Spotlight on Black Women Owned Business: Charlotte Fit

In honor of the first black Batwoman, we shine the bat-signal on black women owned businesses in the Queen City

February 5, 2021

Jessica Baryla,

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A powerful black woman is taking Gotham by storm. But in Charlotte, powerful black women have always been essential in shaping the city. To celebrate the first black Batwoman played by Javicia Leslie Sundays on Charlotte’s CW, we are shining the bat-signal on businesses run by black women in Charlotte.

“Keeping the Queen Strong.” The tagline of Charlotte Fit is more than a nod to the Queen City. Owner Taylor Calamese has spent the last 7 years boosting the health and confidence of local women. Since 2014, Charlotte Fit, formerly TC Lifestyle Fitness, has been an inclusive, boutique gym, offering customized personal training and nutrition coaching for the modern woman. “The big thing that separates our gym from other gyms is that it’s very small personal training, only 1-4 people max at our small group training sessions,” says Calamese.

Inside the modern-art adorned, chic training area located off W.T. Harris across from UNC Charlotte, Calamese demonstrates proper form to masked women lifting weights. With a masters in kinesiology and a concentration in physical activity promotion, Calamese works to promote an overall healthy lifestyle instead of diet and workout trends. Her new ebook offers comprehensive nutrition coaching which she describes as “small sustainable steps that people can apply to daily life in order to lose weight for life – not just on a diet fad.”

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Calamese’s impact goes beyond the gym. “For me, representation matters,” she says, stressing the importance of being a black woman in business. “Even when your doubts get the best of you, understand that you’re doing it for somebody that’s coming after you. So that is the fuel to keep going.”

Effortlessly demonstrating burpees off a balance ball for a client, Calamese could give most superheroes a run for their money. Her favorite heroine? Storm. Referencing Halle Berry’s iconic role, “The power, the strength and Mother Nature. It brings together all the female characteristics and aspects of nature.” As for Calamese, she has exactly the characteristics needed to keep the queens of Charlotte strong.