Juan Zaragoza, owner of Juan’s Fitness, found body building as a way out of gangs.
Ryan lely/Sonoma Valley Sun
Juan Manuel Zaragoza looks like any other guy dressed in jeans and a t-shirt. However, a look at his press releases (in English and Spanish), the pictures and the magazines he has appeared in, such as “Low Rider,'” shows why he has won first place, on three occasions, in body building contests.
Zaragoza was born in Ciudad Guzmán, in the outskirts of the state of Jalisco, Mexico. He has lived in Sonoma since 1988, and this is where he met his wife and raised his family.
“I started exercising in 1994; I needed more than five and a half years to feel ready to compete. I have competed in Santa Monica, Oakland, San Francisco, Santa Rosa, Windsor, Sacramento and Fairfield.” Zaragoza says.
But not everything has been success in Zaragoza’s life; he still remembers his life before sports.
“I was in 10th grade when I dropped out of school. , I was 18 and I was dressing like a ganger, with baggy pants and extra-large shirts. Fortunately, I never belonged to any gang, but I hang out with crews that dressed like gangers, and some of them, added themselves to a ‘gang.’ I would always fight, arguing about blue and red. Always bordering those gangs from Napa and Sonoma.”
Zaragoza found in body building a way out the world of gangs.
“When I took to body building in a professional way, my mentality changed, and my lifestyle changed, as well. This is how I moved away from gangs and from everything that was in my way to achieve my goals.”
While he worked full time in a construction company, Zaragoza entered college and took several nutrition courses. For a time, he worked as a personal trainer, an experience that made him curious about the business world.
“In my years working as a personal trainer, I noticed the absurd prices that personal trainers charge in some gyms, and even more the prices that people pay to attend a gym, and the monthly payments,” said Zaragoza.
Juan’s Fitness is located at 989 West Spain Street in Sonoma and can be reached at 707-933-8369. Hours: Mon. – Fri. 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sat and Sun. 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
