Hannah Bronfman is the equivalent of Wonder Woman equipped with a pair of turn tables and a protein bar.
At 27 years old, the DJ and founder of health, beauty and fitness website HBFit.com, has cleverly positioned herself as a bonafide boss and standout in the saturated markets of music and fitness thanks to her quirky and down-to-earth demeanor. And if you’re still not familar with New York City’s it girl, just check out Instagram’s favorite tab and we’re sure you’ll recognize her enviable, toned abs and tight glutes that have garnered thousands of likes. But it’s her natural love for educating and empowering people to live happy and healthy lives that she takes the most pride in. “Ultimately I want people to be inspired to go on their own journey of self-discovery,” she tells Vixen.
Here, Bronfman lays out her successful blueprint on turning her passions into businesses, self discovery, and her health, beauty and fitness website, HBFit. – Ashley Monae
VIBE Vixen: From DJ to founder of HBFit.com and all-around entrepreneur, you just about do it all. Tell us, who is Hannah Bronfman?
Hannah Bronfman: I’m a firm believer that you don’t have to pick one career path. I feel strongly about turning all of my passions into businesses, ranging from DJing to founding my wellness site, HBFit.
Did you always know you wanted to be this multifaceted talent? You graduated form Bard with a degree in Sculpture, but went onto do other things. How come?
All my endeavors have somehow flowed logically together. Art is definitely a passion of mine, but one that I couldn’t afford to keep-up post-graduation, so I turned to DJing to pay the bills. Since I kept long hours and always needed to be on it, I embarked on my fitness journey, which led me to found the health, beauty and wellness site, HBFit. My parents are very supportive and excited for me and I’m sure ultimately happy I didn’t choose to go the starving artist route.
You’ve got a real knack for the 1’s and 2’s, providing the vibes for the hottest events like Paris Fashion Week parties. How did you get into DJing?
I come from a musical family, but never tapped into it until I was thrown into a DJing gig during college. My friends who own the Jane Hotel had a DJ cancel last minute and asked me to step in. I literally learned the software 20 minutes before going on! It was so much fun that I never looked back.
For the past few years we’ve watched you hone in on being this go-to gal for all things fitness via Instagram. What prompted this journey?
Being active was always a priority growing up. I studied ballet until I was a teenager. Fitness is one of my main passions, so I naturally love to share my experiences with people. I really started to explore the endless possibilities of the fitness world six years ago when I saw the best results on my body after mixing up my routine every day. I especially love highlighting new workouts I’m trying or when I meet my goals with my social media followers. I recently mastered crow pose in Yoga, which I was extremely excited about. Ultimately, I want people to be inspired to go on their own journey of self-discovery.
Tell us about your latest venture, HBFit.
Health and fitness were always my passions, but for some reason ones that never found a place in my professional trajectory. For me, Instagram was really the jumping off point for how I began to share my fitness journey, but it got to a point where I had so much more to say than the caption allowed. As I was thinking about my career priorities in 2014, I realized that I needed to incorporate wellness. HBFit was my solution – a site that explores all things health, beauty and fitness related and features many experts that I turn to for advice on hot topics in wellness.
You’ve said in past interviews that you live by the mantra, “Your body is a temple.” Did this inspire your launch of HBFit?
My mom told me this mantra when I was a little girl and it always stuck with me. It especially resonated with me after watching my grandmother lose her life to malnourishment, due to anorexia. After this experience, as well as being diagnosed with Leaky Gut, I prioritized treating my body with extreme care. This means maintaining a strict diet and fitting a workout to even the busiest of days.
What are your thoughts on societies pressures on body image and beauty?
As someone with little sisters, I am hyper-aware of the image that I’m putting out there. There are obviously a ton of societal pressures for girls to conform to the “ideal model body,” but I think that we are moving towards a more realistic view of beauty and I feel strongly about being involved in the movement. I really do believe that #FitIsTheNewSkinny, and one of my main motivations for creating HBFit was to focus on a healthy and wellness-focused life that celebrates strong, like-minded people.
Aside from being a fitness aficionado you’re a part-time model too, walking the runway at DKNY’s Fall 2014 Fashion Show. How was that experience?
It was surreal. I’ve never had any training as a model so I was super nervous. Once I hit the runway I had so much adrenaline that I didn’t think about anything except walking straight.
What is one thing that owning your own business has taught you?
That starting a business is just half the battle; growing it is even more difficult. Also, I’ve learned that that you need to hire people that are strong where you are weak. A good team is everything.
Any advice you would you give young women interested in going into business for themselves, being that you’ve successfully wrangled all your passions into a career.
Find out what you’re passionate about, and look for creative opportunities to get involved!
What’s next on the horizon for Hannah Bronfman?
Stay tuned for an exciting announcement with HBFit and keep track of what I’m up to on Instagram + Snapchat! @Hannahbronfman + @Hannahbgood
Photo Credit: Instagram/Hannah Bronfman