When I was 16 years old – around 1986 - I was teaching aerobics classes in Cali, Colombia, but I danced for fun with my friends. One day I forgot my music for the class and the only music I had with me was a tape of Latin music that I had recorded from the radio. I said to my students: “I’ve prepared this class for a long time”, but it wasn’t true. If I’d told them I’d forgotten my music, my boss would have killed me. I improvised for one hour and what I remember is the people’s smiles and their sweat. For me, the most important thing was that it felt like the class lasted 20 minutes. In that moment, I said, “Wow, I want to do this for the rest of my life”. This was the beginning of Zumba.
In 2000, I moved to Miami. I slept two nights in a park, but I wanted someone to give me an opportunity. I didn’t want to work in valet parking or cleaning plates. Eventually someone gave me a chance – a fitness manager in a wealthy area. My audition was with one person and I had to teach her, but during the audition, people started coming into the room because they thought it was a class. At the end, some people clapped and said, “Wow, this person is great”, so they hired me. Later on, one of my students told me his 25-year-old son wanted to meet me and do business. The week before though, I had a 50-year-old guy with $1 million also saying he wanted to do business with me. It was a tough decision between a 50-year-old guy with a lot of money and experience, or a 25-year-old guy with no money and no experience. I went with the 25-year-old and it was the best decision I’ve made. He is still my business partner.
We started with nothing and we filmed a class on the beach. He went to a fitness company in Ohio and told them he had the new Billy Blanks (creator of Tae Bo) of the aerobics world. They asked if I spoke English, but I didn’t. I said: “Don’t worry. Tell them I speak English.” So my partner set up a meeting and they came to my class. I had asked him to teach me how to say “Nice to meet you. Sorry, I need to go.” So after the class, I shook their hands, said my lines and I escaped. They thought I was so busy, but I was just sitting in my car waiting.
I’m a survivor. I lived alone when I was 15 years old. I didn’t have the option to lose. But my mum always says: “Don’t forget where you come from.” When I was on the front page of the Miami Herald for the first time, my mum said: “OK good. Did you eat your broccoli today?” She likes to be healthy.
For years, many people have thought “no pain, no gain”, but not for me. If you don’t smile, you don’t gain. If you’re not happy, you don’t gain. I have tried all my life to have fun. When you smile, your endorphins activate, your heart pumps more and you burn more calories. When you smile, something positive happens in your body. I never created Zumba to lose weight, but for people to have fun. It just happens that it’s also effective for your mind and your health.
Some people love to dance, some love to run, some love yoga. Everyone needs to find the discipline they like, but the most important thing is to move your body, to have passion and perseverance. Try to think more about being healthy and less about beauty. Find something you like, have fun and smile.
Beto Perez is a Colombian choreographer and the creator of Zumba fitness programmes. Next year he will be a judge on Dancing with the Stars in Colombia.