Not every tanning salon comes into existence because of a life-long wish; some are happy accidents. Such was the case of Gerald Siano and Nina La Marco-Siano, who originally owned the building inhabited by Bodies in Heat.

After 25 years and a few different owners, the tanning salon was headed downhill. The owner at the time wasn’t in the salon as much, and the employees just couldn’t pick up the slack. Abandoned by its customers, the business couldn’t survive on its own much longer when Nina decided to take action. With the help of her husband Gerald, she took over and quickly learned how to run things.

This wasn’t the first time she took over a failing business in her complex: Nina had taken over a flower shop for a time when the tenant fell ill. Instead of accepting the impending financial loss of a tenant and the expense of stripping the space, she took the much harder road of rebuilding the business and optimistically investing her time and money in its success. Not everyone would go to such great lengths, but Gerald lovingly describes his wife as a tenacious bulldog: “When she sets her mind to doing something, she’s going to do it.”

Gerald, on the other hand, is a self-proclaimed people-person who enjoys engaging in conversation not only with his customers, but with everyone he meets in their community For the past four years, their combined efforts have led them down the unexpectedly happy path of salon ownership and advocacy.

Click here to read the entire article in the latest issue of Smart Tan Magazine online.