Meet Francisco Poloni | Special Strong Franchisee/Trainer

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

Hi Francisco, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
Outsiders are likely unaware of the wide spectrum of athletes we are trained to work with. We undergo training via Strong Education, as well as, our CPT and continued education credits. Many of our trainers have also worked with people with a large variety of needs in their own time. One of our trainers volunteers with the Special Olympics, another was working as an occupational therapy assistant in the classroom with children with special needs, and I volunteered for several years with Younglife Capernaum. So while the fitness industry is filled with CPTs, there is special experience that we integrate into our programming and bring into the gym environment.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am most proud of how much I have invested into learning a new skill since the beginning. Becoming a personal trainer was never something on my radar. Once the opportunity presented itself I have truly dedicated myself to learning the ins and outs of the human body. It has been so eye-opening, I’m grateful to be pushed to learn. When I first started I wasn’t even sure how to properly squat! Now I can easily explain form, muscle groups, recently took a nutrition CEU, etc. The difficulty has been balancing the time to make my job a true hobby. As the community continues to grow, diving deeper into learning, and being motivated to find information on varying difficulties my athletes may face and how to set them up for success, makes it easier and easier. I want the world to know that you don’t need to be intimidated by what you don’t know. If you see a need for something – learn how to do your best to sit in the void and advocate for people who may be there too.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If a friend was visiting our area.. I would advise, do NOT come in the summer! If you’re going to visit Phoenix, Arizona you need to come sometime between October-May. Then it will be perfect outside, we can eat at Nick’s Diner, then enjoy one of my favorite hikes at the White Tank Mountains… enjoy a coffee at Spencer’s Place (a place with a purpose), and maybe even take an MMA course at Baker’s MMA. I’d love to introduce you to my family and we could check out the peacocks at my favorite park, Saguaro Ranch. We love to be outside as much as we can be in the cooler months! In the summer it’s all about survival here in the summer! So we could opt for an indoor day at Uptown Alley – with bowling, lazer tag, etc!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I would like to say thank you to MANY people…too many to summarize into a small paragraph. Instead, I will focus on my friend Jamie Meyers. She was someone who mentored me in my youth/volunteering with Young Life Capernaum. She is someone who taught me to see the heart of someone, to look deeper than what someone seemed capable of doing. Through her I had so many great opportunities to meet wonderful people and also make really impactful memories. I also was hired by her, later in life, to work at a Day Program for adults with special needs. There I spent 10 years continuing to learn under her mentorship. Not only in the niche area of how to emotionally, physically, spiritually, etc. care for our friends with varying abilities but also many life skills in my own family and personal friend group. She has, and continues to, walk with me through some of the most difficult and most wonderful years of my life. I can truly say my perspective on life and the world around me would be different without her influence. She has taught me so much about grace and care for others, as well as to see value in myself.

Website: https://www.specialstrong.com/west-valley-az/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/specialstrongwestvalleyaz/

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Image Credits
Under the Moon Photography