Celebrating Montreal Businesses, Entrepreneurs and Influencers: Elie Hawawini

I met Elie more than ten years ago. At our first fitness consultation, I was amazed at his upbeat demeanor and noticed a white light surrounding him. Over the years, he has been a constant support, not only to me but to many of his clients around the world.

You have seen his viral social media videos, you have seen him on local news, but here’s your chance to get to know another part of Elie in this very candid blog post.

Here’s Elie Hawawini.

Petrona: What is your official title?

Elie: Personal Fitness Trainer and Speaker.

Petrona: What is your greatest passion? Did that fuel you to get started?

Elie: My greatest passion is to combine and contribute different elements of sustainable, high-quality health, and personal development into people’s lives. By taking care of my own physical and mental well-being from a young age, I became more aware of my life’s purpose as a human being and learned what I was fully capable of. This led me to tap into an inner power that quickly strengthened my interest and passion for anything related to health and fitness.

Petrona: What is the message you wish to convey to the world? In other words, how do you want to be remembered?

Elie: My message to the world is to always believe! Always believe in yourself, believe in others, believe that you can handle anything, and believe that everything will eventually turn out for the greater good. I truly feel that by believing in the bigger picture of destiny and fate, that our mind, body, and soul will always feel at peace.

I want to be remembered as the person who never gave up on himself or others.

The person who always saw the light and good in humanity no matter how dark things seem.

I want to be remembered as the person who did everything he could to make this world a better place. The person who made everyone in his presence feel good and inspired by his example, his experiences, his words, and his actions.

Petrona: Describe your business, service, or mission.

Elie: I strongly believe that we are all sent here on a mission and cannot leave this journey until we complete what we were meant to do. My mission is to inspire and empower people’s lives on all levels. I use my platform as a Personal Fitness Trainer and Speaker to educate others on the importance and value of mental and physical health. Everything we do and say in our everyday lives and the way we treat ourselves and others stems from these core principles. My mission is to awaken and strengthen these values to help people be their best, feel their best, and live their life to the fullest.

Petrona: What is your biggest quirk?

Elie: My biggest quirk is that I’m extremely detailed in everything I do. Sometimes I’m too detailed and want things done perfectly. If I’m involved in something I always want to make sure that it’s done with extreme care. Sometimes I care too much and it could be too much for some people to handle. That’s me!

Petrona: What has been your biggest challenge in business?

Elie: My biggest challenge in business was making time for different activities outside of work. In my earlier years as a trainer, I became very busy, very quickly, and didn’t know how to balance my passion for what I do in the gym with my other passions outside the gym. With years of practice, I’ve learned to make time for both and allowed my creativity to expand into many different areas of my life. I enjoy keeping a healthy balance in my life because I know it keeps my heart, mind, body, and soul aligned with what I need to accomplish on a daily basis.

Petrona: What’s next for your business or for you?

Elie: After 20 years, I’m still constantly working on my techniques as a fitness trainer, leader, speaker, communicator, and teacher to positively influence everyone around me. I always strive to keep the spark inside me alive and strong to be able to impact the world more effectively, 2020 has marked a new beginning for me and my business. Due to unusual circumstances, I have expanded my personal training and speaking engagements online. I’ve incorporated a virtual platform to further connect with clients internationally, and I am grateful it has been successful.

Petrona: What advice would you give to someone reading this?

Elie: My advice to anyone reading this is to never lose trust in yourself and your ability to overcome anything that life hands you. Trust is something that should be taken very seriously and it always starts within ourselves.

Petrona: What is your favorite quote?

“Don’t be like other people, be better”

My mother always told me this growing up and it taught me the importance of being unique and genuine in a world that can sometimes hold us back from our true potential.