By coinnews 
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Welcome to Warrior Money, the show devoted to supporting our brothers to veterans. I’m Patrick Murphy and I’m Dan Kons. Today we’re sitting down with Erika Learman, a US Army veteran and founder of Dub Fitness. After serving her country, she brought her passion for help.And wellness in the life, creating a space where women build strength, confidence, and community. From just a handful of members to a thriving fitness family, her journey is inspiring. Please welcome the word money, Erika Learman. Erica, welcome to word Money.
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Hi, thank you. Thanks for having me.
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All right, Dan, I always start off with the, the bluff question. The bottom line up front, why are you on Warrior money?
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I am a warrior money because I’m a veteran, a small business owner, and somebody who just does not sit on the sidelines. I run a women’s gym, Dub fitness, where we focus on building real strength, not just physically but mentally and emotionally. I’ve seen firsthand how movement saves lives, um, and as someone who served, I’m committed to helping others, especially my fellow veterans.
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Yeah, and as you served with distinction as a military police, uh, NCO in our army, and then you became obviously a entrepreneur, owning your own business. What gave you the confidence to take the plunge into entrepreneurship?
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To be honest, uh, I always say that I, it was my army values, right? Like learning to be a leader, having integrity, and I knew that I had something that um I shouldn’t kind of keep inside. It would be selfish of me to keep it. So I wanted to share with my community the ability to be healthy in a fun way, um, to almost to my detriment though, because I wasn’t charging in the beginning. I just wanted people to exercise and work out and learn to love it.
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Uh, we talk a lot on this show about mental and physical health and how that really is the foundation for anything that you do after that. Can you tell me specifically how that relates to the female community or the women community that you support?
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So, I mean, the, the female community is is.Intricate, uh, if for lack of better words, right? So we are emotional, we take on a lot of roles, wear many hats, and a lot of the time we put ourselves on the back burner, and uh a lot of women don’t want to talk about that or just kind of write it off as like, oh, it’s part of the gig, well, it’s not part of the gig.Um, and so there’s a big sign on my door when you hit the handle and it says, you just did the hard part. I’ll take it from here. And essentially it’s drop all your baggage at the door and and hand it to me. And that’s the difference I think between myself and all of the other gyms around, you know, I’ve been around 11 years now and I’ve had the same members for 11 years and it’s because I don’t just talk about it, right? I show them, I get down with them.And I can equate it to uh a push up analogy. I don’t look at you and say, come on, you can do it. I am literally on the floor next to you telling you that you can do it. I mean, there’s been tears shed in there, laughter, anger, all kinds of stuff, and it’s just really kind of tapping into that like female uh.Internal, uh, I don’t know, like fortitude I guess in there where how I can connect withwomen.
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Yeah, I, uh, my, so my, my wife is, uh, she works as well, and watching what women do that have to work as well as, uh, like to care for kids and have babies and all that stuff. So you’ve you’ve had a few babies and you’ve also gotten back into the healthcare in the healthcare industry.How, how, talk to me about that transition for you from military service to family, to having kids and coming back into the healthcare community and healthcare world.
