! VICKI MITCHELL
F
rom growing up in a refugee camp in Thailand to owning a fitness center in West Springfield, Massachusetts, Shan Maung’s story is one of hard work, perseverance, a desire to help people, and a love of Zumba. Here, he tells his (edited) story. “I was born in Myanmar. When I was two years old, my dad risked his life and made a decision to leave the unsafe conditions there, and we fled to a refugee camp in Thailand. I spent roughly 14 years there, where my sisters and I went to school, created a new lifestyle, and met people from different ethnicities. That was where I basically grew up for half of my life. We had a very basic lifestyle. Food was supplied to us monthly by The Border Consortium. We would receive food based on the number
of people in the household. We would normally get rice, beans, tuna, flour, dried chili, and fish paste, and yearly we would get clothing. We eventually came to America in 2009 with a bag of clothes and not knowing anything about the country. It was the biggest turning point of my life. I was shy, didn’t know any English, and everything was different, from the clothes to the food to the way school was taught. I started in middle school, and although the education system was very different, the teachers were extremely helpful and nice. “I discovered Zumba two years ago and fell in love with the concept of how Zumba brings people together and allows them to share the same passion…it can create a very welcoming environment. It became a hobby for me and I would take
4 to 5 classes a week before I became an instructor, encouraged by the many friends I made in class. I reached out to local gyms and asked if they needed a fitness instructor. Many of them didn’t want to hire me since I was new and had no experience. I didn’t give up... I kept emailing different gyms and had them put me on a substitute list so I could teach if anyone called out. The first class I ever taught was at the Club Fitness in West Springfield. I always bring the best energy to my classes and give 100%. That’s how people keep coming back for more and more. They love it when I challenge them with different high intensity songs. I also connected with my students personally and became friends with them through social media. A few months after getting my license, I GOLOCALMAGAZINES.COM 29
