top of page
Business: Athletic Dreams
Location: Watts, California
Description: Fitness training and nutritional services to help people achieve their mental and physical goals
Rigo Ruiz
Personal Trainer
Rigo Ruiz is a driven entrepreneur and founder of Athletic Dreams, a fitness company offering personal training and nutritional services.
The Challenge
With operations in Watts, California, Rigo faces a unique set of challenges. Watts is a neighborhood in south Los Angeles that has historically faced racial injustice, civil unrest, poverty, unemployment, gang violence and disproportionately high crime rates. Despite facing adversity, Rigo has dedicated his time and energy to improving the lives of people in his community.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March 2020, Rigo’s job as a night-shift security worker was eliminated. He used this small setback as a springboard to hone in on his small business endeavors and work to grow his clientele. Rigo’s determination to grow as an entrepreneur amidst the challenges he has faced in a low-income area as well as during a pandemic made him a prime candidate for IMPACT's program.
The IMPACT
With IMPACT’s help, Rigo was able to bounce back and offer more services than he did before the pandemic.
Members of IMPACT’s team were able to:
-
Raise $1,500 of funds to help him cover the many expenses to launch his business.
-
Helped cover the fee for Rigo to acquire his ACE Certification to increase the credibility and profit potential of Athletic Dreams
-
Provide him the funds for liability insurance, and for the first year of California business taxes
-
Assist him in filing for an LLC designation
-
Assisted him to direct Shawn Patterson Memorial Basketball Camp, a remote online basketball camp for grade-school students-- his company’s first profit!
-
Provide a $100 startup investment through Charles Schwab
-
Develop a client liability waiver
-
Create promotional materials such as fliers
-
Research potential partnership opportunities
Today
Today, Rigo offers remote personal training and nutritional services through Athletic Dreams. He has uploaded over fifty training videos through his Youtube channel. IMPACT continues to work with him to develop a paid video subscription series and personalized fitness services to offer his clients, which now extend beyond the Watts area.
2
Industry Mentors
Rick McGregor
Founder, iMentorGlobal
Dujon Smith
Principal, Accenture
1
Project Director
Scott Miller
IMPACT Board Member
3
Project Managers
Brooks Glovins
University of Tampa
Ekaterina Grib
University of Tampa
Cecelia DiNicola
University of Tampa
12
Research Analysts
Andrea Guerra
Joanne Ngotho
University of Tampa
Pepperdine University
Wayne Denswil
University of Tampa
Samir Achkar
University of Tampa
Matthew Bencosme
University of Tampa
George Jabbour
University of Tampa
Alex Harrell
Wake Forest University
Andrey Markov
University of Tampa
Rachel Strayer
University of Tampa
Steven Castellano
University of Tampa
Mariana Bernal
University of Tampa
Nathan Ellinwood
University of Tampa
bottom of page