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Oh, talk about identity crisis for a little while there. So, uh, my kids are 3 and 2, so I’m very new to motherhood, and I honestly never thought that I was going to have kids. So I was in crazy shape, doing all kinds of insane fitness activities.I mean, I did a mile of burpees to raise $10,000 for, for uh foster. um, yeah, I, yes, and I expected other people to like jump on board and do it with me. And so that didn’t happen, but they were there to support me. But those are things that I could not really empathize with mothers at the time. I mean, our earliest class is at 4:45 a.m. and when people would cancel last minute, I really would give them a hard time.And then I got pregnant and, you know, I found out that I was pregnant and I was like, yes, I’m gonna leave this awesome, you know, like pregnancy workout. Well, I got so sick. I didn’t even exercise for eight months. I had to wear a heart rate monitor. It was like the antithesis of all that I had planned. Um, so I had to kind of back up a little bit, and this is where I’m really thankful for the milk.Military, right? We’re always lifting and shipping and you have to adjust fire. So, um, I kind of wrote an apology letter. It was like at the public community letter to my people, you know, now I understand, I can empathize. Uh, and I I actually handwrit wrote handwritten, handwrote cards to some of the former members, um, letting them know, hey, it is different. I understand now. Um, and then it.Changed, I guess, the way that I handled my business. I started caring a little bit more deeply, uh, about timing, and now I have a mommy and me class. Um, and so in the beginning, you know, when I talked about not just physical fitness, but mental fitness, right? Like we are exhausted and we are touched out by the end of the day. Like I tell my husband all the time, he comes in the kitchen, he’s like, what can I help you with? And I’m like,You’re asking me another question, like, I just do something, you know, and so that is kind of where us women, we get to, we get together, um, and we strengthen ourselves by being around like similarities and we we understand that we’re all the same, we’re all in this fight together and here we are getting stronger, and it’s just therapy.
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Yeah, I think it’s great because you created this tribe and you know, you left one tribe, the US Army, Riley referred to as America’s varsity team to, to create your own tribe, you know, in suburbs of Philadelphia, and it’s growing, but you’ve also helped create another tribe of business owners, veteran business owners through the greater Philadelphia Veterans Network. Tell us about your role there and, and helping others, elevate other entrepreneurs.
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Yeah, so the greater Philadelphia Veterans Organization um was a really the catalyst that kind of threw me into the veteran community here in Philadelphia, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. And as I told Dan in a conversation a few weeks ago, I will not have any help opening.My business. I had no idea that the VA offered loans. It was just all bootstrapping, opening up credit cards, maxing them out, you know, touch tapping into my vanguard, all kinds of things where I’m kicking myself now, um, for doing that. But at VBRN I got to share that story so that these future veteran entrepreneurs won’t make that same mistake. Uh, I’m not afraid to talk about failure.For what I did wrong, as long as it will help others, you know, improve, um, or be successful. And there are other veteran, you know, personal trainers and gym owners in the area that I’m happy to help. And some people are like, I can’t believe you’re helping the enemy. And I’m like, you know, there, there’s enough money to be made by everybody, and I can’t train everybody, nor do I want to. But I also believe in karma and taking care of each other. So whether, you know, you’re my enemy in the business sense.You’re still my brother or sister in arms, you know, we still bleed the same blood, we, you know, support our country, we fought for our country, and I just kind of believe in community and and helping each other out, good karma.
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No,no doubt, I mean, it’s not about fighting over a slice of pie, it’s create a bigger pie, but what about some of those mistakes? Erica walk us through some of the, I know you rattled a few off, but walk us through so our viewers can hear what are some of the mistakes that maybe that you made that you didn’t leverage the opportunities that were out there.
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Well, number one, like I said, being not opening or taking out a loan, not even like a, a bank loan, um, so what I won’t name that is the credit card, but it was like 19.4%. And again, and I’m not going to say that enlisted people aren’t as educated, but we don’t.We don’t have, uh, we’re not left, we don’t leave the army with the skills, OK, so maybe the army is better now. I’m an old lady. So I think that they’re doing a a better job of preparing people, but I just kind of left the military and was like,All right, like credit cards are easy money, you know, kind of thing, uh, so that, and it took me a long time, uh, to pay that off, and then not really having a business plan. So I knew that I was really good at physical fitness, and I knew that I could yell at people, and I knew that I was not afraid to be vocal, but I really had no and and sight and goal, I guess, um, and listening to one of your other shows, someone had a 200 year plan, and I was like, holy crap, like that’s kind ofHow I, I operate now, um, but I wish that I had somebody mentoring me and and saying, hey, I have a 3 year plan, a 5 year plan. How many members do you need to make a profit? Um, because for the 1st 5 years I was just paying the bills, and I, I couldn’t hire anybody because I didn’t have any money to pay them, um, and then I was going to school on a GI bill and I was using the GI bill to pay off my debt, and it was just a mess.Um, so when I talk about, you know, the, the failures, these are all things that I that I list off because had I been able to save that money or take out a proper loan, I would have started making money earlier. Um, not to say everyone makes mistakes and I maybe I’m better for it now, uh, but I, I wish that maybe there was like a little angel, financial angel on my shoulder kind of thing, hey, so.
