FEMALE HUSTLER ARTICLE MAY 2017 OF MS. XOLANNY MAHLANGU

Ms. Xolanny Mahlangu

The

 Fitness Professional

Ms. Xolanny Mahlangu is a fun, humble, warm, spirited young woman who is absolutely passionate about her profession in the fitness industry. She is a Fitness Manager and a Group Exercise Instructor at Viva Gym SA. Her love of sports developed during her high school years when she noticed the change in her body weight. She dedicated her time to work out so that she could lose the body weight, as it was then that her love for fitness began. Xolanny has always been an active young lady during her teenage years, as she participated a lot in the extramural activities. She constantly challenged herself to see how far her abilities would take her, from trying out in the school choir, dancing, athletics, soccer and also joining community projects. She did and tried anything that would keep her off the streets. She has always been an inquisitive person. During her primary years when her educator would leave the classroom, Xolanny would stand in front of the board and pretend to be teaching her fellow classmates who would eventually play along.

Ms. Mahlangu is now a mother to a beautiful three-year-old boy named Cebolenkosi (God’s plan). With Cebolenkosi being a boy, it fits quite well with Xolanny. As she herself used to be a tomb boy in high school and now her currently being a professional fitness trainer everything fell into place. She is a 26-year-old fierce, fun, born and raised Mamelodi East woman. Her father has always identified her as a bold and humble soul. He was not surprised that she turned out to have an interest in the fitness industry. Her parents are her number one supporters as they motivated her to go out and seek opportunities to fund for her own tuition fees. Though her parents struggled to be able to put their daughter through varsity and her mother being the only bread winner. They both ensured to give both of their daughters a good life and she turn out to become the woman she is today. The things that kept Ms. Mahlangu motivated was life itself, that life brings along its hardships and triumphs. She is also a very strong believer in God and believes that God has brought her to this earth to serve a purpose.

                  

Ms. Mahlangu studied Sports Management through the Tshwane University of Technology in 2010 through till 2014, when she had then obtained her Bachelor of Technology. She continued to study business skills and entrepreneurship with National Youth Development Agency in the year 2016. She is currently studying Special Communities and Exercises through Trifocus Fitness Academy.

Ms. Mahlangu’s career experience has been an educational journey and exposed her to many opportunities. In the year 2010 through till 2012 she volunteered at the Mamelodi Rugby club to assist with coordinating rugby tournaments for both primary and high school teams. She studied coaching and refereeing course with the Blue Bulls Association and when the team needed assistance with training sessions during the week, she would be there to assist. She had another opportunity to do training sessions in her spare time for one of the best soccer teams in Mamelodi, “The Mahube Giant Killers Football Club”.

         

Ms. Mahlangu got her first paying job as a fitness instructor at Virgin Active Moreleta Park in 2013, two years later she then became a group exercise manager for the same company. During those years she learned a lot about the industry and did short courses to upskill herself. With all the knowledge and skills Ms. Mahlangu had obtained, she took a decision of registering her own fitness company and started doing a lot of community work. She is well known for her boot camps in the Mamelodi area, with having the right team to help her carry out her goals, Ms. Mahlangu is still carrying on with the boot camps in that area today still.

 One of the amazing stories Ms. Mahlangu had shared with me was about her volunteering times at the Mamelodi East Police station to be one of their fitness trainers during the year 2016. It was a great experience for Ms. Mahlangu, with her being strong at heart and passionate about what she does best. The policemen and women were impressed by her professionalism, dedication that they had only great reviews about her work as she is young and full of life.

She carried on to say that: “…do what you are good at and your work will speak for itself. People will respect you regardless. I love what I do and I always make it a point that I WOW every client that I interact with… “

           

                   

Her capabilities, passion for people, the ability to changing the lives of others, the hunger for success and her family motivated her to get this far in life throughout her challenges. The number one thing that currently keeps her motivated and empowered is her love for her son Cebolenkosi.

Dr. ERJ Pule a lecturer and HOD at the Tshwane University of Technology. He is also a Communications Director at Medunsa who is one of the people that inspire Ms. Mahlangu. He has accomplished a lot at a young age and he continues to do greater things. Dr. ERJ Pule encouraged his students to aspire to be entrepreneurs and not employees. That he instilled the thoughts of saying “that I'm the sports and fitness industry, we will work when everyone isn't”. Even at times when Ms. Mahlangu feels like giving up, she always remembers his encouraging words that there will always be challenges and they can only make you grow.

With her being a mom, she has experienced the good and hardships of pregnancy. She struggled to lose the baby fat and it was more difficult for her because she had a C-section. It was not as easy to get to be as fit as she is today. Training during her pregnancy stages was one of the hardest experience of being fit. With her being able to share her experiences, it has made it even easier for her, as women are able to relate to her challenges. It, therefore, created a positive impact towards her, as women are motivated to work even harder in training and living a healthy lifestyle.

The motto she lives by is:

Be the change you want to become. If you want to be rich, live like a rich person at heart and be a believer.

Her greatest achievements are obtaining her qualifications within record time, during a time when she was pregnant and working within her final year. It was one of the toughest and most challenging time of her life. Also being one of the youngest managers in both companies that she has worked for. She has always been an active person, her research about the fitness industry has enabled her to identify how much of a gap is needed to be filled within our communities. She has witnessed the changes in people both physically and mentally.

 The fitness industry is a male dominated industry and sometimes women are not given a fair opportunity as equal to men. However, it has become much better in some companies in terms of fair opportunities and more women have become more competitive. As a woman, she has to work twice as hard in order to be acknowledged. But with her zeal, I believe that anything is possible with this amazing woman. I am inspired by her love and dedication towards her career as she makes it look easy. She is one of the women who actually live their dreams and turns their passions into fruitful careers. This shows that doing what you love and having faith can take you places.

Thank you, Ms. Xolanny Mahlangu for sharing your lovely story with us at E- Articles. We wish you all the best in your future endeavors.

….and remember to keep hustling