Massy Arias

The Self-Taught Health and Wellness Fitness Trainer

Portrait of Massy Arias, adapted from a photo courtesy of Elle.com.

Massy Arias endured poverty, hunger, and depression while being awash in a sea of insecurities. Yet by sheer perseverance and dogged determination, she powered through life’s many obstacles and became a successful fitness trainer, nutritionist, wellness coach, and entrepreneur. She is Instagram-famous, having amassed a following in the millions, including various celebrities. Many of them are part of her steady client base who adhere to her training regiment that mixes resistance training, calisthenics, sprinting, and yoga.

Portrait of Massy Arias flexing her muscles. Illustrated by Daniel J. Middleton.

Massy was born Massiel Indhira Arias in San Domingo, Dominican Republic, on November 23, 1990. She has three older brothers, and her parents divorced shortly after her birth. While she lived with her mother—who later remarried—Massy maintained a close relationship with her biological father. At age 14, her family immigrated to the United States, settling in Queens, New York. Massy had difficulty adjusting to life in America, particularly given her language barrier.

Massy didn’t have the luxury of living like a typical teenager. She had to grow up fast and take on adult responsibilities, including taking care of one of her brothers, who developed Burkitt’s lymphoma, an aggressive, fast-growing type of cancer. She had to forego a scholarship to the State University of New York at Cortland to become a caregiver, but she enrolled at Queen’s College and made it work for a time. After becoming involved in an emotionally abusive relationship, she went on a downward spiral. A cheating boyfriend—who, as Massy put it, preferred “Curvy Latinas”—left her feeling ashamed of her body. She took to smoking and drinking heavily and sunk into a deep depression.

Massy Arias in better times. Here, she is pictured with her daughter Indira Sarai Williams, born February 28, 2017. Image adapted from a photo provided by Massy Arias via Instagram.

Massy stopped showering regularly and was soon locking herself in her room for lengthy periods while losing weight to the point where her ribs were showing. She described it as her body eating itself in a literal sense, and her hair also started falling out. Realizing her dire circumstance, Massy ended the toxic relationship and sought every remedy from herbal and cognitive therapy to hypnosis, but nothing cured her depression.

Finally, a friend suggested that she go to the gym. She heeded the advice and credited fitness with saving her life. But the experience also led to a new career. Unlike other fitness trainers who are first trained and taught the business before rising to fame after building credibility in the field over many years, Massy, a self-taught fitness expert, admitted:

“I had no background in training or sports or anything, but I started going to the gym and working out on the elliptical. I worked up to 45 minutes, one hour, an hour and a half—it became like a healthy addiction.”

Massy soon stumbled onto fitness model Jamie Eason, who had a 12-week online beginner training program. Massy devoured the course and applied its techniques to her sessions. She started out having difficulty lifting a pair of five-pound dumbbells for three short reps but went on to vastly improve her core strength. Massy developed muscles in short order and was soon doling out training advice. Massy knew she could parlay her newfound knowledge into a business. She made things official by getting certified and never looked back.

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This article appears in 12 Extraordinary Black Latinos.

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