There was an instant match of principles by which I lead life and that
of the company. Zumba® believes in empowering individuals in an
environment of love, mutual respect and sans judgements. One of
my core strengths has been to recognize potential in others and bring
the best out of an individual and empower them. While I was already
doing this in a limited capacity, Zumba® fitness gave me a platform
to touch thousands of lives.
During 2005, stressful work
hours, odd sleeping patterns and
unhealthy food habits took a toll
on my health, causing a setback in
self-confidence and pushing me
towards anxiety disorder. Dance
was my only cure. All ailments
vanished when I was on the dance
floor. Quitting a cushy corporate
job wasn’t an easy choice, but
equipped with a passion and a
strong will, I decided to embark on
a journey of professional dance
training at 25 in Mumbai in 2008.
Destiny had other plans. I shifted
to the US in 2009 and Zumba®
happened to me on a cold snowy
morning. I decided to attend an 8
am Zumba® class that morning
which had 80 participants taught
by a slightly overweight instructor
who was inspiring the 80 of us to
move to foot-tapping International
songs and we were smiling right
back at her as we were sweating
out the calories. I wanted to be
her. I wished to be able to inspire.
I was instantly hooked and never
looked back. For the next three
years I trained in every possible
format of Zumba® fitness in the
US and taught across the state
of Connecticut as a licensed
instructor. In 2012 April, I received a
call from the CEO Alberto Perlman
from Zumba® Fitness LLC, Miami
headquarters to audition for the
role of the lead Zumba® Education
Specialist for India. It was the life-
changing moment which brought
me back to my country to re-
launch Zumba® fitness in India
18 | HELLOBIZ NOV 2017
Sucheta PAL
Brand Ambassador of Zumba®
on behalf of Miami headquarters
in May 2012 and since then it’s
been a challenging yet immensely
satisfying role.
My business mission is to change
and empower lives through fitness.
For the last 5 years, there have
been many examples of people
taking up fitness as a career
seriously. I have been fortunate to
be the one who has orchestrated
this change with Zumba® as
the platform, for thousands of
instructors in India, many of whom
have now successfully opened
fitness centers and are paying it
forward to countless others and
helping them to get fitter in their
lives. My vision is to take this
fun,effective and affordable fitness
revolution now to smaller tier 2,3
cities and make people realize the
multiple benefits of being fit, why
it’s necessary for people of all ages
and that it doesn’t necessarily
need to be boring or expensive.
And create job oppurtunities in
these cities which can further the
economic strength and bring about
social change.
Our strength lies in empowering
the entire community of our
instructors. I believe that if we
emphasis on instructors in terms
of building their skills to be better
fitness trainers and providing
multiple marketing and learning
tools in order for them to put
focussed emphasis on delivering
great classes we have created
a solid foundation. Hence you
will see that in India we are always
flooded with multiple Zumba®
events and its run end to end by this
community itself. Apart from the fact
that Zumba® has successfully fuzed
fun and fitness and is loved by 15
million people over the world, most
folks stick to the fitness format due
to the bond they create with fellow
Zumba® goers and their instructors.
Carving a niche in the fitness industry
which was pre-dominantly for the
body building industry has been a
huge accomplishment for me.