Meet Johnette
In 2018 I started Elevated by JC and as I have grown as a creator and entrepreneur so has my brand. I found my voice again. My love for fitness grew, my passion for dancing was reignited by Swerk Dance Fit and everything that has transpired since then has led me to where I am now.
Back in 2012 I was diagnosed with an auto immune disorder and since then have had 6 surgeries and 3 organs removed. I was very frail and weak and I didn’t want to feel that way anymore- so I made the conscious decision to get healthy and strong. I started lifting and eventually ran a half marathon and competed in 5 NPC bikini shows with multiple placements, launched my own fitness brand and found SWERK. Dance has always been a huge part of my life but for a long period of time I wasn’t able to fully devote any energy into it. I then got connected to SWERK. In a time where I was fighting anxiety, panic attacks, depression and divorce I found my creative love for dance again.
I found my truth
I found my confidence
I found my self-worth
I found my tribe
I found my sisterhood
I found who Johnette Cruz was at the core of her being.
SWERK is SO much more than a dance class, it’s a way to uplift other women, to cheer them on, to be their encourager and supporter through hardships of life because that’s what it did for me!
SWERK impacted my life so much so that I recently opened up my own dance fitness studio providing group fitness classes, personal training and nutrition consulting. The community I’ve been able to cultivate is amazing and I’m so blessed to have the most influential women in my life that all want to strive to be better, and empower themselves. Through this wonderful circle we’ve built up women who have a passion and zest for life. With that type of energy, anything is possible and nothing is too hard to overcome.
Because of my experience I want my studio to be what SWERK reminded myself of:
That you are loved. That your true self matters. That your confidence will only get stronger, and the fire for the authentic YOU will be brought out. That you will and can overcome life’s valleys…. and that now you will only accept the best version of yourself.
When you truly love yourself, is when YOU can love others and love them well and that is what this community has done for me.
I’ve become a very big champion for empowering other women to love themselves, I share my battles of life and how you can overcome them regardless of your situation.
SWERK is life-changing and I can’t wait to continue on this mission of changing the lives of other women.
My community that I’ve grown I feel is comprised of other women who share in the same struggles but also want to continue to work, push and elevate themselves in all areas of life! I am also Latina (Puerto Rican) and I’m very proud of my heritage, culture and the groups I’ve been able to connect with through social media. What I love even more is how I’ve been able to weave in my culture into dancing by creating Latin inspired combos to compliment SWERK’s choreography.
Since I’ve been more engaged on social media I’ve grown my account on IG to 15.3K followers, 19K on TikTok and have over 3500 connections on Facebook. I’ve created partnerships with various organizations and influential people in central Indiana that align with SWERK, worked with some of the best boutique studios around Indy, plus I’ve gotten 60 year old women to shake their best ASSets! I mean if that doesn’t show the level of impact SWERK has then I don’t know what will!
