In 2015, Bobby Muniz was praying and holding on to hope as his wife prepared to give birth to their youngest child, Ariel.

Some doctors did not give the baby girl much chance to survive long after birth, but she did, with surgeries soon to follow to bolster her health. The miracle and joy of his daughter’s birth inspired the Harlingen pharmacist and school board member to re-examine his work, profession and connection to his community.

Muniz grew up the son of a pharmacist. He attended Texas A&M University, and after graduation, worked in management positions for two large corporations before attending pharmacy school in Houston. From there, Muniz would return to his hometown and establish Muniz Rio Grande Pharmacy in 2009.

The business has been a successful one, with Muniz adding, “It’s not your typical pharmacy.”

The Muniz Pharmacy offers compounding, meaning medications are customized to the meet the individual needs of customers. The pharmacy also offers individual consultations to assess a customer’s health issues. A third service offered at the pharmacy is that its staff works with customers and health care professionals to individualize hormone replacement therapy.

Despite the diversity of services, Muniz still felt there was “one piece missing” in his business.  Muniz found what he was looking for during what he called “a sabbatical” while away from the business during his daughter’s birth. He discovered Training For Warriors, a fitness and nutrition program, which is high on energy, motivation and determination to improve overall health and mental and physical well-being.

“Burn fat, build muscle, feel better,” is how Muniz describes it. He operates Training For Warriors apart from the pharmacy at a downtown Harlingen facility. They are, however, companion businesses for Muniz in that their goals are essentially the same – to help customers feel better and to be proactive in improving their health.

“Sometimes people are embarrassed about their health or their looks,” Muniz said of people looking for an outlet to improve their health. “We offer them a place where they won’t be judged.”

Training For Warriors has affiliates around the nation and world and its system offers a range of strength and mobility exercises along with the importance of eating a whole food-based diet. Wherever possible, Muniz and his coaches work to get clients off of medications and into a natural lifestyle of a better diet and consistent exercise.

Muniz’s passion for the training program is such that he’s expanding it and will soon move into a facility with more space. Training For Warriors in Harlingen in the coming year will be located in a plaza space adjacent to Walmart and Harlingen South High School. It is sure to have its share of enthusiasts working out under Muniz’s watch.

“Training For Warriors is more than a gym or a workout,” said Gloria Kirby Priestely, in a testimonial on Muniz’s TFW Facebook page. “From the first workout, the TFW process and familia have lifted me and pushed me to keep improving and getting better.”

The fitness coach remains a pharmacist at heart, and in Muniz’s view, it’s an ideal fit. Pay a visit to his busy pharmacy on South Commerce Street in Harlingen, and it’s the feel of a hometown business with warm greetings from the staff for incoming customers.

“I’ll walk around the counter to greet you,” he said, an approach Muniz takes as a pharmacist – or as a fitness coach training warriors.