Today we’d like to introduce you to Shea Menchaca.
Hi Shea, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
In 2013, my husband and I purchased a dying on the vine- bodybuilding gym, Metroflex Austin. With a little TLC, we were able to revive the business. Our goal was to make our gym a gym that not only helped people achieve their dream bodies but also to help others suffering from unhealthy dependencies, such as drugs, alcohol, food abuse and help them trade those unhealthy dependent behaviors for healthy ones such as bodybuilding, powerlifting all through daily fitnesses/nutrtion. We also turned our attention to help those suffering from PTSD. We, at Metroflex Austin, have help numerous veterans organizations with our member’s donations and helped our very own veteran members by giving them a safe outlet and community that understand their struggle and supports them our fitness family. At Metroflex Austin, mental and physical health is goal one. In our years growing the gym, we found that many of the members could follow through with their workouts, but following through with the nutrition plan was much harder. Members would fall off progress because they were not able to prep their meals nor understood what proper nutrition meant for them. It is no secret that proper nutrition is the key to achieving fit and mental goals but unfortunately it easier said than done for most.
Discovering this, we began to help our clients with their nutrition through assisting them in prepping their meals. With proper nutrition, we have helped clients with diabetes to stop taking insulin, members from taking anxiety meds and high blood pressure meds, we have prepped and helped obese members find their best fit self and now are bodybuilding competitors. This meal prep company, which is now called SHEAS HOT KITCHEN has grown to be so successful in helping others we are opening a brand new meal prep food trailer that will be located outside the gym so that local clients, local neighbors and those eventually we can ship to others so to have even more convenient ways for them to stay on nutrition track. Seven years ago, we started a gym to help people find their best healthy selves and today we continue to grow in ways to keep them that way.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Reviving this gym has not at all been smooth. We are a bodybuilding gym by brand, so we do not appeal to the masses. People are intimidated by our brand and the level of fitness of our staff and many of our members. For the record, we all didn’t start out that way. Like everyone else we have transformations of our own. What others do find out about us is that Metroflex Austin gym is a gym where we, the staff, and all are here to help our members succeed. There is no ego. We are professional at what we do, and our client’s goals become our goals. In growing Sheas Hot Kitchen, the struggle was to create healthy meals lean enough for bodybuilders but taste good enough for all. We feel we have achieved that. The proof is in the growth!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
In addition to owning METROFLEX Austin and SHEAS HOT KITCHEN, I am also a personal trainer and the head chef of my meal prep company. Monday through Thurs, I train a full day of clients. On weekends I prep meals for my clients. With the growth of the businesses, I have hired and trained an amazing team to help me with both companies. In addition to my work, I am also an IFBB PRO BODYBUILDER and currently compete several times a year. After 20 years since my very first competition, in 2019 I received my professional status with the IFBB three times over as I won three classes at the National level. This year 2020, I won my first woman bodybuilding master’s pro competition in Pittsburgh, PA. At 50 years old, I’m very proud of that personal achievement. Bodybuilding alone take hours of commitment a day and doing it alongside running two business hands-on can be very difficult. But I love the sport and I love learning about it and taking my lessons learned and sharing them with my clients and members!!
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
I see the health industry continuing to grow even with the 2020 pandemic concerns. Many have realized the importance of good health and taking care of ourselves. If this year has not proven that our health should be a top priority then I’m not sure what it would take for others to see how important exercise and nutrition is for ones physical and mental self. Health truly is wealth.
Contact Info:
- Email: Info@metroflexaustin.club, sheashotkitchen@gmail.com
- Website: www.metroflexaustin.club
- Instagram: Shea_of_metroflexatx_ifbbpro
- Facebook: Shea Menchaca
Image Credits
Sean Nelson Npc / IFBB Pro Wings of Strength-Ken
