GALVESTON, Texas – When her father suffered from a near heart attack, 11-year-old Tatyana Jolivet was shaken to her core. But, witnessing her father’s transformation into an award-winning body builder and had an even bigger impact on her. Today, Tatyana is running her own kid fitness class in her father’s gym in Galveston in hopes of helping other young people learn the importance of staying healthy.
“I first got into fitness when I [saw] my dad starting to get sick and almost had a heart attack,” said Jolivet. “I felt terrified. I didn’t want it to happen again to him, and I realized I didn’t want this to happen to me.”
The health scare was a wake-up call for Jolivet’s dad, especially after his own father passed away at the young age of 41 following struggles with his weight and health. For the young 11-year-old Jolivet, it was the moment she knew she had to break the cycle that plagued her family.
“I started working out with my dad and started to try to eat healthy with him,” said Jolivet. “[Then] when my dad first started bodybuilding, I was like, ‘Wow! I want to do this.’”
Jolivet trained alongside her dad and entered a father-daughter bodybuilding competition with him. Though she was nervous and made some mistakes, she and her father came out on top winning first place. From there, she set her sights on an even bigger prize: the joy of helping others.
“I felt like since he started all this, I wanted to help and do all this stuff to make me and other people feel better about themselves. That’s why we started our kid camp,” said Jolivet.
The kids camp called Tatyana’s Takeover takes place in Jolivet’s father’s gym in Galveston, The Takeover Gym. There, she hosts regular fitness classes with kids of different ages.
“Takeover Kids is like a kids camp for the younger ones,” said Jolivet. “We do different stuff. We try to keep it simple.”
The classes focus on keeping kids engaged while staying active in a safe environment. Jolivet wants all of her participants to realize how important and fun it is to stay healthy.
“I’m proud of accomplishing this kid class,” said Jolivet. “I don’t want the same thing that happened to my dad to happen to them when they get older.”
A portion of the proceeds from Jolivet’s classes goes towards donating food and clothing to people in need. To connect with Jolivet, visit the Takeover Gym Instagram page here.