We were lucky to catch up with Helen Thoenes recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Helen thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
I had been in the fitness industry for close to a decade and had become disenchanted with the typical approach to exercise/movement which was all about trying to control “misbehaving” bodies. From my perspective, the industry was (and very much still is) focused entirely on using exercise solely for the purpose of changing what bodies look like instead of helping clients discover the joy of movement. I was part of a program that used coercion, bullying, strong-arming, and cult-like loyalty to get athletes to conform. The positive results (as demonstrated primarily in bodies becoming smaller and looking more like the standard fitness ideal) belied the actual harm I thought was being done and I resolved to find a better way to help people achieve real, sustainable, and long-term vitality. My current approach includes mental, spiritual, and emotional health as well as physical health.
Helen, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
I have spent most of my life battling my genetics in an effort to make my body look like the widely adopted “NORM” for the fitness industry. I have lost and gained weight so many times that I truly have lost count. My final and most extreme attempt at controlling my body was from 2016-2018 as I made numerous attempts to prepare to take the stage in my first bodybuilding contest. I finally did “succeed” in taking the stage in November 0f 2018 and did very well according to the most widely accepted definition of success. I won my age category and placed well amongst the total competitors. It was fun and in some ways, I have no regrets. But, I wish I had known then what I know now so I might have been able to make a different decision for myself.
Shortly after that competition, all of the strategies that I had been using to stay super lean began to fall apart. I was using the same approach I had been using for several years, but nothing seemed to be working. I would be “good” for a few days and then binge uncontrollably for days in a row. The shame spiral and all of the subsequent questions would follow: “What is wrong with me?” “Why am I so lazy and undisciplined?” “Why is my body so stubborn?” “How can I be so stupid?” I had declared all-out war against my rebellious body and lazy brain.
By January of 2020, I felt out of control, desperate, and terribly depressed about my lack of ability to diet, something I had been so good at for the past 30 years, any longer. I made one final attempt at working with my long-time nutrition coach (who was the most amazing person but completely lacking in qualifying credentials to be handing out nutrition advice). I paid for several weeks of coaching in advance which lasted about 10 days. I had no idea what to do next, but I knew if I kept doing the same thing I had been doing, I was likely to have a total mental breakdown. I felt lost and without hope.
Fast forward to March of 2020. My oldest son Taylor and his (now) wife Kendra travelled from New York for a visit and ended up getting stuck with us for the next 16 months due to COVID19. Kendra was pursuing her Master’s Degree in Nutrition and Dietetics in an effort to become a Registered Dietitian. She had, several years earlier, begun to explore a different approach to caring for herself that put dieting on hold. Having them with us as I began to explore options that were not based on food restriction was one of the biggest gifts I have ever received (Not sure they would agree!). I sidled up next to Kendra as she attended classes and lectures and began to learn, from her, a different way of caring for myself.
My very first step was to eliminate weighing myself. I have not intentionally weighed myself for nearly four years now and the relief is indescribable. Kendra was able to gently guide me into a new way of thinking about life, health, vitality and what I truly want for my life. It was, to say the very least, life-changing.
Before owning GRITfit, Inc., I had already begun to do fitness very differently based on my prior fitness experience. It felt like I had found the formula for true joy in movement and health with this different approach: intuitive eating combined with a growing respect for what my body was able to do instead of how my body looked.
It has been a long and challenging journey that is nowhere near complete. But I can honestly say that I am so grateful to have learned a different way to move and feed my body. GRITfit is based on the principles that I continue to strive to hone. It is my desire to help women in particular and people in general discover the joy of living in a healthy relationship with themselves that includes eating, sleeping, playing, moving, discovering, confronting pain and all of the other dimensions of a life well lived.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
I believe that every small business owner’s entire journey is about resilience and I am certainly no different.
When I started GRITfit, Inc. I was sure that my knowledge of fitness combined with my charisma were the two most valuable tools that I had. I was certain I could only be successful. I began the business with a partner who, along with me, contributed $1500 each (I believe…) to begin. We had almost no overhead as I was connected to a community that allowed us to use their outdoor space free of charge to hold our classes and most of our equipment was donated. When we began, we offered class three times a week and started with 20 people. We were fooled into comfort, believing this is how business would always be.
We made a little money that allowed us to purchase more equipment and rent an inside space for the winter. We hired a third coach. But, things began to grow more challenging as we increased the number of classes we offered weekly. Because we were renting space, all of our equipment had to be taken out and put away before and after each class, every time. We soon realized that we would need to find a different way of conducting business if we were to physically survive teaching.
In June of 2019, we moved GRITfit, Inc. into a brick and mortar. With a hefty loan from my personal resources, we were able to pay the entire year’s lease in advance and purchase some new equipment and other needed items. In the move, we lost about 30% of our client base and started to have our eyes opened to the reality of business ownership. In October of 2019, my business partner relocated to another state and I became a sole proprietor. It was a challenging time. But it was about to become more challenging.
March of 2020 and COVID 19. By this time, I had sunk close to $30K of personal money into the gym and was trying to figure out how to survive the pandemic. We closed the gym down on March 17 and I was sick for the next 3 weeks with what turned out to be COVID (antibody tests later showed). In April of 2020 GRITfit moved to an entirely online platform, something we neither knew how to do nor were equipped to do. More money in purchases and online needs. We loaned our equipment out to our clients so that they would have it for home use and began to teach about 15 classes a week online. It was a difficult time but also joyful in so many ways.
In June 2020 we opened for one week and then closed again, continuing online only. We reduced our prices tremendously in an effort to keep our clients with us. Certainly 2020 was a difficult year. But 2021 proved to be even more challenging. In the absence of any additional outside COVID funding, which had helped us so much in 2020, I began pouring more personal money into the business and made a huge financial commitment to learning how to run a business.
In March of 2022 I made one last deposit of personal money and vowed that not one more cent would come from my personal resources. And I have kept that promise and we have clawed our way back. There have been so many times, too numerous to count, when I couldn’t see any way out except to close. But somehow we have managed to keep the doors open and ever so slowly gain one client at a time.
Boutique fitness is challenging enough in the absence of a pandemic and much more so in the face of one. Add to that a niche that is particularly challenging to market and it can feel overwhelmingly hopeless at times. Most people only want to move their bodies to lose weight and that is the complete antithesis to what we offer. We have managed to survive and are just beginning to thrive without ever compromising our message. I am so proud of what I, along with my staff and clients, have been able to accomplish at GRITfit, Inc.
Have you ever had to pivot?
March of 2020 and COVID 19.
We had closed down our gym and were trying to come up with a plan that would allow us to continue to operate. I knew that going to an online platform was an option, but it seemed so completely out of my wheelhouse and felt nearly impossible. With the help of my staff, we outlined a plan for programming, equipment dispersal (free to our clients with a refundable deposit), and the acquisition of all the items we would need to broadcast live workouts. We lowered our prices to cover the bare minimum and held our breath. Our class format differed from many others in that our workouts were not just recorded for use at anytime. Instead, we coached every class live, offering corrections and customizations for each of our clients. We then created a private Facebook group for all of our members and uploaded a recording of each of the Zoom live coached workouts for use at other times. We continue to offer this online platform for three classes a week in addition to our onsite classes. We currently have a database of nearly 800 recorded workouts!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gritfittucson.com
- Instagram: @gritfittucson
- Facebook: @gritfittucson
Image Credits
Taylor Noel Photography