Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryan and Jenny Fink.
Hi Bryan and Jenny, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
Love at First Lift:
Bryan and I (Jenny) met in 2008 when he was 19 and I was 18 through mutual friends. We would later learn that we both had big crushes on each other from the start. We saw each other from time to time over the years at parties and hangouts. About 4 years later in early 2012, we saw each other out at a bar. Bryan was single and I was not. I was out with girlfriends who urged me to go and talk to him. We had a great time catching up, and Bryan may have even stolen a dance. He told me that he had become a personal trainer at a gym in Laurel, MD, and was doing very well there.
I shared that my friend and I had just joined a gym in Columbia, MD to try to make working out a constant in our lives (aka an attempt to offset all of the early 20’s partying we were doing.) By a not-so-strange coincidence, I was single and ready to mingle with a one-mister Bryan Fink 2 weeks after our bar run-in. I messaged Bryan and told him that I was in DESPERATE need of a personal trainer and had no idea what I was doing in the gym. Our first official “date” was at LifeTime Fitness in Columbia, MD in February of 2012 and the rest is history. A few push-ups, crunches, and squats later and we were completely hooked on each other.
In 2013, Bryan left his job at the Wellness for Life Fitness Center in Laurel, MD and launched Fink Fitness with me by his side. He was ready to stop paying overhead at the gym, and give personal training a shot on his own. I was working full-time at a restaurant but helped with some behind-the-scenes books, social media, filming, recipes, etc. At the time, Bryan was living with a few buddies. His friend and owner of the home agreed to let Bryan set up a workout space in a small area of the basement. The space was not big, but Bryan could comfortably train one client at a time. Even back then in a small townhouse basement with minimal equipment, Bryan had a full schedule of loyal clients. He loved what he did and his passion was palpable from the beginning.
After about a year and a half, Bryan moved in with another friend who was renting a few rooms out of his house and had a large detached building in the rear of the home. It was previously used as a woodworking shed. The owner of the home and Bryan worked out a deal where Bryan could also rent that building and turn it into a workout space for his clients. It was a much bigger space, but it did not have AC or heating. AC was not as much of a problem with fans and AC window units, but heating was another story.
In the winter Bryan had to wake up at around 4:00 am to go out to the building and turn on a coarsen heater so that the temperature was tolerable for his first client at 5:30 AM. Despite his gym space being in an oversized shed with no central heating or cooling Bryan’s clients were still extremely loyal. They came to train with him and learn from him, the training space was always an afterthought. His energy was and is still electrifying in the gym. Many of his clients were crushed when after a few years of owning his own business Bryan decided to give it all up and put his criminal justice degree to use.
After a few years of feeling familial pressures as well as feeling his own self-doubts about his future as a personal trainer despite his successes, Bryan decided to start the journey of becoming a police officer. He felt that he needed a “real” job with benefits, a retirement plan, etc. I too was feeling those pressures and went back to school for nursing and got a job as an assistant for a plastic surgeon, but continued working in the restaurant industry in more of a management role.
I was working an average of about 60-70 hours per week in both the restaurant and medical industries, saving to purchase our first home together while Bryan was in the police academy. In December of 2016, we purchased our first home in Prince George’s County in Laurel, MD! We were looking for two main things- a big kitchen and a basement that could be converted into a workout space. Bryan still of course had a passion for fitness and still took a few clients on the side. We were lucky and found both a great kitchen and a basement worthy to be home gym number three.
In the spring of 2017, I left both the medical and restaurant industries for a more contestant 9-5 schedule in the real estate world with a new construction home builder. As I was still navigating my way through anxiety and depression, a more regular work schedule was just what the doctor ordered. I still work for them today in a work-from-home online sales and marketing role.
Also in the spring of 2017, Bryan graduated as the president of his police academy class. He received three out of the five awards given out on graduation day and gave a speech at graduation where Governor Hogan was present.
Things were going well for us as we settled into our new careers. Bryan proposed at our home surrounded by friends and family in September 2018. I ugly cried. On July 27th, 2019 we were married at beautiful Circle D Farm in Woodbine, MD.
Bryan spent four years as a police officer for the City of Greenbelt Police Department and made quite a name for himself by taking on extra responsibilities including becoming a fitness coordinator for other officers. Bryan continued to still train a few clients in his spare time as he held strong to his love of personal training and teaching others. In the fall of 2019, we began to spend more time with a couple who had recently both become enraptured.
They were so excited about their newfound freedoms and future. The excitement definitely rubbed off on both Bryan and me. On a chilly evening walk in February of 2020, Bryan told me that he didn’t want to be a police officer anymore and that he wanted to put his heart and soul into building a health and fitness business. He explained that he wanted to help as many people as he could. He felt confident that he could help more people in the health and fitness industry than he could as a police officer. I didn’t have to give it a second thought, I was all in.
I knew how amazing he was at teaching people how to live better, feel better and move better. We were going to do it bigger and greater than before. Our basement was already set up for Bryan to be able to take clients. We planned for couples and doubles workouts as well as small group classes in our home gym. We lived near a huge field and planned to do group outdoor classes. We had a large kitchen so we could maybe do some cooking classes. The creative juices were flowing.
