We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Sasha Curr a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Sasha, appreciate you joining us today. What do you think it takes to be successful?

To be successful, I think it takes some sort of risk. Most successful business owners I know have taken risks to get where they are. It may mean taking out a big loan and risking your life savings to make a dream come true. Or trying something totally out of the box, believing, deep down your idea will work and become the new hot thing.

My parents were successful business owners, but when they started their business they didn’t have much money to invest in equipment. What worked for them was hard work and determination, showing up for the job, working when other wouldn’t, saving money and taking that money and investing it back into their business in turn to hopefully see it grow. Which it did, they took a risk, used their savings and purchased a piece of equipment they needed to help with the work they needed to get done. Little by little, others saw their hard work and determination, and job started to come in! They retired at the age of 51, the risks they choose, along with hard work, showing up day in and day out made their dreams come true.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I have always known since high school that I wanted to have an occupation which was related to activity and sport growing up. I was always active as a young child, I played every sport I took an interest in. Growing up with 3 brothers it most definitely gave me that competitive edge. I eventually set my sights on competitive hockey in Junior High and played competitively and into college. In college I actually decided to go to school for Child and Youth Care Counseling. Being a gym owner never really crossed my mind until after college. I was working front line youth work and Coordinating programs. But once I had a child of my own I took some time off to evaluate my passions. I switched occupations, started working part time as a Coordinator for the Mountain View Emergency Shelter and slowly decided to prepare for the possibility of opening up my own gym.
I am passionate about helping others, my parents said to me, you should take a leap and try opening up your own gym. I never actually thought that would be a possibility, I was clueless as to what it would take to be a business owner. but with a little guidance and all of the support, we made my dream a reality. I say “we”, because it takes a team…I was clueless, but I had the most supportive people in my corner who had been through it all.
I first opened up a CrossFit Affiliate as a co-owner, then branched off as sole owner, and decided to drop affiliation and create a “Functional Fitness” gym along with strength and conditioning training with our local teams and athletes. At Mountain View Strength and Conditioning, my vision was to not just offer “one thing” I wanted to offer a variety of fitness avenues. The gym does operate mostly functional fitness classes, but what I also offer is Strength and Conditioning for teams and small groups, individual personal training, Competitive programming for athletes and individual programming for the every day gym go-er, boot-camp classes and teen classes. I am also a Precision Nutrition Certified coach so I also offer one to one nutrition coaching for -individuals who come from all types of background with a variety of different goals. I also really enjoy running fun events around the gym to get people involved, BBQ’s and fundraisers. Our community has Raised over $10,000 throughout the past4.5 years we have been in operation. We have donated to organizations like, Alberta Mental Health, Mountain View Emergency Shelter Society and to the Local Food Bank.

What brings me the most joy as a gym owner is the community of people that fill the space. I aim to create a safe space, where people can be themselves, feel supported and have fun. There is nothing better then watching the folks in the gym do something, that they never thought they could do before they walked through those doors. There is nothing better then hearing my members tell me how proud they are of themselves, or how they wished they had done it sooner, or one of the most powerful quotes “it has changed their lives”….that brings me so much fulfillment, and I know I am doing something right.

If you were to walk into Mountain View Strength and Conditioning right now and ask a member why they choose this gym in particular…..I think you would hear most of them say “because of the community”, ” for their mental health”, “for the supportive environment”, “for the great workouts and coaches”. Fitness is so much more then being fit at MVS&C. The gym has created a space of belonging, friendships that will last a life time, community involvement, trying new things, and being pushed out of your comfort zone…..in a good way.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

During COVID, this was a difficult time for all gyms across the Country. Rules were always changing and we had to change with them in order to run our business safely. We had just opened up the gym in September, .a few months later is when the COVID pandemic hit. We went from changing our programming up to only include max 6 people in the gym in their own little workout stations. Folks would need to sign in or they wouldn’t get a spot. We went from small workout stations, to doing workouts strictly outside. Our Athletes would still show up in the snow and wind and get a workout in….talk about perseverance!

We also had to close the gym down for weeks at a time, running workouts from Zoom. Starting with 20 people or so….this carried on for a couple months, and we still had regulars by the time this had ended and we could get back into the gym. We created at home gym memberships which included rental equipment from the gym so our members could still join in their own homes over zoom. Its unbelievable to think back at that time, it doesn’t even seem real. Without our members supporting us through every step of the way, and changing the gym up to accommodate the ever changing rules, I’m unsure if we would have made it through!

Can you tell us about what’s worked well for you in terms of growing your clientele?

I believe the most effective strategy for growing the clientele at the gym, especially in our small town has been word of mouth. I do use some advertising streams such as Facebook and Instagram. But I believe, if you make sure to give your clients a great experience, they will in turn tell their family, friends and co-workers about their experience and then they will bring their friends.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.mvstrengthandconditioning.com
• Instagram: mvstrengthandconditioning
• Facebook: Mountain View Strength and Conditioning

Image Credits
Photos are by Mallory Todd Instagram- mallorytoddphoto