Belle West gym owner talks about the benefits of being fit.
IN recent times, Guyana and the world beyond have seen a boom in the number of gyms that line the city streets. Everywhere, people seem to be taking a far greater interest in their health and well-being. Guyana now has more fitness businesses than ever, each one unique and skilled in its own right. The community of Belle West is home to one of these notable fitness outlets. Owned by Shazeela Nazir, Funfit Zone is located in Belle West and has been lauded as more than a gym. Shazeela and her team are experts in what it means to exercise the right way. On our trip to the community, we spoke to Shazeela about what it’s like to work in health and fitness, the reason behind mankind’s newfound appreciation of health, and whether it is all for the physique.
Development health and fitness
Shazeela Nazir and her family are driven by an entrepreneurial spirit. Hailing from the county of Berbice, Shazeela came from humble beginnings. Since leaving Black Bush Polder when she was young, Shazeela has made education her mission. Among her academic endeavours are biology, education, and consultancy. Today, she is an entrepreneur, consultant, educator, and writer. However, her fitness centre in Belle West is among her bigger achievements. Funfit Zone stands out for many reasons. It takes a different approach to health and wellness and aims to encapsulate what it means to be well. As Shazeela stated, “It does help people, but the facility is there to focus on people who understand certain aspects of life…it’s like a self-assessment. Because what we cover is therapeutic exercise, we cover holistic medicine. We’re not just a regular gym where you just put on machines, and you just come and work out. We go through a fitness checkup with you. We go through and see if you come in with joint problems, if you have knee problems, and we assess you and put you through that process.”
The Nazir family has called Belle West home for several years. Throughout the last couple of years, Shazeela says she has seen subtle but important improvements in the community, from infrastructure upgrades to new services. The Nazir family are also champions for their community. They have worked with the village to help the community in any way possible. Among their attempts to help the community is their newest endeavour, an online Guyanese night school. The NASA School of Academics is a recently established school by the Nazir family. It aims to educate working Guyanese. As Shazeela stated, “The school is more to help, especially people from the community. Not just this community but Guyana throughout because it’s an online school. So when people from the community come to the facility and so on, the staff will educate them and tell them about it, so that they can get another opportunity. Just as how you have these kids, you know, they come from very poor families, and they can’t really help themselves.”
Similar to the health and fitness endeavour, the establishment of the school was sparked by a need the family saw. Like in so many places in Guyana, there are persons who were unable to finish their secondary education. In the event that they seek to resume and finish their secondary education, there are very few options for working people. This is something Shazeela and her team are seeking to correct. With an able, adequately trained team, herself included, they aim to help the working class. As she shared, “They don’t have good grades to go out in the field and work, and they can’t end up with so many bad things in life, you know? They don’t have a second opportunity with education or a trade or something. So what this school caters for are students and adults. You can go to work, you can make a living, you don’t even have to be in a school, but you can also get your certificate.”
It would seem as though more people are invested in fitness today than at any other time in history. Communities are seeing an influx of new gyms while more and more people pour in. Among the questions frequently asked, are people more interested in their health or are they focused on physique? Shazeela says that in her experience as a gym owner, most people come with just the aesthetics in mind, but many people are realising the value of health. As she shared “Some people do come in wanting just the look. Some say that they just want to lose their belly and so on. But after working with us, they learn that they have to put in the work to get more out of their body.”