By the end of February 2020, Bryan had put in his two weeks at the police department, and Fit Fink Fam was born. And then BAM! Pandemic. Lockdown. Oh sh*t what do we do?? Overnight we went from a two-income household to one with no in-person activity in sight. We needed to pivot and quickly. Things had already started to go virtual at my job and I was getting used to everything being online. We thought why not offer some virtual group workout classes? Zoom became our very best friend. I made virtual flyers and posted them on social media. We didn’t charge much, but we were making a bit of money from the classes and it was better than nothing! Everyone paid via a virtual platform.
We hooked a TV up to our laptop so that we could see everyone working out on a bigger screen, and give pointers as we went through the classes. I was working from home, so I was able to be a part of many of the classes. Bryan led the classes and I demonstrated easier movements so that people from a wide range of fitness levels felt comfortable participating. We had participants of all ages and fitness abilities. Sometimes we would have upwards of 40 people on a zoom! Whole families would log on and work out with us. Like before, I did all of the social media, advertising, marketing, financial books, etc.
Before we knew it we had a great system going and regularly scheduled virtual classes for quite a few months. Many thanked us for helping to get them through the lockdown. The whole experience definitely helped to keep us both sane and it felt so good having a way to help and connect with others by doing something we both loved. It also helped me cope with my anxiety and hopefully helped others in that regard as many dealt with anxiety and depression during a lockdown.
As the world finally began to reopen, Bryan was able to take some clients in person again. What started out as seemly a curse for our business turned out to be a huge blessing. By the time things were really starting to reopen we had left our mark virtually, and people were ready to come to see us in person (or our sweet corgi Rosie) Either way, many of those clients came as a direct result of our virtual classes, and they are still working with us today! We were really starting to hit our stride and Bryan’s training schedule was filling up.
Then the housing market went bananas! Even though we had become very comfortable in our current home and had a training space that worked for us much better than the previous two, we knew it would be a good idea to sell during a strong seller’s market. This way we would have extra money to grow our business and expand in the future. On to training space number four! We sold out a home in Laurel and rented another single-family home from a friend in Howard County. We put together yet another gym space in yet another basement. It turned out to be a great decision to move! The area that we moved to brought more clients to the point where we had to start turning people away. Bryan was taking anywhere from 8-11 training sessions a day starting at 5 AM and ending some nights after 8 PM.
After about a year of continuous business growth in our new home gym, it was time to start thinking about expanding. We decided to begin looking for a commercial space that checked some important boxes. Easily accessible location, a reasonable monthly rent, about 1,000 sq. ft. of space, a good parking situation, and bathrooms and showers for clients. We started working with a realtor and soon learned that it may be easier said than done to find what we were looking for. Parking was a major concern as well as finding the right size space for a price that would not completely break the bank.
One of our great strengths as individuals and as business partners has been being open to asking questions, asking for help, and putting our hopes and dreams out into the world. Shortly after our commercial training space search began, Bryan started to share the details of our search with his clients and asked if anyone had any ideas or knew of any spaces that may be available in the area. After a few shares of our story, one of Bryan’s clients told him that he owned an office building in Howard County and was looking to rent a portion of the lower level to someone in the fitness industry. The person he originally thought was going to rent the space decided not to. It ended up being a perfect fit for us and exactly what we were looking for!
On to training space number five! This brings us up to the present day. We are just a couple of weeks away from the grand opening of our beautiful new training facility in Savage, MD located conveniently off of route 1 and route 32. The owner of the building has given us lots of freedom in the space. We were able to take down a wall, choose a beautiful new paint color, and put in gym flooring and big gym mirrors. We should be rockin’ and rollin’ by the time this article is published. Goodbye basement gyms, hello world!
With more space, we hope to do a lot more group training, team and athlete training, health and fitness seminars, and even cooking classes! We look forward to hiring other trainers and expanding even more! We have decided to part ways with the name Fit Fink Fam and go back to our roots- Fink Fitness. Since our business will now be more in the public eye we feel that Fink Fitness is easier to say and remember.
Over the past decade, Bryan and I have built an unbreakable bond, partnership, and business relationship. My love of fitness and working out has grown exponentially. As someone who has dealt with depression and anxiety for over a decade now, health and fitness have become my way of coping and healing. The world of health and fitness is so much more to both of us than just the physical aspects. Bryan has watched it bring me back to life during dark and difficult times. We have used our platform to bring awareness to mental health, the importance of sleep, stress management, and nutrition. We believe that in order to optimize your health, a multifaceted approach is necessary when lifelong health and happiness is the ultimate goal. It is what we live by and what keeps us feeling our best. It is not one size fits all or a magic pill or program at Fink Fitness. It is a slow and steady consistency in many facets of life.
