Women in Business: Personal trainer Marissa Cunningham

Marissa Cunningham helps women find the best of themselves.  

Among several hats she wears, Cunningham, owner of Body by MC, offers small group training and personal training. She also models with Millie Lewis Greenville and occasionally acts. But training small groups of women to find their power and confidence in the gym is what fuels her passion. 

“It kind of tugs at my heart because I started my own fitness journey out of necessity after having two babies in two years,” she says. “I was literally pregnant for two years – my babies are one year and nine days apart.” 

After having her son, Cunningham was 30 pounds underweight. 

“I was dealing with postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, and I did not know how to deal with it or what to do,” she says.  

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Through that struggle, Cunningham learned that exercise was beneficial to her mental health, as well as her physical health. At the time, she was in cosmetology school. (“Nobody needs to sit in my chair. I was not a good hairstylist,” she says.) Her husband convinced her to come to the gym, which she admits, was awful at first.  

“But he knew what I needed, and he encouraged me to keep coming back and coming back,” she says. “And eventually, I started gaining more weight, I was getting stronger. My body image changed. I felt better about how I looked, and I just took a deep dive into learning more about fitness.” 

Cunningham became a certified personal trainer and now has a varied teaching background, from Silver Sneakers to Zumba to yoga.  

“I've always felt that it was my calling to inspire healthy living,” she says. “My journey started out of necessity. It seemed hard at first, learning how to eat properly, ways to work out, just all the things – there's so much information.” 

Cunningham says it’s been a motivational journey learning and then sharing.  

“To me, I felt like being able to put together all the things that I've learned, all the things I've experienced, and share it with women that have a like mind,” she says. "They want to feel better so they can do better – is not only inspiring for them, it's inspiring for me, because it makes me keep growing.” 

Visit bodybymc.com for information about personal and small group training. Be on the lookout for an app, real-time virtual training and more.