Meet Gladys Santiago | Founder of Worth The Fight Boxing

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gladys Santiago and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gladys, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
I used to weigh 270 pounds and I was overweight for my whole life. Ten years ago I lost 150 pounds and boxing played a key role in losing the weight and keeping it off, and it helped me become more confident and empowered. I started my business, Worth The Fight Boxing, to bring that same physical and spiritual transformation to other people.

Also, most people who own fitness studios tend to be people who are naturally fit and have never struggled with their weight. I think I can relate to my customers more because I understand what it is like to be stuck with your fitness and weight, and I know what it takes to change that. That is another reason I wanted to open my business.

Lastly, I wanted to create a fitness environment where everyone can feel accepted and encouraged. I believe that everyone is worthy of having that – that is one reason I chose my name: Worth The Fight.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I became interested in marketing and analytics in college. I co-authored multiple marketing-related papers in college and grad school. I love the science and data of marketing analytics, but I also love marketing strategy and the creative side of marketing. (I came up with our name “Worth The Fight” and I create all the graphics/art for our business — I taught myself graphic design and animation in the past year!) My career ended up being on the analytics side, but now that I have my own business, I am diving headfirst into marketing strategy. I love it! I come up with tons of marketing ideas and then we test them all to see what works best. Most fitness businesses rely primarily on digital ads to generate leads, but I believe that it is very risky to depend that heavily on a third party that can make decisions like, say, cutting ad inventory in half, raising prices significantly. Also, our business is a local independent small business, so we want our marketing efforts to be local too — in person.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I don’t drive, so it would be everything within walking distance of downtown, I would take them to all the cute little neighborhoods near downtown like LoHi, RiNo, City Park, etc. I would take them to get a smoothie at my favorite smoothie place, Campo, owned by my friends, Andrew and Lina. I would take them to a show at the Denver Performing Arts Center, where I volunteer. I would take them to dinner at Citizen Rail and Guard & Grace. We would go shopping at Cherry Creek Mall – I regularly walk over there from my house in Uptown.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My grandmother inspires me every day. As a Puerto Rican woman in the 1960s and 1970s, she was a publishing executive in a field dominated by men. I ran into struggles in my career as a gay Puerto Rican woman, and having her example gave me strength and inspiration to keep moving forward, knowing that the challenges she faced were much greater! She’s the best person I’ve known and I am named after her.

Website: wtfboxing.com

Instagram: @worththefightboxing

Facebook: facebook.com/wtfboxing.com

Image Credits
Gladys Santiago