We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Charles Fossett-Lee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Charles below.

Charles , appreciate you joining us today. Can you talk to us about a risk you’ve taken – walk us through the story?

My whole life has been about taking risks. When I was 15, my parents moved to the city (SF), and I stayed in Fairfield, which I considered my hometown. It’s where I did a lot growing up and finding my place in the world. It wasn’t that my parent just left me to figure out anything negative; no, they wanted me to go, but I have always been strong-willed. Also, my Mother raised me to be a very independent person. So if I believed I could do it, I would do it. So I guess you can say that was the start of my “Leap of Faith” and risk-taking. The next would be when I moved to Santa Barbara and Nashville right before the pandemic began; the most significant risk I took would be opening the Gym near the “end” of the pandemic. I know you’ll read this is, it was at the end. But Remember, I packed my whole life and moved 2000 miles away from everyone I knew and grew up with in my 20s to a new state and wanted to start over and do something new, but also find the parts of myself I felt like I’d been missing in the last several years.

Finding the things I knew I loved, but I felt them slipping away. Moving right before the pandemic and then everyone in the world was on lockdown, and at that time, just like many people, a job wasn’t secure, so I spent a lot of my savings just trying to make it through 2020.

When the call came in about the potential opportunity to reopen the Gym, Im not going to lie; I was scared and baffled. I didn’t know if it was a thought or the real deal. I remember calling a friend of mine that works for our corporate office before calling our CEO and talking to him. I remember him just as confused as I was, but after a few days of digging, we could piece everything together. That started what would change for the rest of my life. Still in the unknown of what would happen, and scared that someone else wanted to give a better offer or something. It was a waiting game, for sure.

When the call finally came in, I was shocked and didn’t think I had enough resources or a will-house to do everything. But life blessed me with so many great people in Santa Barbara that this became a reality. I couldn’t thank all of them enough for the love and support they gave me from the start of this journey. If you had told me that 15 years from when I started working with My Gym that a global pandemic would happen and would lead me back to the Gym where I started, I would legit tell you,

” NO CHANCE!”

From day one, meeting with lawyers, contractors, and so many other avenues that I didn’t know or understand, my business partner & long-time friend Kelly Almeroth had to explain every phone call to me afterward. I’m thankful for her because I was deer in headlights regarding business conversations.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Hi, my name is Charles Fossett-Lee. I started working for My Gym in 2007; I started as a trainee, then moved to a Lead Teacher, and then as Director of the Santa Barbra Location. A friend who applied a few weeks before said, “It’s like babysitting.” I agreed that it sounded easy, but little did I know it’s nothing like babysitting. I remember my first day at the Gym for my on-the-floor interview. I walked through the doors and was shocked by the two teachers on the floor. Mr. John & Mr. Travis, still to this day, put me to shame in how incredible they were with the kids and how energetic they were. I was beyond nervous and scared, but two little boys came up to me and asked if I wanted to play with them, they took my hand, and the rest has become history. I have been a part of the My Gym family for almost 17 years.

It was until 2012 that I attended my first My Gym seminar, where I knew this was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life. The road would be challenging, but I didn’t care about the challenges. I knew in my heart this was what I wanted to do. I even interviewed for a News outlet because my degree is in journalism; the email after my interview told me they wanted to bring me on, but I seemed very passionate about what I was doing at the moment, but when I was ready to let them know. Well, that was in 2015, and as you can tell, I have never left. I think about what my life would be like working at that News outlet, but that is another life and another person. That wasnt the life for me, and I am okay with it.

Along with this journey at My Gym, I started our “Dance Company” at the original location. That has been one of the most rewarding teams I have built. With several people’s help, this team grew and became more than just a dancer and a director; they became lights in the dark places for me without them even knowing it. Since 2012 the Dance Team has grown and started doing 30-second to 16-minute pieces during our showcase.

My Gym is more than just a children’s gymnastic Gym, it is a brand that stands for core family values. Our Dancers are proof of that, and you can watch some of their videos from showcases on our Instagram profile.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

You can’t go backward; we must rewrite wrongs or fix some things we can undo; these are all things we cant do. We must get these thoughts out of our heads and can only move forward. I had one of my Dance Moms write me a card when I moved to Nashville wrote words about frogs, and they have stuck with me ever since then.

“Frogs are a species that can’t go backward; they must move forward.”

As much as we want to go back and correct or look back on what was, we have to look forward to what is to come. We can learn from this past but must move towards the future. It’s something that has stuck with me since I moved to Nashville.

We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.

Kelly Almeroth, my business partner, I meant when I taught at the original My Gym in Santa Barbara about 12 and a half years ago, she always wanted me to take the leap and open a Gym. But she saw the bigger picture before I did. Kelly has always supported me in every decision I have made, and at the Gym, she has been a great friend and business partner.

Contact Info:

• Website: Mygym.com/santabarbara
• Instagram: mygymsantabaabara
• Facebook: mygymsantabaabara
• Yelp: My Gym Santa Barbara Children Fitness Center

Image Credits
Headshots-Tristin Tracy- www.tristintracyphotography Christmas Photo- Tristin Tracy- www.tristintracyphotography