Soni Smith is a personal fitness trainer, life coach, mother, and a healthcare professional. She chatted about her latest endeavors, and being a part of the digital age.
Iconic comedian Groucho Marx once said: “Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife.” This quote applies to Soni Smith, who is the wife of registered nurse, fitness trainer, and Mister California contender Isaiah Smith.
Daily inspirations
On her daily inspirations, she said, “Every day, I get inspired by my clients, pushing their comfort zones farther and farther away. I get inspired by them taking a chance on themselves and me to become who they believe they can be. I enjoy watching them reach their goals and setting new goals and new milestones after that.”
Future plans
Regarding her future plans, “I’m definitely not where I want to be but I’m actively changing as I go despite challenges that come my way. I’m learning new things about myself and about the world every day so my desires and ideas around success tend to change.”
“I would like to move completely away from healthcare and do personal training and life coaching full time. I’m working towards having a healthy balance between work, family and self care, so that is what I’m striving to accomplish with each day,” she elaborated.
Balancing motherhood and fitness
On balancing motherhood and fitness, she said, “Balancing motherhood and fitness is difficult. What works for my busy days is planning in advance so I know what to expect and then always having a plan B to stay prepared.”
“Both fitness and my family are my happiness, so when there is a lot going on with my family, it can be challenging because I find therapy in that,” she added.
The digital age
On being a part of the digital age, Smith said, “Being in today’s society with social media, I think is beautiful and scary at the same time. As a trainer it’s cool because my information can spread positivity and a healthy lifestyle balance.”
“I love helping people and being raw with my content,” she admitted. “It’s beautiful how social media can spread awareness with the click of a button and so fast. I think it’s so so important to not believe everything you see on social media, not everyone is an expert but they might make it seem like they are.”
“Don’t believe everything you see, unfortunately not everyone has your best interests. That’s why I value authenticity,” she observed.
Utilizing technology in her daily routine
On her use of technology in her daily routine, she said, “I use technology for everything which was scary with the thoughts about recent Geostorm in America. It could potentially wipe out all technology and communication.”
“I use my notes to manage mine and my partners travels, day to day life, activities, appointments, everything. I use social media to spread awareness, spread ideas, knowledge, or even just relatable content for moms and women. A space I consider to be safe and validating,” she elaborated.
Soni Smith on her defining moments
On her career-defining moments, she responded, “There hasn’t been many defining moments in my healthcare jobs. All my defining moments came from life experiences and fitness.”
“The hardest part about personal training is learning how to get an individual out of their own head, which of course is going to be different for every person. One of my defining moments was at my low point, feeling so sorry and pitiful for myself, until I realized who I was, I snapped out of it and started becoming who I wanted to be,” she explained.
“My lowest point was my divorce from my first husband, I immediately fell into depression. I decided to take action, got a better job, started working on myself to be the best mom I can be, which ultimately lead me to where I am now. I’m proud of myself for not giving up,” she added.
Advice for hopefuls that wish to go into fitness professionally
For hopefuls that wish to go into fitness professionally, she said, “I say go for it… make sure you’re doing your part to learn appropriate information so that you can actually help others become everything they deserve to be.”
Being married to her best friend: Isaiah Smith
Soni opened up about being the wife of Isaiah Smith, RN, who is representing the state of California in the forthcoming 2024 Mister USA competition, where the finals will be held at the Shrine Auditorium on August 11th in Los Angeles. “Man being in this position is not for the weak,” she admitted.
“It’s freaking hard, every relationship is hard, of course kids are too and mitigating everything we all feel and do is hard. Isaiah has added so much value as a man and husband letting me be in my feminine energy, as well as a proper father,” she said.
“Isaiah doesn’t take that role lightly,” she noted. “He puts his all into everything, he has values and standards that are simple. Overall, he’s my greatest friend and I always knew he had so much potential.”
“I’m so glad I forced him to make a TikTok. He’s destined for greatness, even though there’s a lot of hardship to get there. I’m proud to be by his side for that and I’m so obsessed with him that I’ll take all the struggle with him to get there as a team. I love my teammate,” she acknowledged.
She shared her excitement for the upcoming Mister USA pageant. “I literally get teary-eyed thinking of what he can achieve and how special he is,” she said.
“Isaiah knows his potential but he likes to be a realist,” she said. “I’m a huge optimist w a hint of realism. I think he can absolutely win, go on to Mister Universe and dominate that too.”
“Either way, it’s an amazing experience, I’m so stoked for him,” she said. “Isaiah is a passionate, creative, empathetic human. Isiah is self-aware, conscious of what he does and how it affects others, knows how to take accountability, knows how to take criticism to continue trying to be a better person, he’s a genuinely authentic person who always has the best intentions.”
“I think he replicates a good example of a man and how men should be. As a father, a boss, a husband, a friend, everything. He is truly a special person in so many ways,” she added.
Success
On her definition of success, she said, “Isaiah and I see success differently. For me, success is a happy home, balance with self care, endless family time. I can see Isaiah being a successful business owner having multiple streams of income, while my job as a trainer and life coach takes off.”
“I want a happy home where our kids grow up loving themselves, and us,” she admitted. “They’ll know we put them first every time while also not having to sacrifice our own well being.”
“Showing that as adults we know how to be conscious about what we do with our time, be intentional with everything, and we have enough self awareness/ self love to keep pushing and being our best selves,” she acknowledged.
“I fully believe we’re on the right track to be where we should be, even though we’re not there yet. I know it’s coming, we have a few more experiences and hurdles to jump over before we reach that destination,” she concluded.
To learn more about Soni Smith, follow her on Instagram.
