The journey that led a Provo founder to build one of Utah's first luxury gyms

Annika Orozco, 25, is a Utah-based Pilates entrepreneur and the founder of Annika. While her confidence and professional purpose are evident today, the fitness influencer struggled with a lack of direction only a few years ago.

My 18-year-old self would be my biggest hater I would have seen myself on social media and even thought That girl is so annoying, Orozco said.

Annika, a luxury gym set to open in Provo, looks like a mix between a gym and a five-star resort.

Purposefully placed customized equipment fills the space, including treadmills Olympians train on. Elegant touches like a vanity station for getting ready and curated lighting from Beverly Hills add to the upscale feel. The gym was designed by Studio McGee, which has been featured in the Parade of Homes.

Brani Harris, now a close friend of Orozco, met her when she moved into the neighborhood.

She got married and was going through her pilates training course. She offered to teach a class to the young women in our neighborhood as part of her training, and I loved the environment she provided for the class," Harris said. Her passion for what she does is contagious, and I love how she wants to share that with everyone."

She is an overcomer, Emily Aldrich, another friend of Orozco's, said.

Orozcos journey from self-doubt to inspiring friend and fitness instructor wasnt easy or instant. It took a 70-pound weight-loss journey and finding community in the fitness world.

Orozco was always a bright, energetic child. She grew up playing soccer and continued playing for her high school soccer team. But at 17 years old, Orozco suffered a career-ending injury. That moment was the start of a difficult journey into adulthood.

No longer NCAA eligible, her whole life drastically changed. She realized she had no goals or aspirations other than her sport. She then served a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, hoping it would give her direction.

The place that I was personally in before I left on the mission wasnt great, Orozco said. If you're not in a good place, a mission's not gonna fix it. Marriage isn't gonna fix it. Kids aren't gonna fix it. Those are things that just exacerbate the issue.

She said these are good and important things in life, but emphasized the importance of putting in the work to be in a good emotional and spiritual place for these life-changing events.

Her mission was a difficult journey. I gained a lot of weight on my mission, she said. I was just eating like crap. Not moving my body like I should. I definitely came home more 'soft' than I was before."

The last six months of her mission were the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. She then got married right after her mission at the age of 20. She wasnt taking care of herself physically, mentally or emotionally.

My 14-year-old self would think I was the coolest person in the world," she said. (but) I didn't feel great about myself, and then seeing anyone finding success and showing their life on social media, I would have been like 'that person's so annoying,' just to make myself feel better about it.

These difficult experiences tested her faith, but through diligence, she found new meaning.

I think growing up in Utah, you think like, OK, if I do X, Y and Z, I'll have this outcome. And that just isn't the case, you know? I've had to rebuild my faith purely on Jesus Christ, she said.

She said President Russell M. Nelson was such a huge blessing for her in this crisis and rebuild mode, due to his shift in focus away from 'dos and donts' and toward a focus on Jesus.

She said she now prays not out of fear or obligation, but because I want to have this connection with God Now I'm much more concerned about Christ, being close to Him, and being more like Him.

Exercising faith and keeping her own promises led to success in accomplishing her goals. Some days I'm really excited to make content for the gym. And other days, I really don't want to, but it just really doesn't matter what I want. If it's a goal and it's something I've promised myself that I'm gonna do.

She said it's hard being in a generation that isnt OK with discomfort. When we're uncomfortable, we don't do stuff. And I think that's one of our biggest downfalls.

I know the importance of keeping promises to myself, and I feel that skill was developed through my weight-loss journey and really prepared me for something like this (building my own gym), she said. She promised herself that she would stick to her goals and not give up, no matter what was happening, to create a healthy lifestyle.

Seeing the rewards from being really consistent over five years taught her the value of consistency, honesty and integrity.

I feel like that's really translated into this stage of life where I'm burnt out or super stressed and exhausted, and there's so many things that go wrong in a day. But I still do the things that I'm supposed to do, she said.

Through trial and error of binge eating to setting small attainable goals, she learned that consistency is not something one can just switch on.

