After 16 years of helping local residents get and stay fit, Momentum Wellness owner Marie Merritt is looking to build on her business.
Toward that end, she has made a popular and successful personal trainer her business partner.
Klodi Muskaj has been with Momentum since May 2016, though he’s known Merritt for a lot longer, since both were pursuing degrees in exercise science at the University of North Florida. He is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and holds a master’s degree in exercise physiology from the University of South Alabama.
Muskaj actually started off as an intern for Merritt before going on to graduate school.
“Whenever he was finished with grad school, I basically cornered him and was like, ‘Dude, you’ve got to come back,’” she said.
Bringing him on as a business partner was, in Merritt’s words, “the right thing to do; it was the next step for the business.”
“I’ve been a sole operator for so long that choosing to give him a portion of the business was a big deal,” Merritt said. “But his service to the people that he works with is phenomenal.”
She said Muskaj makes training fun and that he gets people very good results.
Merritt launched her business in 2005 with a dream of delivering very high-quality, exceptional service as a personal trainer. It was a big step, and she took it.
“I guess I was kind of young and brave enough to believe in myself enough that I could do it all on my own,” she said.
Over the years, she’s had ups and downs. Throughout, she’s worked hard to make Momentum the success it is today. Still, she said, “I’m very thankful for the community that we’re in. The people are incredible.”
She said Momentum is about more than getting a workout. It’s also about teaching clients how they can live healthier lifestyles.
“We use exercise and fitness as our tool to help people kind of start their journey,” she said. “But we do a lot of lifestyle coaching within it.”
She differentiated Momentum from businesses that she said offer “cookie-cutter fitness.”
“No two people that I have ever worked with have ever been the same,” she said, adding that Momentum is “lifestyle-focused.” Its program is tailored specifically to the person.
“It’s literally personal training,” she said.
Her programs are all backed by science and are progressive, which means clients continue to see results rather than hit a plateau.
Momentum’s clientele range in age from eight to their 80s, and the individualized approach is what has helped make the business successful.
“I think if you meet people where they are, and you provide them with good service and you get them good results, then it supports the business,” Merritt said. “It’s the quality of it.”
Muskaj said what he likes best about what he does is educating clients.
“The more they know and understand why we’re doing a certain thing, the better off they are doing the movement, the better off they are understanding and actually doing it themselves whenever they’re not able to come in and see me,” he said.
Momentum is located at 5150 Palm Valley Road, No. 103, Ponte Vedra Beach.
For further information, go to GetMomentumFit.com or call 904-395-3266.
