This story is part of “Latinx in Fitness,” a series of articles showcasing the unique experiences of Latinx trainers, athletes, and gym owners within the fitness community. Read the rest of the stories here.
Renato Crispino has worked with personal training clients in three languages. Sometimes he speaks English, as he often does on the floor of his luxury gym in Miami. He also gets to work with Spanish speakers, as there are plenty in the city. Sometimes he even gets to use his native Portuguese.
The ability to speak three languages is an underrated toolkit for any fitness professional, said Crispino, a 48-year-old trainer living in Miami who was born and raised in São Paulo, Brazil, and identifies as Latino. (Editor’s note: In recent years, the Human Rights Commission (and other organizations) have adopted the term “Latinx” to refer to these communities, to include more groups from Latin America, including those of Brazilian descent.)
Since moving to the US 12 years ago, Crispino has built a successful career in the fitness industry, first as a personal trainer at a high-end gym in Miami and now virtually, serving clients all over the world. Crispino attributes much of this success to his drive to succeed despite the circumstances as an immigrant. He was also a member of Men’s Health’s inaugural cohort of their Strength in Diversity initiative, and he uses another aspect of his identity as an openly gay man to connect with clients on another level.
We spoke with him to find out a little more about how being an immigrant has contributed to his career in the fitness industry, how being an openly gay trainer has helped him connect with clients, and what he hopes for Latino fitness professionals in the future.
Men’s Health: What inspired you to pursue a career in the fitness industry?
Renato Crispino: I started working out when I was 19. When I moved to the US for college (1995), all my roommates went to the gym and played sports, but I was not very athletic (I was very skinny and couldn’t run a mile). I just wanted to party. They were going, so I went too. And I started working out out of curiosity. I wanted to build more muscle mass and look healthier.
Eventually, I fell in love with English (so much so that it became my job). I taught English as a foreign language (in Brazil), so I didn’t work as a trainer until I was almost 40 and came to the US (back). I had to switch to English teaching. I couldn’t find work here because I’m a non-native speaker and an immigrant. There weren’t many options to apply for if you’re not a US citizen. So, quite by chance, I started training other people. At the gym I went to, people started asking me for advice and asking if I was a trainer. So I decided to spend a year as a trainer while I was waiting for my work permit to be sent and approved by immigration. It occurred to me that it would be a good idea to study my biggest hobby, which I’ve been passionate about for 20 years.
I got my National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) trainer certification. I started informally training people in my Miami neighborhood. I would go to their houses and train them with what they had. Then I started training people outside of my neighborhood online. Then I got my Nutrition Coach certification with Precision Nutrition and started learning more about different modalities. I worked as a personal trainer at Equinox for 3 years, where I also got a lot of education and saw more types of clients. Then I decided to go my own way.
MH: When you’re out training clients on the gym floor, do you ever feel like you’re the only person who looks like you? How do you move in that space?
RC: Definitely if you’re in a gym with other trainers. I was the oldest trainer working there. I worked there from 42 to 45, so age is another thing. Most of the people were in their 20s. Culturally, I don’t know any other Brazilian trainers. Most of the people seem to be from Spanish-speaking countries, from Spanish-speaking countries. If there was a Brazilian trainer in the gym, they would put me in charge because I was the only one who spoke Portuguese. A lot of times they would put me in charge because they spoke Spanish and I spoke Spanish.
I’m gay too. Most of my online clients are gay men. I don’t coach only gay men, or only men, it just happened that way. I’ve never wanted to specialize or cater to a specific group. I never wanted to limit myself, and I feel I can help people of any gender or sexual orientation. But when I talk to those (gay) clients, I hear a lot of them don’t feel comfortable training with a straight coach because of homophobic jokes or comments, or unintentional things that happened in their professional relationships with their trainers. They may not feel trusted, or they may just be embarrassed or ashamed. In that sense, I think (sexual orientation) plays a bigger role for other people than I thought it would.
“Immigrants in general Idea, yeah That won’t happen. It’s simple. Don’t just sit back and wait for things to happen. keep it up.”
MH: Do you think your immigrant background has helped motivate you to continue to gain other qualifications and broaden your expertise?
RC: I think so. For me, coming from Brazil, it was hard at first. Fitness was not my first choice. There are a lot of trainers here, especially in Miami. So how do you set yourself apart in the midst of all the difficulties? I think immigrants generally have this idea that, yes, it’s not easy. You have to challenge yourself, not just sit back and wait for things to happen. For me, the challenge meant that I had to get an education, learn how to deal with people, learn sales, learn everything I could learn. Being an immigrant helped me to move forward, learn more, and look for other opportunities to be better at what I do than I was yesterday.
MH: What do you think is the biggest challenge for Latinos in the fitness industry?
RC: Language is the biggest problem. Most of the immigrants I met in Miami don’t speak very good English. It’s like you don’t have to speak the language because everything is in Spanish here. The downside to that is that when better opportunities come along you don’t get them because you don’t speak the language or you don’t have papers. I was lucky because I was able to get citizenship and get a work permit, so I know a lot of people who have those two big challenges.
And there are a lot of people who come with their families or who need to support their families. And fitness is probably not the highest paying option compared to other jobs that they can do. So I know a lot of people who love fitness and maybe they have a lot of knowledge, but they can’t make a living from fitness. It could be because of the language barrier or immigration issues or maybe it’s just word of mouth a lot of the time. And if you’re new to this country, you don’t have a network of people who know you and can vouch for you and introduce you. They work so hard at their jobs. Sometimes they’re working two, three, four jobs to make a living. At the end of the day, they’re exhausted. A lot of these jobs are physical and they use all their energy, so not a lot of people are into fitness when they first immigrate. It’s just not a priority for them.
MH: What do you think can be done to make the fitness industry more equitable for immigrants and Latinos?
RC: Create more incentives for mentorships and apprenticeship positions to expose people to future career possibilities. I don’t think there are many opportunities for entry at the moment. Maybe a good place to start would be to have people coming to the country have their education and work experience assessed.
For example, some of my acquaintances trained for the Cuban Olympic boxing team. But when you get to this country, you get nothing. It’s like you start from scratch and everything you’ve ever done goes to waste. So we need to recognize that many immigrants already come with a skill set, knowledge and experience that can’t be erased. This may be a national or state thing, but you can also start in the gym. Gyms are also open to being mentored. If there was a program where you could actually learn how to mentor people, I would have done that. All you have is a test. But most people don’t even know English. So, for example, a Spanish qualification or Spanish preparation for that qualification, or a whole Spanish qualification (would be key).
And finally, visibility. We don’t see many Hispanic or Latino or different nationality trainers in the media or online.
Want to read more first-person perspectives from Latinx fitness pros about overcoming obstacles, breaking barriers, and achieving success? Click the links below to read all the stories:
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