Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Chris Mula. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Chris, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about how you learned to do what you do?
My parents started this business when I was around four years-old. Growing up, we didn’t really come to the gym, so I actually had no idea what my parents did when they were at work, I only assumed it was teaching gymnastics. After the death of my father, I stepped in to help with the day-to-day operations, classes, and anything else that my mom & the staff members needed. I discovered that I loved this job and developed a passion for the sport of gymnastics. Basically, I had to start at zero. It took a little time to learn terminology, basic skills, and of course, the business aspect of it all. Growing up with three siblings and a mom who was formally a teacher, provided me with a sound base for interacting with children and getting their attention, so that was easy. As for coaching on the competitive side, I enrolled in classes, went to national events and studied everything that I could get my hands on to be the best coach I could be. Along with all of the learning that comes with being a competitive coach & instructor in the gym, there are a number of required certifications, so I made sure to stay on top of those to build my professional platform. On the business side, the only job I ever had was in retail, so I had my work cut out for me. I enrolled in some ‘from the ground’ up type seminars, read everything that I could find, and with the help of family & friends, was on my way. As my mom aged and ultimately retired, I was able to purchase the business from her and have never looked back.
Looking back, I think the only thing I could have done differently was been a little more involved with the business side of everything from the beginning. I think I would offered some changes in the addition that we added shortly after my dad died and those changes would have been beneficial to some of the challenges that we face today since the business has grown over the last seven to eight years.
As with any business or career path, money is always an obstacle of sorts, but with the right people helping and guiding, almost anything is within reach. It takes time, patience and most definitely, selfless choices if you want to have a successful business.
I cannot express enough that the most essential skills for getting to this point are personality and personal drive. No matter what is happening on the business side, I put my best face on and enjoy every moment that I get to spend teaching, coaching, and interacting with the gymnasts and their families. At the end of the day, no amount of money or success can equal the feeling of making a child happy or see the excitement they feel when they learn a new skill or conquer a fear. That is what makes me feel most successful and those moments are my biggest accomplishments.
Chris, 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?
Beach Team Gymnastics at Terry & Don’s provides a safe and fun environment for children ages 8-months to 18-years. For those parents with toddlers, we offer parent participation classes. These classes help build our vocabulary, develop strength, and confidence. Our preschool classes offer the chance to build basic gymnastics skills and shapes, all while sharpening their most important life skills; waiting your turn, patience, kindness, listening & following directions. When they reach elementary age, they can move into one of our developmental classes or instructional classes. In these classes, we focus more on mastering skills, stronger gymnastics shapes, and skill progression. In addition to our preschool & instructional classes, we run a very successful team program. In our gym, we use our preschool & instructional classes to pick & choose our team members. We watch and evaluate our preschoolers and instructional gymnasts ability to make corrections, follow directions, retain information, and how they execute the lessons that we do throughout the school year and invite them to join our team program.
We also have special events scheduled on select dates during the school year. These events include day camps when schools are closed and weekend parents’ night out dates. Anyone is welcome to attend our special events, even if not enrolled in a class or on-going program. All events require pre-registration and registration must be done via our website.
Reflecting on proud moments & main attributes . . . honestly there are countless numbers of ‘proud moments’, way too many to list. I think the things that I am most proud of are things like the families that have been in this gym for two or three generations. Or having former students, even if they left the gym to do another sport or pursue other gymnastics opportunities, that still reach out to me and the staff members, to discuss life or share big life events. Moments like watching friendships that start in a preschool class grow into life-long friendships. Listening to the gymnasts cheer for each other or pick them up when they are down. Hearing MR. CHRIS! screamed from seven isles away at the grocery store by one of our preschoolers. . . . those are the moments that stick with me.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I don’t really think of myself as creative, but to work with children, I guess I have to be. I really like the shock factor that I see in the faces of the kids when the staff and I come up with some new twist to an existing game or activity. I love getting not only the gymnasts involved, but the parents too!
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Having a business that thrives on large numbers of participation, most of the time side-by-side and in close quarters, posed a bit of a problem during COVID. In order to remain open & practicing, we adjusted schedules and did all of our activities in small groups and our close knit gymnasts & families were spending weeks without seeing each other. Not only were we missing our groups, but we lost the opportunity to do outrageously crazy activities. I knew that we had to do something over the top, but COVID safe, and not let COVID keep us down. . . . So we came up with a super interactive game to play outside of the gym for the entire team. The staff and I placed over 50 pink flamingos all over the surrounding areas, (from Myrtle Beach to Pawley’s Island). The goal was to find as many flamingos as you could, take a picture with that flamingo & post it on our Facebook page, (kind of like an amazing race style thing). After collecting the flamingos, we re-purposed them for the next round of The Flamingo Games. We, the staff, took the flamingos out and ‘tagged’ families by placing them in their front yards (without getting caught)! Once you are flamingo’d, the parents had to take the flamingo and ‘tag’ someone else’s house. It was a great non-contact game and required zero face-to-face encounters. After all was said & done, we did a Facebook live ‘funeral service’ for those flamingoes lost in battle. Our silly heart-felt speeches and kid friendly theatrics provided a little vacation from the unfolding circumstances and loss of day-to-day relationships during COVID.
Contact Info:
- Website: BeachTeamGym.com
- Instagram: Beach Team Gymnastics
- Facebook: Beach Team Gymnastics