Throughout my fitness journey, since I was 18, I would be like, OK, I'm gonna change my life, do a 180 flip, and start these crazy regimens where I'd do no sugar, running 10 miles a day, going from couch to three workouts a day. I would always fall off and end up worse than I was before," she said.

She really hated how she felt unhappy and unstable. And so she thought maybe there was something wrong with her hormones but when test results came back, they were normal.

It was a huge slap in the face. I was prediabetic. And seeing that on paper was like the biggest wake-up call ever. That, no, it wasn't my hormones. I really was just treating my body like crap," she remembered. "I was overweight. And that was why I felt this way.

Orozco said she took a really hard look at herself and realized she was not in a place where she could do three workouts a day she didn't have the discipline. She was honest with herself and decided to start small by going on a walk for 30 minutes each day before work.

Even though it was embarrassing for her to admit that, for a former athlete, this was the only thing that was attainable, she said that this small goal changed her life.

I woke up every day before work and walked for 30 minutes a day. It slowly became the very best part of my life," she said. "It mentally made the biggest difference for me too ... I think it's because for the first time, I was consistent for three solid months of that movement.

Slowly, over time, she added more things to her plate, and everything snowballed. First, she started focusing on a protein-filled breakfast, then more on overall nutrition. And then she started weightlifting and found pilates.

But I never jumped from the couch to my regimen now that I do today. That would have been unattainable, impossible. It was like these little steps up," she remarked. OK. I'm walking 30 minutes a day. I'm gonna bump it up to 45. Okay, I'm walking for 45 minutes a day. When I come home, I'm gonna focus on a healthier breakfast.

She lost more than 70 pounds, and now her biggest focus is making attainable goals to stay consistent.

Through her consistency, Orozco found belonging at a pilates class. Graduating and coming back home from her mission into married life, she felt like she didnt have a lot of friends. When she first started going to pilates, she went by herself. She met her now-best friend, who was the class instructor and who helped Orozco find further excitement in movement and health. Orozco then became a certified pilates instructor, taught several classes and even started her own training course certification.

Orozco then shared her journey by consistently posting on social media, and over time gained more than 60,000 followers, cultivating a huge community of health.

I made all my lifelong friends from pilates, and by just going, working out with these girls every day, who are like-minded, was just such a huge game-changer for my life to have a community of health and fitness.

Community is what inspired Orozco to build Utahs first-ever luxury gym.

The gym is her dream wellness club, including a modern open gym, hot pilates, reformers, dry sauna, ice bath, with five industrial glass fridges with drinks.

All my people know that I'm a huge drink girl, she said. She said she wants the gym to be a really fun place.

She has considered every aspect of the gym, down to the design and organization of the changing rooms. The attention to detail reflects an effort to shape the environment and influence how people experience the space.

I think the other part of what luxury means for us is the experience for our members," she said. "It's gonna be a unique place for sure. It's definitely not Vasa, it's definitely not, like a reformers studio. It's very unique in what it offers.

As her platform has grown, her identity as an influencer and the gyms personal branding have become part of how others interpret her public image.

I fought tooth and nail to not have it be named Annika for the longest, longest time, but it just makes sense, because it really is kind of like my dream playground," she said. "Its all my favorite stuff packed in one little place.

Joely Larson took Orozcos pilates training certification course and now teaches pilates at Brigham Young Universitys YFitness Student Wellness Center, and will soon work at Orozcos new gym once it opens.

She said the hardest part of the certification process was finding confidence as an instructor.

She was such a good teacher. I was worried about not feeling ready to teach, but after the training, I was like, I can do this, Larson said. Annika is really good at hyping you up and giving you what you need to be confident. She'd meet with us one-on-one and talk to us about how we were feeling and help us with that. So that's what got me through.

Orozco is a hype woman.

When she moved into our neighborhood as a teenager, I was struck by her gentleness and maturity, " Aldrich said, "the light she brings to a room continues to be magnetic.

Despite her early struggles with insecurity, Orozco founded one of Utahs first luxury gyms and eventually found success through integrity, consistency and community.