Geydi Moreno emigrated from the Dominican Republic to the Bronx in 2007, and adores her neighborhood of Morris Park, where she lives with her two daughters, Ashley, 16, and Priscilla, 13. Moreno built her business, a fitness and wellness club with real sweat workouts, as well as health-minded and social arts events, from scratch, holding one or two yoga classes a week in shared spaces before opening her own shop in 2015. She's candid about being a survivor of domestic abuse and proud of the example she has set for her daughters, who were the catalyst of her decision to leave her marriage. "I used to wear sunglasses to hide some of the abuse," she says. "One day I took my glasses off, and every neighbor and coworker asked me what happened. I told them the truth, and I freed myself and my daughters from that type of life."
Yet Another Reason to Like Her: Some serious Bronx pride."I love my neighborhood; I love The Bronx. Before visiting, all I heard was bad stories about The Bronx. I found out that it's totally the opposite of what haters of The Bronx say. This community is embracing, friendly, united and fun! They love fitness, wellness and the arts. I love the diversity, and how people from all different ethnic backgrounds get together like family. To me, The Bronx is Home!"
Work/Life: When I have time to myself, I sometimes feel the need to get certain things done, like emails or phone calls—but lately I've been teaching myself to use that time to truly reduce my stress level and to do things for me only, like a manicure/pedicure session with my best friend, or to have my hair done — not because of how it looks, but mostly because of how relaxing the scalp massage is when they wash my hair! I'm a workaholic so I neglected my sister and friends for a long time; now I enjoy simple things like watching a TV show with my sister, a coffee date with a friend, etc.
photo: Geydi Moreno
