Hi Everyone!  This is Helena, the owner of Get Fit by Many Roads.

Here is the story of why I opened a fitness and wellness community studio that welcomes everyone.

When I was 12 years old, I came to the U.S. from Formosa (a beautiful tropical island now called Taiwan), not even knowing the alphabet.  My father was a minister of a church, so I grew up watching my parents help the poor and feed the hungry.  Coming to the US was a huge sacrifice for them, since they barely knew any English. My dad had to give up preaching and he and my mom had to take low-wage jobs. I remember counting the burn marks on his arms, while he worked as a baker in a hotel that served thousands of rich guests.  

Learning a new language and a new culture was not easy, but I had many teachers who took me under their wings. And, with my parents' support, I finished college and graduate school.  Now. after working in research labs for 30 years, I wanted to do something more meaningful. (But still keep my job :-)

I've raised two teenagers and seen too many of their friends struggle with their mental health and think the solution is vaping, drugs and video games. I wanted to offer an alternative.

Over the past 18 years, I've worked out in just about every gym in the Rockville area. And although I have never opened a business before, I took the leap to open this space with the hope of helping teens and kids find a way out of self-destructive behaviors. 

Before I was five, and still living in Taiwan, multiple cysts began to grow on my neck, but the doctors did not know why. All they could give me were multiple surgeries and bitter tasting Chinese herbal medicine. This went on for more than two years. I spent much of that time lying on a lawn chair waiting for the surgical wounds to heal. In addition, I was given Western pills and painful injections in the hind area. (I'm only glad they didn't put the shots in my neck). What finally cured me? A teacher put me on the local swim team where I had daily calisthenics and swimming practice.  So I saw first hand how physical exercise and having a community of like-minded peers, could promote health.

Our fitness classes are for adults and teens. We also plan to host community events such as outdoor walk/bike/hikes, swimming, lunch get-togethers and dancing at different venues. By building a community of compassionate, active and fitness-minded adults, we can give teens and kids a safe place to stay physically active, form a network with like-minded peers, and stay on a path of healthy and helpful activities to improve their physical, mental and spiritual well-being.

My hope is that in the near-future, we will offer homework help, after-school snacks and support for troubled teens so they can become certified coaches and trainers who will go out into the world to help other kids and teens. 

The path to fitness and wellness takes more than physical exercise. Our path to good physical and mental health has many roads.  Along those roads, the journey is well worth taken if we have good friends to share a laugh, and kind souls who help us transform yesterday's tears into tomorrow's rainbows.

May you find many roads to happiness and wellness.

Sincerely,

Helena Chang
Many Roads Community, LLC.

P.S. This space is dedicated to all the teachers who inspired me to fly high and reach for dreams that seemed impossible.  I owe everything to your kindness and generosity. You are with me, always.