Our mission is simple. Bring health and happiness into the lives of many by sharing our experiences in fitness, nutrition, and overall wellness. But we have taken that a step further by sharing my struggles with mental health as well as our infertility journey. We made the decision to share our IVF journey step by step on our Instagram page. We want to be real with our tribe. We also want to bring awareness to matters that are not as openly discussed. If we can help even one person by sharing things that are hard and personal for us then it was all worth it. We are in the business of longevity, helping and healing and we could not be happier here!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
We both agree that one of our biggest challenges to overcome was the pressure from friends and family for Bryan to have a “real” job. Many doubted us and questioned our decision to start a business, especially the second time around and especially at the beginning of COVID. There was also a lot of self doubt as well. Is this a good decision? Will we be able to support our future family with one of us being an entrepreneur? Will we be successful?
Some were worried about Bryan leaving the police department and not having the benefits and retirement plan that come with being a police officer. We worried about this as well. At times the doubt felt very overwhelming, but we felt so strongly that we had something special and knew we had to just go for it.
Another challenge was all of the different spaces Bryan worked out of. Some small, some unheated, no AC, as well as the challenges and stresses that come with running a business out of your own home, let alone someone else’s. A commercial studio space seemed so far away during March of 2020.
It was also a big test to our relationship. Starting a business with someone is hard, especially your significant other. It took us a good solid couple of years to get in a groove and figure out each other’s strengths and weaknesses when it came to running a business.We also had to navigate my issues with anxiety. We have overcome and learned so much and continue to learn and grow everyday!
We’ve been impressed with Fink Fitness, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
We currently specialize in one on one personal training, doubles and group training, athlete training, nutritional coaching, and custom workout plans. In our new space, we hope to do a lot more group training, TRX classes, team and athlete training, health and fitness seminars, and even cooking classes!
What sets up apart: Bryan is a movement specialist. He prioritizes movements that he believes bring optimal health and longevity to the body. Bryan places a strong emphasis on posture and body positioning during all movements. He believes that our daily movements are either serving us or hindering us. Bryan’s favorite fitness modality is the TRX. In his opinion, it’s the most versatile piece of equipment ever created, and full-body workouts can be taken to an entirely new level.
Although, he still loves a heavy lifting session with his more advanced clients! Bryan believes in keeping things fresh, fun, and challenging. He prides himself on the fact that no client will ever do the exact same workout twice. Regardless of your fitness level, future goals, or limitations, Bryan will challenge you and help you become a better mover while bulletproofing your body.
We pride ourselves in our diverse clientele of all ages, ethnicities, and fitness levels, as well as our knowledge of the body and mind as a whole. Combine that with knowledge of sleep, nutrition, and stress management and his expertise is unmatched!
If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
Bryan and I both grew up in Maryland. Bryan was raised in Laurel Maryland and I was raised in Columbia Maryland. We both found our passions at a young age. His for fitness and mine for cooking.
Bryan played every sport under the sun. Soccer, football, baseball, lacrosse, basketball- you name it. He played it. Starting at about 11 years old, Bryan and his dad would go down into the basement every night after dinner and work out together. Nothing crazy, just the basics. Pushups, pull-ups, squats, lunges, step-ups, and several other basic upper body movements on their self-made pulley system. The foundation of his love for movement and fitness was born.
I started helping my dad in the kitchen as early as I can remember. My first ever task in the kitchen was to stand on a stool and stir big pots of soup that my dad would make regularly. That was my job and I absolutely loved it. He taught me all the basics and his teaching is at the heart of everything I cook and bake today. My parents divorced when I was 7 and my younger sister was 5. Both my parents worked full time and money was tight on both ends. By the time I was about 12 my sister and I was “latch key kids” because babysitters were such a big added expense. By that age, I was cooking full meals for my sister and myself. That is definitely where I developed my knack for experimenting in the kitchen and my love for cooking for others.
Bryan went on to become the captain of his high school lacrosse team and also played club lacrosse at the University of Maryland. While Bryan was taking classes at UMD, and playing lacrosse, he was also working as a personal trainer at Wellness for Life Fitness Center in Laurel, MD. In December of 2010, Bryan graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice.
I, on the other hand, was by no means an athlete when I was younger, and was much more interested in cooking. I did, however, decide to join the cross country/track team with my best friend freshman year of high school. I ended up being a pretty good runner and made the varsity team. I even medaled in states my sophomore year- bronze, but hey better than nothing coming from a self-proclaimed nonathlete at the time.
I also started to develop an appreciation for overall health and fitness. I began to have bouts of depression and anxiety through my late teens into my 20s. Fitness would later take on a whole new meaning for me as a coping mechanism. It would bond Bryan and me as we navigated my depression and anxiety together through, fitness, nutrition, stress management, and overall wellness.
We have both learned so much about health and wellness over the years and are so excited to continue to learn and grow together. We are even more excited to share our knowledge with others who hope to better their lives in a multitude of ways. We have worked tirelessly to get to where we are and with that comes struggles and bad days, but when the good days come they are so FINKING worth it.
Like I said at the end of my wedding vows- in the words of the great Starship “We are heart to heart and nothing’s gonna stop us now.”
We can’t wait for you to come see us in Savage Maryland!
Think Fit. Think Fink!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.fink-fitness.com
- Instagram: @finkfitnessllc
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/fitfinkfam
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC2MI5sjmo3lmValuMHZhs4w
Image Credits
Rachael Tanner Photography
