The dream of a Bridgeport native to open his own business has come true – and he says he owes his success to his mother.

"If you come here to work out, you're going to have an experience," said Leonard Brown.

Brown recently opened Limitless Fitness in Shelton.

He is currently helping over 100 clients get in shape.

"These people are...family to me," said Brown.

But Brown says when he was very young, he wasn't sure something like this could ever work out.

"Being a Black kid from Bridgeport, you really have to beat statistics, you have to beat odds," said Brown.

Brown says his mother has always been his inspiration.

"This is a lot of credit to my mother for always being on me about doing the right thing, you know being a good kid, and really making something of myself.  She worked two jobs as a single mom to keep a roof over our head, clothes on my back," said Brown.

Sadly Patricia Webb died in August 2021 from lung cancer.

Brown will honor his mother by holding his grand opening on Feb. 9, which would have been her 60th birthday.

"I felt that there was no better way or better day to celebrate her life, what she meant to me, all that she's done for me than to have the grand opening on her birthday," said Brown.

Brown now has a 70,000-square-foot space.

It's a far cry from where he used to train people outside at Beardsley Park in Bridgeport.

"I'm helping people get healthier, which in turn they will be able to spend more time with their family, spend more time here on this earth," said Brown.

Time is something Brown wishes he had more of with his mother.

If you'd like to find out more about Brown's story, click here.