Meet AJ : Fitness trainer building a legacy with his brand ‘We Stay Working’

Jorge Diaz formally known as AJ, is the founder of ‘We Stay Working‘, a growing brand, business and way of life. The 21 year-old fitness trainer is all about bringing smiles to faces when providing something tangible to their lives, whether it’s his product or service. Whilst recently opening up his own gym in Brixton, AJ continues to strive for greatness.

Starting up:

‘We Stay Working’ was born a year ago – during a difficult time for AJ. After failing his second year of university, everything changed for him. It affected his relationship with his mother and how things were run at home. From failure and frustration, this is where the idea of ‘We Stay Working’ began.

Coming from a lineage of famers in a rural area of Colombia; AJ is part of a line of people who continuously worked and elevated for better conditions in their lives. like his mother, who moved to London by working on her aspirations. 

Now, AJ is determined to do the same as his mother by adopting a goal-oriented mindset and honouring his family with the name ‘We Stay Working’ – representing the importance of what perseverance means, as well as defining the bridge between ambition and success: work.

The industry:

Fitness has always been part of AJ’s life; so teaching others is a bonus. It’s not an industry he’s pursuing, it’s his passion. Over the years, he’s practiced various training methods in different settings including:  junkyard gyms, CrossFit gyms, boxing gyms, football grounds and athletic tracks. 

Once ‘We Stay Working’ was created, AJ’s main focus was staying disciplined to his training and continues to push harder everyday. So far, he’s been learning as much as he can about the industry and implementing various values into his gym.

AJ’s current aim is to tailor a unique method of training, whilst also starting a ‘We Stay Working’ clothing line.

Challenges and obstacles:

AJ primarily faced challenges when testing his service on people while he was getting started. On the opening day of his gym, he had put out a membership pricing form with a signup list for people to fill out. However, by the end of the day he had acquired zero signatures. It took him a couple of days to realise what had gone wrong.

” What I learnt was, no one is going to eat at your table if they don’t know how you cook, especially when you’re just starting out …. you have to give people a taste first to entice them, keep giving giving giving and when you ask, then you’ll receive.”

Through trial and error, he overcame the obstacles that came his way. He decided to keep his training for free until he’s tested his service all the way through, and then thought about pricing.

Despite everyday struggles, AJ’s never felt the urge to quit. He says there’s always low moments but it’s the pressure that keeps him going.

Achievements and future prospects:

The end goal for AJ is for ‘We Stay Working’ to be recognised worldwide, with several gyms throughout. As well as being recognised for their unique and quality service as well as their clothing line.

Right now, AJ has been working alongside Fitness First running classes at their gym in Brixton for a month every Saturday.

Being gifted with the gym has been one of his biggest accomplishments yet. From speaking it into existence for many years to it finally being manifested in June 2019 has been a huge blessing for him too.

Additionally, his May bootcamp was a success, gaining traction and valuable experience.

Advice:

” Find your passion and work at it. There are some things that are going to take time and struggle to understand how they work but start and apply yourself. I used to be told ‘the most important thing to do is to start’. I believe for me the most important thing is to keep going.”