Carol Araya: Part 2 of a Zumba Story

After having our insight into “Zumba with Carol”, Gringo Media had the chance to discover a little bit more about Carol’s character, and who is behind this Chilean beauty.

What makes Zumba so special?

Zumba is the only fitness program in the world where the focus is to have fun through dance: it is exercise in disguise! All you do is copying and repeating very easy to follow steps to the most uplifting, energising music you can exercise to and then suddenly an hour has passed and you have burnt hundreds of calories while dancing the night away. Sounds like a win win situation to me! 

What made you choose Brisbane as the place to work and live?

My husband won a Chilean scholarship to study a Ph.D. at UQ. When we chose Brisbane, our only reference were some google articles about how green, beautiful and multicultural the city was, and how close it was to the gorgeous beaches. Brisbane has totally exceeded our expectations and we are completely in love with the city and its culture. The original plan was to enjoy these 5 years in Oz and support my husband's studies while learning English but as soon as I arrived to Brisbane I realised how much Australian people love the Latin culture so I started teaching Zumba classes here and there and without realising I have built this beautiful business teaching what I love and helping people in their fitness journeys

What has the biggest challenge you had to face to achieve your current success?

I would say the language and the lack of social networks. When we arrived I did not know a single soul in this city and I did not speak much English, so at the beginning it was very hard to communicate when trying to do business with other people but I was blessed to meet only very kind people who were willing to understand my hand signals and faulty grammar. It was very funny indeed. The other major challenge was the lack of social networks for both my business and my personal life as it is very hard to do anything without friends and acquaintances to help and support you. Nowadays, I cannot complain, as I have met some of the most amazing people through Zumba and made life lasting friendships.

By Janeth Taborda