We recently connected with Damali Fraiser and have shared our conversation below.
Damali, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
After almost 20 years in a corporate career I decided to leave to pursue being an entrepreneur full-time now at 43 years old I am a full-time kettlebell and nutrition coach driving systemic change in the fitness industry to make kettlebell training more accessible to more diverse bodies. This might not be that strange if I had studied kinesiology in university but I actually studied materials science and engineering and spent the majority of my career in process engineering software development lifecycle and change management. I am a married mother of two and it was a huge risk for our family dynamic to leave corporate life in order to pursue my passions and dreams as a wellness professional & entrepreneur. For many people they pursue shifts when they are at their prime for me I had recovered from it 2 devastating sports injuries the first being an ACL reconstruction and the second being a full Achilles rupture. Those injuries taught me a lot about the many contributing factors to health including socioeconomic factors and how my healing was dependent on embracing all aspects of my health and well-being not just the physical but the mental, emotional and social. That’s what I bring to my brand of kettlebell training, at Lift Off Strength & Wellness it’s human-first, it’s prioritizing creating an environment where people can feel safe and that they belong and that their value does not come from the scale or how many pounds they lose or gain or lift. That risk has paid off with over 40 Coaches that I have trained at Coaches Corner, my kettlebell teaching course that enables and empowers trainers of all body sizes and abilities to learn how to safely teach kettlebells to their clients in a size-inclusive approach.
Damali, 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?
Hello, My name is Damali. some folks call me Coach Damali or PC Kru Damali. I’m an engineer turned kettlebell coach who found kettlebells from her passion for Muay Thai. Things seemingly worlds apart are now embedded in Lift Off Strength & Wellness a place for the kettlebell-curious to explore kettlebell movement without judgement or exercise as punishment but as a joyful expression of self-love and self-care. Here we can create an environment where our values can drive the experience, all people and all bodies will be welcomed here. At Lift Off Strength & Wellness you can get support to build a healthy relationship with your body through strength training with kettlebells. If you’re interested in accelerating your skills and technique you can get one on one training through our all-access subscription alternatively you can get the just essentials wihich includes the cookie cutter kettlebell club, a group kettlebell training program that explores a 8 week training blocks as well as prioritizes wellness habits and adequate nutrition that works for you. But maybe you aren’t just a kettlebell fan, you’re also a personal trainer and coach at Coaches Corner you get to connect with the like-minded trainers who want to make kettlebells accessible to everybody through this 8-week kettlebell teaching course you explore teaching the foundations of kettlebell movements on all body types and abilities.
We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?
Everyone who pursues a professional career in fitness is told they need to guarantee results what I needed to unlearn was that the underlining assumption that results means weight loss just isn’t true or beneficial to the health and well-being of our communities. Weight loss is not equivalent to health nor does it represent your worth, a lot of the fitness industry is intertwined with the diet industry and their objective is to sell more diet tools and products. A lot of fitness marketing suggests things like weighing yourself daily, counting calories, burning off your meals with exercise, and rewarding yourself with “cheat days”. What I didn’t know was that these are all behaviours predictive of eating disorders and disordered eating.
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
If I am able to help even one person to feel comfortable in their own skin, confident when they’re moving their bodies and empowered to show up as their most authentic self then that is what success looks like for me. To achieve that I need to keep showing up consistently and authentically. The more that I fully be myself the more I can connect with my community and support people on their fitness journeys, starting whereever they are to get them to wherever they want to be.
Contact Info:
- Website: liftoffstrength.ca
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/damali.fraiser/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LiftOffStrength
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/damalifraiser/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/liftoffstrength
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOl_GFTC9iaC0-AZTt1GlEA
Image Credits
Cynthia Keeshan