We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Kate McDee a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Kate, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?
Find Your Life Fitness is a virtual “group fitness” studio that began quite organically during 2020 and COVID. The timing of everything came together perfectly! I had started teaching fitness in the Summer of 2019 after transitioning from a 10-year career as an elementary teacher. I knew I wanted to teach independently versus working in a gym setting. Unfortunately, in my opinion, the fitness industry does not pay instructors what they are worth as far as the time, energy and passion we pour into putting together high-quality classes. I wanted to be able to set myself apart on my own terms so I got creative and looked around for venues to partner with. I was thrilled to find a Hilton hotel in downtown Minneapolis to sponsor and host my classes. We offered a weekly class free to the hotel guests every Saturday and also opened it up to the public as a community service offering.
During this time, I had become very curious about teaching my classes virtually (and this was pre-covid around Oct. 2019). My classes are all music-based and we move to the beat. I believe there is power in music and I have always loved LOUD music during my workouts. I wanted to figure out how to provide that virtually to reach more people and to stay true to my desire to stay independent and to build my own brand. I had attended some “Zoom” classes and was always very disappointed in the quality of the sound, the “lag” between the instructor and music, and just the overall virtual experience. I knew it could be better. I was determined to figure it out. I started researching on YouTube and discovered the “gamer world” of live-streaming. Video gamers were expert live-streamers and somehow had the sound of their video games and their voices crisp and clear while they played LIVE on YouTube and it was all in-sync without any “lag” or “delay”. I started diving into tutorial after tutorial in the gamer world to learn their setups. It was NOT easy! The gamer world is full of tech geniuses and they speak a different language sometimes! Slowly but surely, I started to find all the software and equipment I would need. In December of 2019, I started my first live-streamed classes on YouTube! I had a very small “beta” group to test with me. I knew it wouldn’t be great right away. From December to January, I continued to work on my setup. Around March 2020, I finally figured out all the “sound” pieces to make my online class experience the best! Crystal clear sound with loud music, perfectly synced and no lag or delay with my voice. I could teach to the beat and my participants would be able to hear my voice and the loud music perfectly to get an amazing workout all from the comfort of their home!
Little did I know, at that same time (March 2020), the world would shut down and I would lose my in-person classes due to COVID. But I was ready and setup virtually and people started searching for the exact classes I was teaching on YouTube (mostly people were searching for Turbo Kick at the time). My channel started to grow fast! Luckily, I also had setup a Facebook group so people could connect with me there too. All of sudden, we had people all over the country posting their “sweaty selfies” after they would take my classes! It was so fun and the impact I was making, felt incredible. As a fitness instructor, you have typically been limited in how many people you can reach due to physical space and class capacity – but virtually, the limit does not exist (name that movie)!!! I truly believe the fitness industry is in a massive shift right now. Fitness creatives, like myself, have realized that we don’t need to be tied to a gym setting with low pay, creative restrictions, and working on someone else’s schedule. Technology is revolutionizing the industry and the opportunities and potential for creative, talented and driven instructors is endless!
I continued to teach my classes all through COVID and built a loyal and engaged community online. At that time, it was just me teaching. A couple of people in the Facebook group had started posting their video clips of their workouts and I started to “see” potential in some of my members to be instructors! They had skills! I said “You need to be teaching!!” and that is how Deanna and Megan became part of my team! They got certified and we started Find Your Life Fitness as a team! Deanna teaches her class from her home in San Diego and Megan teaches from her home in Wichita, Kansas!
Along with teaching my classes on YouTube, I started getting A LOT of questions from other instructors about how I had my technology set up. People wanted to replicate what I was doing. I started posting YouTube tutorials showing all the how-tos. That is how I connected with Andrea and Riyanka! They had followed my tutorials and had these amazing classes on YouTube – I reached to them both and said “Let’s join forces” and they said yes! Andrea streams from Alberta, Canada and Riyanka from Detroit, Michigan! I haven’t even met all of these ladies in person yet and we have become very close friends! We all LOVE teaching and are extremely talented instructors. Our niche is teaching to the beat of the music and that is not an easy thing to do. I am so grateful to have found such talent and that we get to work together to bring fun and motivating classes to people all over the country and world.
