Meet Danny Sawaya | Owner Tucson Strength

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

Hi Danny, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I know deep down inside I always wanted to work for myself. Every time I would find a job I would go in and put my entire heart into it, make an impact and then I had to wait for ownership or management to approve the next phase of what I wanted to accomplish. I found it frustrating to not be the decision maker. When I finally pulled the trigger on it, it was a scenario that I didn’t think was optimal My wife and I had a 4 month old baby at home and my employer had cut my bonus in half because they said the business couldn’t afford it. The next day they drove up in a brand new BMW. I didn’t have any money, but I quit my job and started my LLC the next day. I started training a few people in the park and the rest is history.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
When we opened Tucson Strength the fitness industry was in the middle of a huge shift and we were able to come in at the right time. There were Big Box Gyms like LA Fitness and Crossfit was in its early phases with tremendous growth. Crossfit was changing the industry and people were going crazy for group training and looking for a community instead of just a gym. I realized that I wasn’t going to fit into either of those models and we were able to position ourselves perfectly for those that were tired of LA Fitness but also didn’t feel like they fit in with the Crossfit culture. We created a model of training people for strength and conditioning, focusing on the fundamentals. In a short time we were getting people from Crossfit gyms because they were getting injured or the intensity was too much for them and they just wanted to get stronger and feel better without feeling like every workout was a competition.

We also realized that some of the aspects of Crossfit like the barbell lifts were attractive but they weren’t getting the instruction we needed. So we started developing programs to get people into the strength sports and have created a huge base. Our philosophy has always been based in helping people move better, mastering the fundamentals, and building programs to help people continue to develop in their fitness without injury.

I hasn’t been easy, there have been numerous times that we felt like the walls were caving in. The industry changed again in 2014 with numerous other group training models coming into the market and we felt their presence. We made some mistakes early on like trying to look like them in certain ways. In 2016 we realized that we needed to put 100% of our attention into what we do best, and that is strength training, so instead of looking like the others we separated from the industry and doubled down on our strength programs and really grew the powerlifting aspect of our gym by targeting everyday people that wanted to find strength. We changed our marketing and really dialed in on the specific people we wanted in our gym.

The other big thing that differentiates us is our staff. Many of our coaches have been with Tucson Strength for over 8 years. Our entire team shares in our values of serving our members. Each one of our staff cares tremendously for people. The culture we have created is amazing. Many of the members you see in our gym today have been with us for 10 or more years. We are more than just a gym we are a community and all of our business decisions have to be based on building community over just what will have the best ROI

I would say the hardest thing we had to get through was the COVID lockdowns. We were closed for 7 weeks, allowed to re-open for 6 weeks and then shut down again for 2 months. During the second shut down we decided to stay open and built a tent city outside to keep our gym open. During that time my entire staff stayed on board and worked in the horrible summer heat to operate a gym. Without the buy in of my team we could have never pulled it off and we all did it to serve our community. The lockdowns were the hardest time for our business but proved to show the strength of our team and our community. Most of our members continued to pay their dues during the shutdowns to support a locally owned business, and for that I will be forever grateful.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Tucson is home. First I would make sure they came in the spring, fall or winter so we could get the most out of Tucson. One of my favorite spots in Tucson is Sabino Canyon. That is one of my first go to spots when we have visitors. Especially in the spring when water is flowing. Mount Lemmon is also a gem and it always blows people away that they are sitting in the middle of a desert and less than an hour away you are deep in pine trees and cool weather. I would definitely hit the University area and either eat at Gentle Bens, Frog & Firkin, or No Anchovy Pizza. So many good restaurants to choose from here its really hard to choose. Some of my go to spots here are Sachiko Sushi, Flemings, Contigo. There are more but I just can’t think of all of them right now.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I don’t think there is enough space for me to shout out to everyone that contributed to my success. The first thing I have to say is without God in my life none of this would be possible. My faith has guided me and continues to guide me throughout this journey. As for people. My Wife has been my rock and biggest support. I was a scared to quit my job with an infant at home and my wife encouraged me to take the jump. Every time we have made the jump to grow and expand, she has been right there supporting my crazy ideas. When we took the jump to grow into our big location we spent nearly all of our savings we had made to risk it all and she supported me. Also without my parents I don’t know how I would have pulled this off in the first place. They lent me $25,000 to start the business and pulled it out of their retirement.

Website: https://www.tucsonstrength.com

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

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tucsonstrength/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCESFBEMPbpZhhtD-iXA07iw