I ever going to pursue my passion?” he recalled.

Like anyone who’s faced with taking huge risks, Amen recalls how the only rejection he received was that of his friends. His loved ones cared for him and worried about the huge leap he would be facing in his career.

Memories of Amen’s beginnings with AmenZone are marked by the Latino Community. “Latinos hold a very dear part in my life. I started with Latinos, [they] were the first people that gave me a chance,” he recalls.

Despite differences in language, there was a cultural connection. When AmenZone Fitness began in Downtown Phoenix, most of his clients were Latinos. “They were the first ones to give a shot at getting down and dirty.”

One kit and one tire. That was the beginning of AmenZone five years ago.

People doubted his approach and questioned what could possibly be done with one tire, but “it wasn’t just about a workout, it was about empowerment. True health care comes from self care; you work from the inside out.” Such mentality is what Amen hopes to transmit through his vision.

AmenZone is composed of minimalist workouts that focus on creativity and the simplicity of one tire. His workouts build strength, speed, flexibility, and balance. It is this uniqueness and creativity aspect of his workouts that caught the attention of his main motivators: children.

“I wanted kids to just move and be excited. You give a kid a tire and you’d be amazed what a kid will do, just like I did when I was a kid,” he said.

An aspect that makes the AmenZone workouts stand out is their incorporation of fitness, nutrition, empowerment, and self-esteem to its participants, which was recognized with an Emmy award through Fox Sports.

Amen’s involvement with children grew, and thus the AmenZone foundation was born in the year 2009. With a fight against childhood obesity in mind, the foundation was ‘founded on the belief that many of the issues facing today’s youth are a result of low self-esteem, poor nutrition, and lack of fitness.’

“When I took that risk, it was because it was something I really cared about. I don’t care if I have to wake up at 2 in the morning to go help out a kid if he wants to work out. That’s passion. There is no time.”

Nearly 25 million children and teens in the United States are obese or overweight, and the AmenZone foundation aims to fight these numbers by taking action today.

Amen’s devotion into building a competition-free community has reached great heights. Today, what started with one tire now consists of 23 locations in total. AmenZone Fitness and the AmenZone Foundation hope to stretch across the nation, and even jump borders internationally in the near future.

“Watching other people’s dreams come true in some aspect, becomes my dream come true.”

To learn more about AmenZone and to find a location near you, please visit their official website at www.amenzone.com, where you can also read about the AmenZone foundation, learn more about their mission, and find ways to help make a difference.