We continue to grow and brainstorm ways to make fitness fun and engaging. Our FYLF (Find Your Life Fitness) is really special and despite being virtual, it truly feels like you know all the members so well! You know about their family and pets and all sorts of fun inside jokes because we connect daily in our private Facebook group. I am so excited to see us keep growing and continually staying creative and having fun with fitness!
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
Before fitness, I was an elementary teacher for nine years! I went to school at the University of Wisconsin – River Falls for Elementary Education and then pursued my Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Saint Mary’s University in Minneapolis. I thought I would always be a teacher and in the field of education. I NEVER imagined I would be teaching fitness as my career! I actually FAILED gym class in high school because I refused to participate! Life definitely has its twists and turns! Teaching in public education became so emotionally and physically demanding of my time and energy. I couldn’t sustain it. After my ninth year, I decided to let it go and try something else. It was the scariest decision I have ever made and also the best. I found my teaching passion reignited in new ways with group fitness instruction and without the stress of public education. Teaching fitness is stress-RELIEF and not added stress! I found my personal love for fitness through music-based formats – particularly Turbo Kick Cardio Kickboxing to LOUD music! I have been on my own health journey since my early twenties and have sustained a 60lb weight loss. I feel a strong connection and unique energy while moving to a beat. All formats I teach are music-driven and are an amazing mind & body experience!
I saw the potential and possibility to help more people find a love for fitness through virtual live-stream teaching in 2019. I love technology and figuring out creative ways to use it. I believe fitness should be fun, enjoyable and more than just a physical experience. I want my participants to let go, rock out and feel the music! “When in doubt, dance it out!” I encourage people to embrace the process of learning how to move to a beat and to find fitness enjoyable and fun! Find Your Life Fitness is all about living life each day and striving to be our healthiest and happiest selves even through the ups and downs of real life! In our online community, we make jokes about “adulting” and “super-adulting” and share laughs about the sometimes mundane parts of daily life. We really do all help each other beyond fitness!
Other things about me personally and professionally – I am an AFAA certified group fitness instructor and also hold many other specialty certifications (Warrior Rhythm, Warrior Strength, Turbo Kick, Piyo, Spiked, Soul Fusion, BarreFusion). I have recently become very interested in my own personal Yoga practice and am slowly working through my RYT200 (Yoga Training) Certification. Eventually, I would like to also add SUP (stand-up paddle board) Yoga & Fitness Certification to my repertoire and bring my classes to the lakes of Minneapolis. I do offer limited tech consulting for other fitness instructors as well and have a few other side hustles that fuel my creative side. I am originally from Hudson, WI and have lived in Minneapolis, MN since 2007. In the summer you can find me in the sunshine – either on the beautiful MN lakes on my SUP board or biking the amazing Minneapolis trails. In the winter, I hibernate with my 4 cats.
I am grateful for all the people in our Find Your Life Fitness community – all of our members and our amazing team of talented instructors! Visit our website and connect with us on social media to try our classes and to join us! We are a really fun group and would love to have you as part of our virtual studio!
Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?
I absolutely love reading books related to leadership, business and personal growth. My top three books that I always come back to and reference often are “Big Magic” by Elizbeth Gilbert, “Untamed” by Glennon Doyle and “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. I also love anything by John Maxwell and Simon Sinek.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
Putting myself out there and not being afraid to share posts and videos showing what I can do, what I know and what I think – even if it isn’t perfect or if I talk too much or say the wrong thing or mess up a certain part. I try to not overthink (easier said than done) and put out my content “as is” focusing on just showing up daily, doing my thing and sharing what I can do and know to help people live healthy, be active and feel good in life. You have to learn to get comfortable talking about yourself, your services and being confident in what you have to offer!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.katemcdee.com
- Instagram: @kate_mcdee
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thekatemcdee/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katemcdee/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/katemcdee