“Leave people stronger than you found them.”
This motto, inspired by Erica Liermann’s military service, guides her leadership in life, in business, and in public service. Eight years of active duty in the U.S. Army taught her resilience, which benefitted her entrepreneurial venture. As a veteran and as the owner of a strength training gym, DUB Fitness in King of Prussia, Pa., she contends that physical strength translates to emotional and mental strength. In the military, in fitness, and in life, doing the bare minimum doesn’t get you anywhere, she says. You need to strive to be better and to help those around you be stronger.
“I want YOU for the U.S. Army”
Erica was a sophomore in high school when she watched the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon on September 11th, 2001. As a member of a military family, she was soon drawn to the Army recruitment office at the local mall, but she was turned away because of her age. She swore to return as soon as she was eligible. Keeping her promise, Erica joined the Army right after high school graduation.
Erica first became a military guard at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, responsible for securing prisoners from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“I was 18, and I had no idea what the heck I was in for, and very nervous,” she says. “But the Army was what I needed.”
After a year at Guantanamo Bay, Erica was stationed at the Department of Defense’s only maximum-security prison: Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.
“It was little old me and up to 90 male inmates. So that was interesting,” she says.
Erica’s deployments took her to Camp Humphreys in Korea, to Okinawa in Japan, and to Baghdad and Al Asad in Iraq, earning her numerous commendations. After eight years of active duty as a guard and a fitness instructor, she returned home in her mid-20s.
Coping with PTSD
Erica describes a difficult shift to civilian life after her years of deployment.
“I had a hard time transitioning out of the military into the civilian sector,” she recalls. “I felt like I had nothing in common with people my age. I was going to war when everybody else was getting Starbucks and wearing Uggs. I didn’t fit in.”
This was particularly difficult, as Erica was suffering from undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder. She was hesitant to reach out to veterans’ associations for support.
“I refused to go to the VA because I had survivor’s guilt,” Erica says. “I made it home, so why did I need help? And this was 2013 and 2014. There wasn’t yet a lot of research on PTSD because we were all still fresh from combat. And they especially didn’t understand the stresses on women.”
She enrolled at West Chester University in Pennsylvania and earned a degree in kinesiology. Erica focused on physical education and fitness as therapy to cope with her PTSD. She became a health and P.E. teacher and poured her energy into her work. Fitness offered her an escape from the trauma, along with the same strong structure that the military provided, and also a new opportunity to lead.
Learning and Leading
While at West Chester, Erica joined the Student Veterans Group and then became its first female president. There she met a mentor who encouraged her to open her own gym. She started with neighborhood boot camps for moms in her community, and she designed her instructional techniques by emulating drill sergeants.
“One woman said, ‘I love you, but I’m never coming back, because I’ve never experienced pain like that,’” Erica recalls.
She returned to school and completed required athletic certifications before founding DUB Fitness, a women-only gym in King of Prussia. The name, short for the letter “W,” was Erica’s nickname in high school (her maiden name was Weinstein).
“Born to be capable. Built to be strong.”
This is the tagline for DUB, which provides a safe space for women to build muscle without anyone judging them, Erica says.
“Every day they show up is another day they saved my life”
-Erica Liermann
Today, the gym is home to about 50 active members. They run five fitness classes a week with around 13 women per class. Erica guesses that in DUB’s 13-year history, they’ve trained over 2,000 women.
Erica needed courage and persistence as she developed her new business.
“People told me all the time, ‘You’re leaving money on the table by making it all women. It’s a foolish business model.’ But it’s thriving, and the women there have been there since the beginning, which is pretty miraculous,” she says.
Erica’s military background shapes staff development at her gym. She only hires from within, recruiting her employees from among gym members who demonstrate leadership.
“That’s similar to what I learned in the military: to move up in rank you have to display leadership qualities and selfless service,” she explains. “So I invite a member to get certified and become a coach. The four coaches I have right now were all members at one point.”
A Champion of Female Soldiers and Veterans
In addition to her business responsibilities, Erica advocates for female veterans.
“In service, women are highly visible, but when they exit the service, they become invisible. No one thinks a woman is a veteran,” she points out.
At a Philadelphia Veterans Parade one year, Erica remembers parking in a special lot with her Iraq Campaign Medal on her license plate. The attendant asked her where her husband had served.
“And I explained that it was me,” she says. “But automatically people assume that a soldier is a man. Every woman veteran that I come across deals with the exact same thing. I always feel uncomfortable parking at Lowe’s, where there are veteran identifiers, because I assume people will criticize me for parking in a spot where they think I don’t belong.”
She says it’s more important now than ever to advocate for female soldiers in a toxic and sexist culture.
Female military personnel who deal with sexual harassment and assault are considered a nuisance to their units, she says. She recalls an interaction with a soldier who told her, “I’ve never had to deal with female soldiers, so I can’t be held accountable for how I talk to you.”
On another occasion, a man told her that female soldiers have it easy, completing a less rigorous physical fitness test to retain their good standing. Erica’s response? “Okay, bet.” She proved him wrong, training for and passing the male fitness standard so that nobody could tell her she wasn’t as deserving of her post as her male counterparts.
Service to Community
Erica’s leadership and activism extend far beyond DUB. Today she serves as a spokesperson for Team Foster, a nonprofit organization that provides veterans with service dogs. She is also involved with the Greater Philadelphia Veterans Network and the Veterans Business Referral Network. She was a Top 25 finalist for Ms. Veteran America. And she was featured as an entrepreneur in Forbes magazine.
“I didn’t do hard things because I was confident,” she explains on her LinkedIn page. “I became confident because I did them.”
