Scottsdale Health January 2020

Veteran Shonte Turner can now add entrepreneur to her titles.
As the owner of TurnFIT, Turner is utilizing her military
background along with her passion for health to create fitness
products.
After a decade of active duty service, Turner found herself
a veteran with a void of comradery. So, she turned to fitness, a
subject she already felt enthusiastic about. Turner was already
in the habit of working out, enjoyed physical training and had
an interest in nutrition. When a friend recommended that she
enter a fitness competition, she saw it as an opportunity to put
her hard work on display.
“What really stood out, and stills holds true today, is competing
is something that is just about me,” she says.
Entrepreneurial Pursuits
TurnFIT came about as a natural step for the fitnessgoer and
self-described “low-key germaphobe.”
As part of her workout routine, Turner utilizes sweatinducing
waist trimmers during cardio exercises. Faced with
the dilemma of maintaining clean and dry equipment for
back-to-back fitness sessions, she decided to create SwapTrap,
a waist trimmer drying mat. She also created the YoTrap, a drying
yoga mat accessory. Both inserts work by keeping bacteria
at bay, thanks to the antibacterial material, and can dry the
surface of equipment in minutes verses hours.
The yoga-friendly YoTrap is a dual-purpose towel to utilize
as a yoga towel during your workout and as a moisture wicking
drying mat for after your workout. The SwapTrap prevents
odor and mildew by keeping any standard waist trimmer’s
surface dry.
As a woman of color and an entrepreneur, Turner feels a
strong responsibility to set a positive example for other women
and young girls. Though there have been discouraging days
along her journey, she recognizes the importance of her position
as a role model.
“This year I was at the Phoenix Fitness Expo, and two
teenage girls approached the TurnFIT booth and simply said
‘Thank you for spreading the black girl magic’ and in that
moment it was all worth it,” she says.
Hard Work, Happy Life
While her background in information management from her
time in the Air Force coupled with a degree in organizational
management and an MBA in Project Management provide her
with the technical experience to her business, Shonte’s optimistic
perspective also serves as an important factor for her
entrepreneurial journey.
Turner believes that everyone has at least one great invention
in them. Her hard work ethic, business plan and ability to
be resourceful, despite the lack of mentors or investors, were
all factors in making her dream a reality.
“The most rewarding part of my career is the fact that
TurnFIT is all mine; my inventions, my designs, my blood,
sweat, and tears,” she says.
/ photo by Krissy Osborne / makeup by Vanessa Cooper
Through all her endeavors in her personal and professional
life, Turner has been fortunate to have the support of her husband,
who is also a veteran, and three children.
“My husband is so supportive because he sees how happy
this business makes me. In the gym and on stage my family supports
the at times selfish moments it took to get there and for
that I am forever grateful,” she says.
With her supportive family and her eyes on the prize of creating
her own empire, Turner is only expanding her business,
with an apparel line in the works.
“I’m finding my business evolves the more I evolve,” she
says. “I have had to really come out of my shell and step out of
my comfort zone because in the end, the TurnFIT products are
not just about me.”
For more information, visit www.turnfitproducts.com.
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