Every Sunday morning, Mariana Sánchez appears on her Instagram account, where she has almost half a million followers. He greets with a smile that crosses most of his face, and then begins his exercise routine. Minutes later, and during the hour that the session lasts, she is seen sweating rivers, but even so, the smile is still intact.
Meanwhile, the hundreds of people who are following the routine in real time do not stop sending emojis of hearts and kisses. After all, they have a lot to thank for this Mexican coach who has lived in Los Angeles for just over a year. She was one of the few professional instructors who offered free virtual physical conditioning classes for several months after the start of the pandemic.
” We were in that period when we were deciding and thinking about a tour, like dreaming of going to conventions or hotels to give bootcamps “, Mariana said in a recent interview. “But that’s when the pandemic came.”
The coach and his sister Alessandra Rosaldo –former member of the Mexican pop music duo, Sentidos Opuestos– began to consider this idea after the bootcamps they performed in public parks became quite popular with the Latino community in one area of the San Fernando Valley. Mariana, a marathon runner, had been an instructor in aerobics, stationary bike, Pilates, and other disciplines; His life as an athlete began twenty years ago.
It was without planning, and rather with the intention of getting out of an emotional crisis caused by the move of the family of Mariana from a small and peaceful Texas town to chaotic Los Angeles, that the coach began training with Alessandra and with a small group of friends in public spaces. This community grew as word spread.
When the pandemic hit, the sisters decided to continue with the bootcamps from the Instagram account of the coach (im_coaching), who years before had amassed a good number of followers. By then I had about 120 thousand.
” The first live was the 15 in March, ”said Mariana, who is originally from Mexico City and has lived in the United States for nine years. “I told Ale that if we had some 40 or 50 fixed people we were going to do it for them. ”
The surprise was that not only the people who went to the park got online, but many followers of Mariana from her Instagram account.
“I never imagined it would be so exponential,” he said.
Mariana attributes success to several factors, among them the naturalness with which the two sisters deal.
“And we have also found a formula in which many gears have joined that they have been weaving this virtuous circle ”, he said. “It is not just exercising, but positive thoughts, hydration, nutrition, rest, the importance of sleep; for me it is a lifestyle, and I feel blessed to do my bit and to be able to take it beyond my inner circle and that more people can embrace it. ”
Classes were held every day, but it was too much for Mariana because she was also training for the Boston Marathon. So they decided to offer the “lives” four days a week. This is how 90 took place, where all that was needed were items such as bottles full of water – instead of weights -, old rags to slide on, a towel to push your arms, a chair or a wall.
It was the 10 August when Mariana and her sister, now as partners, launched Method M, a platform where, for one month, you can access videos and fitness lives.
Currently, the site has about 2, 500 people registered, and on Sundays, strictly speaking, the sisters offer a free session for those who are not enrolled.
Some Sundays ago, Mariana, from 40 years, and Alessandra, of 49, held a hundred live broadcasts, exactly eight months after they offered their first free class.
“We are doing something that matters,” said Mariana. “We are impacting people in a positive way, and that is the goal, to serve.”
The next step is uncertain for the coach. He does not know if at some point he will fulfill his dream of going on tour with the M Method, whose name is inspired by the first letter of his name. What he does know is that “it will be something beautiful and for others.”
‘I can do it too’
“People get hooked [en el Método M] because you are looking for a session in which you work and sweat, but the extra [del Método m] comes from two sisters that they exercise and in that part like that [Alessandra] is deadly, which is very nice to normalize it because she was a woman that you saw on stage or that you have located as the wife of. Suddenly, to see that it is a woman like you and me, without makeup, who complains, who laughs, who dances. I feel like that became a great ingredient for people to say ‘if Ale can, I can.’ ”