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Yeah, I think that’s a great, that’s just a great story. And I think part of the reason why we have Warrior money is because there’s always a new generation of people that need that mentorship, that need to be that distribution.Um, I, I, I refer to it as transitioning from a lifestyle business to kind of an enterprise or sustainable business, and that’s kind of the journey that it sounds like you went on. What was the transition point from you from taking it from kind of the left side, which is let’s just pay my bills and survive to like let’s think about this over a period of time. Let’s reinvest back into the business. Let’s grow this to a scale that that works. What was that transition like for you?
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Well, if we are being completely candid. It was a divorce.It was a it was a divorce and COVID simultaneously that kind of sprung me into into action. It was either, um, I’m not gonna do this or get off the pot.And so, uh, I talked to, uh, a financial investor, and I said, I want this to be my career. I want to be successful. I don’t want to just make ends meet. I want to live the life that I dreamed of. Um, not necessarily a life of luxury, but maybe leisure, you know, making my own schedule, and being able to leave when I want to leave. And so we sat down.Um, and then the world shut down. I mean, literally, it was like weeks later and I was like, whoa, OK, is this a sign? Like should I not be in this business? Um, and then I told him, I said, I want to launch a second business, and he was like, what do you mean? And I said, I, I think that I could run two simultaneous businesses right now during COVID, and we can kind ofUse this, uh, my benefit. So we launched an online app program where in my one bedroom apartment post divorce with a couch and a TV and that’s all I had in there. Um, I just started recording myself doing exercises and my commentary and just talking and people laugh at me, so I’ll have conversations and then answer myself and do this out loud and fast and they love it because they justI don’t know if it makes them feel like holy crap, these are the thoughts I have in my own head, uh, but then more and more people just started hopping on these videos, uh, to just listen to me talk and it was during COVID, and then at one point I turned it into T with Coach E.Uh, and so I would just sit there with my cup of tea and we would just talk and then I would say I still stretched, and so, you know, not only did my business, my physical business survive, but now here I am launching this online platform, um, which is still around, you know, I still do it today, not as much as I would like to, which is very time consuming, but IIt’s interesting when people talk about how all these gyms shut down during COVID, and I’m like, man, like that’s when I thrived and I don’t know if I should feel bad or feel like, hey, like I have worked my butt off, um, to sometimes my detriment and sacrificing family time and things like that, but now I get to, you know, pick up my kids and stay home with my boys on Fridays. I don’t have to work, you know, all the time. It feels really good.
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I would say it’s a lot. I mean, the fact that you showed that tenacity of, of that never quit attitude, that kind of the military ingredients in all of us, and then you’ve brought that to the private sector. So we’ll take a quick break and we’ll be right back more with Erica Neerman on where Money, just a second.All right, welcome back to Warrior Money. We’re joined by Erika Learman. Erica, you are passionate about d fitness. Uh, you are a retrepreneur, uh, either serving in the military. I look at the problems that you’re helping solve, not just in suburban Philadelphia, but across the country, especially when you look at the obesity and overweight crisis we have. Right now, 70% of Americans are obese or overweight. Why do you think that is and and what do you propose we could do about it?
