‘Doin’ It For Themselves’ | ICYMI-Former pro-boxer opens second Tri-Cities-based fitness studio in East Point
When it came to selecting the location for her new fitness facility, BoxFit Fitness & Performance Studio, seasoned trainer and competitor, Jai Davis didn’t even break a sweat.
EAST POINT, Ga. — ‘Sisters are doin’ it for themselves --"
Sound familiar? It should. In fact, I’m pretty sure that I can faintly hear some of you shouting the lyrics of the refrain of this 1985 feminist anthem at your screens at this very moment as if the ‘Daily Double’ question on ‘Jeopardy’ just fell squarely under ‘Stuff I actually know’ category.
However, while I seem to be digressing right out of the gate this week, it doesn’t change the fact one iota about the much-deserved subject of this (long overdue but no less deserving) business owner, former professional athlete, and entrepreneur, Janaya Davis or ‘Jai’ to the public.
For those fitness-inclined residents here in the Hapeville, East Point & College Park area, this Chicago-born, accomplished, multi-hyphenate barely requires an introduction, having already made strides in the fitness and personal training circles in neighboring Historic Main Street Business District right in College Park.
“It’s been very rewarding for me, and I just continue to do it,” Davis affirms regarding self-proprietorship to Vox Pop ATL at the ribbon-cutting ceremony of her newest workout facility.
“It was important for me to put a fitness business in the Tri-Cities area because I think that we have more fast-food restaurants, more liquor stores than we do places that will promote health and a healthy lifestyle."
In fact, her latest fitness facility, which is located in the Williamsburg Shopping Center at 3492 Washington Road, Suite 700 near the Camp Creek Parkway end of the thoroughfare, shares that space with one of the ubiquitous discount chains.
A lifelong avid fitness buff, Coach Davis was not discouraged by its presence any more than she was apprehensive about opening a second location, in almost as many years. Pandemic or no pandemic.
The recent East Point resident remained adamant about putting her money where her mouth was by reinvesting in the very same community that Davis herself now calls ‘home.’
The grand opening and ribbon-cutting event for BoxFit Fitness & Performance Studio featured a live DJ, catered hors d'oeuvres for attendees, fitness-focused activities for children, as well as a demo of Coach Jai’s personal one-on-one boxing lessons featuring none other East Point’s very own Mayor Deana Holiday Ingraham.
“Small businesses really are the lifeblood of our economy and our local community. They create jobs, they create places for us to gather, to grow and that’s really what it’s all about,” Mayor Deana Ingraham emphasized during the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The ceremony also fit in quite nicely with the City of East Point Government’s Healthy Point initiative which was created and spearheaded by the mayor herself.
When asked how it felt to be setting such an example as a business owner as well as a woman of color, Davis said that the experience has been ‘rewarding.’
“I've been in a male-dominated industry all my life. I was a firefighter. I was a police officer, a paramedic, a boxer, so I've always went against the grain.”
Currently, both BoxFit Fitness facilities are located in the Tri-Cities area:
East Point
BoxFit Fitness & Performance
3492 Washington Rd. Ste. 700
East Point, GA 30344
College Park
Body By Jai
1880 Harvard Ave. Ste. A
College Park, GA 30337
For more information about Coach Jai Davis and BoxFit Fitness & Performance, visit her website.
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