Vanessa Bayless survived 9/11 in the Bronx, served in the military, lost her infant at 19, and faced homelessness. She built Daytona Wellness Spa to serve over 20,000 clients, including cancer patients and hospice recipients, through a community-focused approach to healing.
Chapters
Excuse me, this is your business? Great. Would you like to do a founder story? Of course. Yes? Okay. What are the biggest struggles that you have come across? Lived in poverty, almost was evicted, shelter many times, no food, no heat. This is my story and I would love to serve you. You're so pretty. Oh my God, you're such a sweetheart. My name is Vanessa Bayless. I am the owner of Daytona Wellness Spa, and this is my founder story. I started this business because I enjoy helping people. Coming to the United States when I was 5, I lived in poverty. I remember I was eating snow. I was hungry. I didn't eat for a whole day. My mom passed by a bar and she met my stepdad. That took us in. We lived with a total stranger for like 10 years of my life. And then I was in high school, 9/11. We was in the Bronx and that happened in Manhattan. I just saw every— all my friends' parents die, like right on camera. So the teacher cut the TV, class got dismissed, and everything was dark, foggy in the city. Had to walk home like 30 minutes. Nobody want to give me a ride. And one split second, Every teenager there that was gonna graduate just lost their parent. We just did a pact that we were all joining the military and fight back. Once I graduated, joined the military, I was found myself in Hawaii and I just ended up in a combat zone and a lot of people died. And at 19, I earned a combat action badge right in direct fire. I had just got back from deployment. I became pregnant. I had to give birth to a baby that that have passed away, being a young mother, having to bury a child when being 19 years old, being, um, being homeless, having no food, going through school like on our own. It made me the woman I am today, and through all my experiences, this is what made me open Deltona Wellness Spa. Not just beauty, it's also mental, holistic, from the inside. It's all one, so I can help you guys. I have treated over 20,000 clients, clients from cancer, hospice care, kids. I enjoy teaching everybody and giving them all my help, and we all grow together and we all push each other. It's just a team makes a whole village. This is my story, and I would love to serve you.
