Define Fitness
“I called it Define Fitness because I believe health looks different for everyone. You get to decide what it means to you.” From the border city of El Paso, Texas, to the heart of Millcreek, Utah, Valeria Macias has carved out a space that is deeply personal. Define Fitness, her women-centered studio, opened in the spring of 2025, is the culmination of a life journey shaped by hardship, healing, and the belief that fitness is for every kind of body.
Val was born just fifteen minutes from Juárez, Mexico where her father grew up. Her mother is from the small town of Delicias in the state of Chihuahua. Though Val was raised in El Paso, the influence of her family’s Mexican roots ran deep. Her parents were both involved in social work, helping place mentally ill adults into private homes. Although Val’s parents eventually divorced, her mother’s strength and resourcefulness left a lasting impression. “She gave us a great childhood even though my dad struggled with addiction. She made things work.”
Val’s older brother, Zeus, has been her anchor throughout life. “We’re very, very close. It’s just us two.” When he moved to Utah for work in 2015, Val came to visit him a year later. She was sixteen then. “I still remember landing and meeting him at City Creek. He was living out of his truck at the time, but I didn’t care - I just felt something. It was magical. I went to Harmons and thought, ‘I want to shop at this grocery store. I want to live here.' "
Val returned to Texas to finish high school, but the plan was set. One month after graduating in 2018, Val packed everything she could into her mother’s Hummer, brought along her cat, and made the fourteen-hour drive back to Salt Lake with her mom keeping her company. “It was chaotic - my cat escaped the car that night and I had to chase him down - but I knew I was moving toward the life I wanted.”
Initially, Val moved in with her brother and father in Bountiful. Reconnecting with her dad was not easy; he was still struggling with alcoholism and had only recently moved to Utah. But something shifted when they started going to the gym together at five a.m. “Fitness gave us time together. He lost fifty pounds that year. It gave him a sense of purpose. It gave us a relationship again. That’s when I knew I wanted to coach.”
Val’s brother introduced her to the owner of a nearby gym who became her mentor. “He taught me how to coach, pushed me to get certified, and gave me my first clients. He said, ‘I need a female coach. People won’t work with me.’” By age eighteen, Val was certified in powerlifting and began competing. She even set Utah state records before the pandemic halted competitions.
During COVID, Val pivoted to virtual coaching and began taking online classes at Salt Lake Community College (SLCC). “I’d do schoolwork in the back room of the gym between clients.” It was a difficult but clarifying time. “Even though the world was on pause, it helped me figure things out. I knew I wanted to coach for the rest of my life.”
Val transferred to the University of Utah after earning her associate’s degree, overcoming every obstacle - including failing a math class twice. But a chance connection through a client led her to a tutor named Connor. “We met every Friday at Beans & Brews. He was so confident, so passionate about teaching. I’d never met anyone like him.” Their tutoring sessions turned into walks, long conversations, homemade sourdough and, eventually, a relationship. “He asked me to be his girlfriend the day I took my final. That same week, I found out I got an A+ and was accepted to the U.”
All the while, Val was managing health struggles of her own. After years of misdiagnosis and severe pain, she was finally diagnosed with endometriosis and later Hashimoto’s disease. “There was a point where I couldn’t lift weights anymore. It broke my heart. That’s when I found classical Pilates. It gave me movement again, without pain. I knew I needed to bring this to others.”
Val began teaching $5 pop-up Pilates classes at local women-owned businesses. “We’d set up in coffee shops, boutiques, wherever we could. They kept selling out.” Inspired by the community support, she began looking for a permanent home. In December 2024, the stars aligned. Val finished her degree, signed a lease, and moved in with Connor, all in the same month. “Everything happened at once. I spent January and February remodeling and opened Define Fitness to my private clients on March 9, 2025.” Although the fitness center caters primarily to women, according to Val, "I will never turn away a man who is motivated to work out."
Define Fitness is a studio grounded in strength, compassion, and personal attention. The main room hosts personal training and women’s group classes - often with kids in tow. The second room offers classical mat Pilates, with sessions capped at twelve people. “I want to take the intimidation out of starting a fitness journey,” Val explained. “Whether someone wants to gain strength, heal from injury, manage hormones, or just feel better in their body, I want this to be a place where they feel welcomed.”
Val also offers corporate classes and private events like Pilates birthday parties or bachelorette sessions. “I’ve taught hair salons, friend groups - anyone who wants to move and feel good.” Throughout it all, however, she continues to rely on her brother’s support, her mom’s wisdom, her dad’s hard-earned sobriety, and her own inner fire. Everything she has built is thanks to the mentors who shared their mistakes, the clients who believed in her, and the family who never gave up on each other. “Fitness gave me my relationship with my dad back. It gave me purpose. And now, I want to help other people find that - whatever their definition might be.”