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Oh, so this is a question that I’m actually asked often, and it’s led me to start a new program for the GLP1 users actually. I’m opening my doors, um, for a, it’s we’re gonna call it a free trial period where for 3 months we’re gonna have meetings, kind of like AA I guess is the best way, um, kind of discuss this, right? So getting other people’s opinions.Because a lot of people come down to, we’re so busy, it’s cheaper to not take care of ourselves. And then to which, yes, exactly, but to which I respond, you know, if you don’t take time now to be healthy, you’re going to have to take more time later when you’re sick, right? So hospital bills, staying in the hospital, you know, people not having paid time off for that, um.So what I taught for one year at my degree is in education and I taught the Philadelphia Military Academy and part of what I really tried to bring into the school was, you know, eliminating detention and sending the kids to my classroom and we were doing yoga and talking about diet and talking about nutrition, because that’s where it starts. Um, a lot of myClients who are 40+ will say, I’m of a generation, you know, where we just diet when we have an event and then we just eat, you know, whatever we want. We do the yakkins, we cut carbs, but really, it’s the whole body that we need to be preparing for, right? So when you’re under 18, you’re training your metabolism. And so if you are feedingYour metabolism, you know, foods that have plastics and chemicals and and poisons in it. One, you become addicted. The food is a drug, essentially, right? So when we think about what is being offered to people, um, especially like low income families, they don’t have much option, right? They’re they’re essentially in a food desert, um, so I think whatThe education piece is important, um, and I don’t know that there’s many health and physical education teachers like me who volunteered to show up early to take on detention to change it into something else. Hopefully somebody wants to do that. Um, but that’s what it’s gonna take. It’s gonna take small steps in early education, and, you know, Michelle Obama started it, right? She kind of like started making noise and she’s been a really big inspiration and I would quote her often andUh, it starts with the kids and, and even in my, in my house, you know, my husband, uh, he took the kids from McDonald’s once and hid it. I hid it maliciously from me, but I saw it in the trash can and I was like, why are you checking in there? There’s no reason you know I went.Crazy for no reason, but it is. I just don’t, it’s an addiction and so when little kids learn early that that food is a treat, you know, you just, you shouldn’t be rewarding with food, it shouldn’t reward with um cupcakes and ice cream, have those on special occasions, but when your kid does great in school, you know, reward them with a new pair of shoes or with an activity or with an experience.Um, and it’s part of, you know, when I work with my student athletes, I always say, don’t treat yourself with, with a food item, right? Like, give yourself a Pandora bracelet and add a charm each time you need a milestone. So it’s just making smaller habits. Um, that’s, you know, a long answer to your question, but I think it starts when we’re, when we’re young, and it’s up to our parents and, and leaders and stuff, yeah.
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There’s two things you said that that I think are really important. One, we talk a lot on the show about time and how it compounds your money and your interests and you compound time, right? But the decisions, the healthy decisions you make also are a compounding effect over time, right? So if you’re eating poorly in your 20s or your 30s, becomes a problem when you’re in your 50s or 60s and and time starts to create more, uh, more of a lasting impact there. Um, uh, do you?Do you see substantial changes in people’s behaviors when you start to educate them? And, and if you do, how does that work with the folks in that GLP group that you’re thinking about as well? Like, can you, can you talk a little bit more about that for me? Because that’s that’s all the rage. Everybody wants to do like the GLP, but I’m like, is there a psychological change that also has to happen? Like what does that all look like?
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Yeah, so it’s a, it’s a choice, right? So we talked about there’s no easy fix. Well, I, you know, now we’ve found one, there is an easy fix. Um, but it’s not sustainable to to use that easy fix forever. And so what I am offering is the explanation on why along with this GLP one, you need to have exercise, right? You need to build muscle, especially for women, like, you know, you asked about the women in my gym.Bone density for us is going to start to deplete much earlier than it is for men. And so lifting weight is scientifically proven to be the single source of increasing bone density, right? So, avoiding osteoporosis, and so,Teaching people how to eat as a lifestyle rather than a diet. So, you know, the diet mentality is absolute garbage for, again, lack of better words. And, and I’ll straight up tell women that. Like, we’re not going to do 30 day diet challenges here. I’m going to just say, you can eat whatever you want. Just make sure it’s good food. You don’t have to count calories or count macros. Um, and with the GLP users, I know that it affects appetite.So it’s really important to ensure that you’re getting enough protein, where we talk about, you know, putting money in the bank, like that’s your food is the money in the bank for your body and um you can spend all the money in the world on cosmetic surgery and plastic surgery, but that’s not gonna fix internal organs. It’s not gonna fix the visceral fat around your kidneys and your liver or your heart.Um, so a lot of what I want to do for I guess free for this next 3 months is just educate these women and convince them that investing in yourself is is paramount, you know, when you say that you have a village to take care of and you don’t have time for it. Well, when something happens to you, now who’s taking care of your village? You’ve left them hungry, you know, and, um.
