Not many parents would subscribe to the idea of their child swapping a lab coat for weights in the gym. But for Theophile Mutesa, that is exactly the choice he made when he decided to return home to Rwanda, three years ago, to realise his dream— establishing a functional sports gym—specialising in the fitness regimen commonly known as ‘CrossFit’.

Born in Rwanda 34 years ago, he found himself on a journey with his family in 1994 that took him through the then Zaire (DR Congo), Zambia and finally the Netherlands in 1999. Mutesa’s dream was always to return home and do something that would help people in different ways.

Born to a doctor, he grew up with a dream of becoming one too and studied public health at university. But Theo, as he is commonly known, just couldn’t resist pursuing his passion, which is promoting fitness and contributing to building a healthy society.

In his own words, instead of being a doctor, he would rather be someone who helps prevent the very reasons people go to see a doctor (diseases) because obviously prevention is better than cure.

"Ever since I was child, I always wanted to be a doctor because I loved helping people, but later in my career, I chose the path that was more geared towards sports and science.

"I always wanted to have my own gym and there was no better place to do that than in Rwanda,” Mutesa says in an interview with The New Times.

Where he was studying in the Netherlands, it was very competitive and also very expensive to start a gym. Having returned home in 2015 for the first time for a six-month internship at Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC), Mutesa, who says he has been obsessed with fitness for as long as he can remember, saw an opportunity.

He took his time and studied how to not just establish a gym of his own, but one that specialises in ‘CrossFit’.

CrossFit is a form of high intensity interval training or a conditioning workout that is made up of functional movement performed at a high intensity level, to achieve a certain result.

"I saw that in Rwanda there are not many gyms around and definitely there were no CrossFit gyms. So, that’s why I turned my life around to come and start the first CrossFit gym here and Rwanda. This is something I studied for a very long time,” Mutesa says, adding that while his parents did not approve or turn down his idea, he took a personal initiative to do what he wanted because he was really passionate about it.

"It was really just up to my own decision to do it because I was really passionate about it,” he says, adding that he felt that the only way he knows how to help people is to help them live fit and healthy lives.

Practicing what he preaches

One of the key factors that motivated him is his own love for working out, so to speak, practicing what he preaches and it is mostly not about money but rather helping people turn their lives around, and money comes as a bonus.

What motivates him is seeing others motivated to work out and seeing his clients happy with the results. Mutesa is not just a trainer but he also focuses on educating his clients

"The way I get my clients motivated is by giving them workouts that are valid and fun and also by educating them about the importance of working out or staying healthy.

"It’s not all about just making money, but it also about being healthy, about living longer and in a healthier mind-set and body. As Rwandans keep improving their lives, they also face challenges of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, high blood pressure etc.”

His mission is to help people deal with these conditions that cannot be changed by medicine, but rather changing their lifestyle.

"By educating them a little bit and giving them varied workouts that are not only effective but also fun, I find that most clients really love it and they keep coming back,” he says in reference to the speciality workouts he offers.

Functional fitness involves a mix of things including weightlifting, running, gymnastics and other targeted workouts that deliver specific results, and that is a niche Mutesa chose because it is not common.

He also takes time to educate his clients, especially women, that doing weights doesn’t mean that they will be muscular like men because most people who get muscular work really hard on it.

Mutesa combines what he does with nutritional advice because our bodies are what we eat, and also ensures that he encourages clients to be regular in what they do, perhaps four to five times a week, for better results.

To perfect his work, he gives specialised training to each client, depending on their personal requirements. For example, if your goal is to lose weight, he will give you specific training for that, same with if you want to gain muscle.

Turning passion into business

For Mutesa, fitness is a whole industry where you cannot just make a living off giving training classes, but also specialising in gym and wellness products.

Apart from running Kigali Fit Gym, he also established Kigali Fit Store, which specialises in selling personal gym products for use at home, proteins, shakes and other healthy supplements as well as gym clothing.

He also makes money off offering personal classes but that is not what is more important to him. What is more rewarding is when he sees results with his clients.

To motivate people, the first one week at Kigali Fit Gym is a free trial, so that people come, see, experience and make up their minds.

Of course, the journey hasn’t been one without any obstacles. Starting a gym requires a lot of capital, which he didn’t have as he set out but passion can drive you to achieve anything you want to achieve.

He managed to pull it off by starting small and forging partnerships which eventually saw his dream come true.

Besides that, Mutesa boasts of many other talents including communication skills. Those who know him are familiar with his YouTube channel where he posts educative and informative content about Rwanda and definitely his passion-fitness.