We were lucky to catch up with Christina VanDam recently and have shared our conversation below.

Christina, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Naming anything – including a business – is so hard. Right? What’s the story behind how you came up with the name of your brand?

Name anything is hard… but when it comes to a business, you have to think of so many different things! When I first had the idea to open an aerial fitness studio, I tried coming up with a list of words for flying or flight. I came upon the word passion. After some discussion with various people, I decided that passion is the word to go with, however, just calling a business “Passion” wouldn’t work for us. So, I looked up synonyms for passion and found the word Zeal.

Zeal means great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or goal.

It’s passion, determination, perseverance, and love all rolled into 1 word. This is the goal for our clients, to find a place where they can feel welcome and loved no matter where they are at in their journey.

Christina, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

We offer alternative fitness classes and private events. Join us to experience a pole dance, silk, hammock, bungee, or hoop workout in an atmosphere designed to set your passion free, unleash your enthusiasm and discover a new version of yourself.

At Zeal, we are committed to helping change the stigma and stereotypes around pole dancing and aerial fitness in a safe, inclusive environment.

At Zeal, all are welcome in our community.

We are committed to educating ourselves and our community to continue to improve behaviors, thoughts, and beliefs.

We pledge to be competent, cooperative and compassionate in support of all people affected by discrimination of any kind.

Zeal will offer a safe space for clients and staff to voice their concerns.

All are welcome.

Can you open up about how you funded your business?

Zeal was funded by our bootstraps. My husband and I had a long conversation before opening the business about putting in our personal finances. Then, I was lucky enough to win a pitch competition that provided us with $5000. This, plus our initial investment was enough for us to open our doors. From there, I kept costs down by teaching a majority of the classes and by sharing our space. We not only were staring a new business, but we had to educate our community on who we were and what we were doing. My husband and I took the risk in investing our own money, but we had to give it a try and were confident in our abilities.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

Always put your team first. Simon Sinek wrote a wonderful book called “Leaders Eat Last”. It is based upon the premise that in the Marines, the senior leaders eat last when the unit is eating together. Putting your staff before yourself as the boss, and continuing to show them that you value them, will make everyone’s life easier. You as the boss must choose to lead individuals into the unknown and you have to have them trust you. A team will follow someone who they trust and who they know cares about them. Get to know your team on a personal level as well. Remember, we are all human and we all have our own lives outside of the job.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.zealaerialfitness.com
• Instagram: @zealaerialfitness
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/zealaerialfitness
• Other: Tik – Toc – Zeal Aerial Fitness

Image Credits
Kara Awe Deb Oliviara