We recently connected with Shay Kostabi and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Shay thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What do you think Corporate America gets wrong in your industry?

I see Corporate America trying to capitalize on people’s fears and insecurities in the fitness industry. We are constantly sold a narrative that we need to change something about our physical appearance in order to be happy and fit in. Or that fitness is only about burning calories, losing weight, dropping inches, sculpting muscle and drinking protein shakes until the wheels fall off. We’ve forgotten that movement and music are medicine and community is a core pillar of health and well-being.

I believe we need stop positioning fitness as way to change something about ourselves and start creating experiences where change becomes inevitable because people feel moved, challenged, valued, supported and seen.

There are many roads to health, self-empowerment and personal development. Fitness is merely a vehicle to get there. One that taps into all the senses. I’d love to see less hustle, intimidation and talk about “sacrifice” and more compassion, inclusivity and JOY.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am a former full time group fitness instructor and international master trainer (which means I train other trainers how to teach). I got into fitness through a test group for a weight-loss program and while it was life changing it also caused a lot of problems behind the scenes like disordered eating habits and body dysmorphia. I felt so confident, empowered and “fit” but also a little lost and broken. I wanted to share the collective joy of moving to music, find the balance between strength and grace the pressure to look a certain way. I got all my certifications and started from scratch by taking a 4am shift at a corporate gym and working the front desk, spraying shoes at a small cycling studio. When I started teaching everything lit up for me. I was excited to help people feel something and shift their relationship with fitness from something that had to do to “fix” themselves to something they looked forward to participating in that gave meaning to their lives.

After almost 15 years or teaching and training internationally I know own my own business with my husband – whom I met through fitness and trained to teach. Fitcarma is a brand strategy & experience design consultancy for boutique fitness studios and entrepreneurs. What that means is we help business owners build a brand that moves people by helping them nail their messaging, share their story and position themselves in the market as The One their clients have been looking for. We also support both studio owners and instructors with program design, instructor training, continuing education resources and systems to help build teams and experiences that can scale.

Fitness changed my body. But the group fitness community changed my life. Both my husband and I want to pay that forward and support more leaders in the industry to serve their communities with impact.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Let’s be clear, whatever market you’re in, it’s always evolving and you’re not crazy if it feels like the pace has accelerated. It has. I’ve pivoted so many times in my career there have been times I couldn’t tell you which way was North. A major pivot happened during the pandemic. The studios we were teaching at part time shut down. I had also just had a baby. Our services were no longer required. I had to go on unemployment and we got a PPP loan for our business. We noticed that alot of instructors and studios were going live on Instagram and asking for Venmo donations. Barry and I saw that while those doing this felt like they were helping during dark and uncertain times, this was not sustainable and could potentially damage the industry in the long run.

Both of us have had extensive experience both in front of and behind the camera. I went to film school and both of us had been on featured trainers on various on demand and streaming platforms over the years. We built a course called “Go Digitial” where we taught people how to set up a virtual studio and build an online fitness business. Our pivot helped over 1000 studios and instructors pivot, stay in business and help so many more people than they every could have imagined. Some of these people have built thriving online platforms, some have returned to brick and mortor studios and others maintain a hybrid of the too.

A by-product of this journey was helping people launch a brand and create higher quality experiences to compete in a quickly saturated market. That’s how fitcarma was born.

Has your business ever had a near-death moment? Would you mind sharing the story?

This has happened more times than I’d like to admit. Being an entrepreneur is a marathon not a sprint, and you’re often in training while running the race. Which is bananas. What I can say is the fear, panic, imposter syndrome and occasional desire to burn it all down and move back in with your mom and get a “real job” is part of the game.

One time, we were asked to present for a massive corporate fitness entity. We had to travel to LA and get a hotel and the cost would be reimbursed to us. However, we had just experienced a massive financial set back. We didn’t have enough money to front for the hotel and eat for the time we were there. On the other side of this gig was a 5 figure paycheck for each of us. Let me tell you what a mind-fudge it is to be recognized for your leadership, skill and expertise while also being terrified that you’ll be found out and sleeping on a street corner. We made it through the weekend. We crushed it. We got paid. We framed our hotel room key as a reminder that your bank account is not always a direct reflection of your worth or skill and that you are only bound by the limitations you set for yourself.

We have recovered from every mishap, mistake, road-block and challenge because we believe in ourselves and our mission. We don’t always get it right. And the more successful you get the bigger the challenges and higher the stakes. We wouldn’t have it any other way. If you’re feeling this right now, do not give up on yourself or your dreams. If you have the vision, you’re capable of achieving it and while the low points sometimes seem impossible they are ripe with data to learn from and opportunities for growth..

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.fitcarma.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/fitcarmhq and www.instagram.com/thegroupX_conservatory
• Other: Our podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/7tIuCc3wbmrKaDwNyQkDoJ?si=23ad52d6f7dd4174

Image Credits

Photos by JDY photograpy