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And I would say to Eric, I would say the, I think the beauty of what you’re offering is the fact that you’re basically saying what we call in the army before triad, like, yes, exercise, eat right, because food is medicine and then recover. Um, I have to go though, we, we are one or dying to know about the rough ride.The VA for our struggling brother and sister veterans does not provide service dogs to them, even if they’re on the struggle bus. What does, what is the rough ride and why is it so important to you and so many of us?
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So Rough Ride is a 24 hour spin relay located here in Philadelphia. It’s also in Pittsburgh, and we are expanding to New York next year. Um, that’s phenomenal. But what it is, it’s, you don’t have to be in shape to do it, is the first, uh, thing I like to tell people. You don’t have to be a cyclist, you don’t have to be a spin studio, you know, waving your pony tail everywhere. You just have to want to support veterans.And so what it is, we raise money um to provide service dogs, accredited service dogs to injured and disabled veterans at no cost to the veteran, and that also includes vet bills, um, any, any discrepancy with the dog or any issues with the dog.Um, may have because we don’t want the veteran to have to choose between their own bills and then taking care of this service dog. It should not be a burden. It should be something that’s their life saving tool. Um, and as you know, or most people know, it takes up to 2 years and $35,000 and it’s also not even guaranteed that that dog will be.It to be a service dog, and then you have to go through the process again and all of the money again. So what Team Foster does for one of their events, the Roughri is we raise money for that. And what’s really, really special about it is that those veterans who have been partnered with dogs are there and they get to share their story across the 24 hour period. They’ll come in and you get to meet them andI, I, I have never used double negatives. I’ve never not cried when I hear their story, even though I’ve known these people, they’ve been in my home, but hearing them on the platform, you know, speaking about it when they were scared to leave their house, it’s just pretty remarkable to see it.
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Yeah, I know, I know for the rough, Dan and I are gonna be doing the rough ride with you. I know it’s in Philadelphia. We, we appreciate what you’re doing and especially with like um.Foster, T Foster, Eric Foster, uh, who was killed about eight years ago, served in the 2nd Airport division, Duke graduate. So thank you for what you do with Rough Ride, that’s RUFF ride, uh, and the nonprofit team Foster. Dan, take it over. All right,
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before we let you go, we’re going to do Q and A. Uh, first question, uh, first question, what is the one, what’s the one piece of advice you’d give young Erica Lehman, uh, when you were leaving the military that would make you successful and make you more successful now?
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Um, I would have applied to college, a good college. I would have done my research instead of making my mom kind of kick me out of her attic and go to the first college that would take me in. So yeah, definitely education, and I would have put that first and foremost. And
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and what’s the one piece of advice you’d give an aspiring entrepreneur that you that you know now that you wish you knew when you were younger?
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Find a mentor, a big, big famous important one and ask, right? So don’t be afraid to start asking at the super high level and, you know, keep asking until someone tells you, yes. Don’t just do it on your own. There are people who want to help, people who want to invest, um, and who want you to succeed.
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Erica, thanks so much for joining us on worry my. We appreciate you. We appreciate your leadership, and we appreciate what you do for our brothers.Veterans, uh, you can follow Erikaman on obviously social media or Rough Ride or the nonprofit team Foster or her business, Do Fitness. Erica, thank you so much. All right, that’s our show. So listen, subscribe, and review Warrior Money on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast or find us at Yahoo Finance. I’m Patrick Murphy
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and I’m Dan Kons. We’ll see you again next week.
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This content was not intended to be financial advice and should not be used as a substitute for professional financial services.