We recently connected with Kayla Civello and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Kayla, thanks for joining us today. Let’s start with the story of your mission. What should we know?
Now entering my fourth year as a small business owner, dedicated personal trainer, group fitness instructor, and all around hype woman if you will. I began my mind, body and spiritual healing journey after struggling immensely with post-partum anxiety, depression and PTSD. After having a traumatizing birth and delivery of my first child back in 2017. I delivered my daughter via emergency c-section at just 24 weeks gestation. As a brand new mom, I then spent the next 115 days watching my baby struggle for her life while riding the up and down rollercoaster in the NICU. I had completely lost myself, and found myself in a dark trench of stagnant emotions.
Living in this prolonged state of isolation and survival led me to reach a breaking point, in which I knew so deeply that I needed to change my current reality. I knew I needed to rise from the ashes and change my entire life to become re-born again. My husband had a little home gym set up down in our basement. After he had asked me many times to go down there to workout with him, finally one day I agreed. It was a slow and difficult process, but I noticed quite rapidly that it was benefitting me. I committed to myself day in and day out, slow and steady moving the stagnant energy, the trauma and finding pieces of me again. I absolutely fell in love with lifting weights.
In addition to falling in love with strength training, I began consistently journaling, consuming healthier foods, reading empowering books listening to self-help podcasts, attending talk therapy, trying different yoga classes and meditation practices. With the use of all of these magical tools, I was able to build a sturdy tool box that I became reliant on to continue propelling myself into a better state.
The compound effect of change within ultimately became the catalyst for my next move. After a good 9 months of bettering myself, I then took a leap of faith and enrolled in a certified personal training program through the American Counsel on Exercise. I had such a deep desire to give other women the gift of self-belief. If I could completely change my entire being after enduring such hardship. I wanted nothing more to gift that to others and I was able to do this through my passion of movement!
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.
As a personal trainer and group fitness instructor it is my calling to help clients understand their bodies vast capabilities through movement! It is important for me to show up in a welcoming, energetic manner as I arise most days at 3:45am to open the gym for my 5am sessions. In addition to those early morning sessions, I offer 9am sessions twice per week for those who find it difficult to wake at that time. Superb Saturday is my favorite and most popular session that I offer! Every Saturday from 7:45-8:45am a kick ass group of 30-50 women show up and absolutely crush it! The energy that I absorb from that session in particular has me falling in love with what I do, and always reminds me that I am exactly where I am supposed to be!
The sessions I offer are inclusive. Women from various ages, walks of life, and capabilities are combined within each class. I encourage women to show up exactly as they are. From stagnancy, to pregnant, post-partum, women with pre-existing or existing injuries as any given exercise can be modified to accommodate their present state. This method of including all abilities has pieced together a beautiful community of like-minded beings. The ongoing support that ripples throughout the Kayla Civello Training Community is electric, and captivating.
A little background on my journey into becoming a substantial small business over the course of the years. In April of 2020 I launched a free, 8 week at home training program, on the app “Snapchat”. I would show up every day guiding those with limited equipment during the pandemic, recording short clips of how to do the exercises. Little did I know this truly set the tone for the diligence that was required to build trust with clients later down the road. After the free program launch, I went for my dream and in June of 2020 I dropped Kayla Civello Training!
I began taking on clients virtually. I signed my first 3 clients that month and I began to write customized virtual plans through Microsoft Word to accommodate their needs, their equipment availability at home since most gyms were closed and equipment was astronomically over priced. It was my mission to help other people ultimately navigate such an uncertain time. I was lucky to serve and guide over 100 + women from all over the United States and even the UK! Once restrictions with Covid were more lenient, I began traveling with a backpack full of weights/equipment to people’s homes on a rotating schedule to provide exclusive, customized at home personal training. I also offered sessions at home in my own personal gym down in our basement. I reluctantly ran these sessions until I found out I was blessed to be pregnant with my second daughter!
When I later become “too pregnant” to continue training my clients in person. I resorted back to training virtually. I diligently tried my best to help others while going through so many changes myself. I was lucky to provide this service right up until I could not accommodate the energy any furthermore. Especially while raising my 3-year-old at that time, it was exhausting! I then prepared to welcome my daughter into the world! It was a big decision to pause everything I had built and worked so hard for. I ended up having another traumatic c-section and NICU stay with my second daughter. I was having a difficult time reliving what had destroyed me years prior. Although her situation was dramatically different from my first born.
After revisiting many of the toolbox tools I acquired during the major life shift that led me to becoming a trainer in the first place. I began to heal one step, and one day at a time postpartum with my new family of 4. When I was 3 months postpartum, I knew I had to dive back into training and helping others. My brother, Kevin Donati extended an opportunity to me, one of which I could not pass up. Despite me never having trained in a group setting, I had the opportunity to host my very first free class at his new location, as he just expanded his business – Rip City Academy, Located in Dalton, Massachusetts. I followed through with this class, despite my fears on December 31, 2021 and my life thereafter drastically changed!
I stepped into a different version of myself, pivoted my business yet again. Time after time, and day after day, I gained the ability to create and unbreakable community, known as the “KCT Community”. Over time the re-birth of Kayla Civello Training unfolded and since then I have had the opportunity to positively impact over 350 different woman’s lives within the last 2 years holding my sessions at Rip City.
Moving forward into this next year 2024, keep on the lookout as I am completely rebranding for the first time. I am also dropping a brand-new app available to download that I am currently working on. I hope to give the gift of self-belief to many across the globe! You will find the app under “Katalyst Fitness by Kayla Civello”!
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Over the course of the last 4 years I have spent a lot of time building an authentic, trusted platform on Instagram from scratch. I think the biggest thing for me has been showing up during the good, bad, and ugly times as well all have them. I share vulnerable details about my life willingly because other people, women more specifically crave connection especially during pregnancy, and postpartum eras of life. I believe that vulnerability is brave, and it is always the gateway to connection. I feel comfortable showing up in this capacity because I am not ashamed of doing the inner work.
Although admittedly, I have my moments, I rarely feel insecure or in fear of being judged because of my bullet proof mindset that I work on daily. You have to step into a fearless mindset and not care if judgement comes your way. In addition to showing up vulnerably, it is important to show up consistently while building and audience on social media. Sure, your consistent posting of photos, reels, stories, etc. will help boost your views/reach with Instagrams algorithm. What will be important to your audience is that you’re a real, trustworthy, reliable being. People will be uninterested in your product or service if you do not show up for your product on a consistent basis. For those of you who are in the fitness industry, like myself. It is important to practice what you preach and entice new connections and relationships with prospective clients because they see something in you, that they would like to become. Showing that your proof of your own product is a no brainer!
I recommend anyone starting out to create a schedule that you would like to post and share about. Create a flow that looks clear, crisp, and high quality. Create the energy that you are calling in as your dream customer. Whether it be a photo, Canva design, or Reel,
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
The most effective strategy to build clientele is showing up authentically and purposefully. Being in the fitness industry, consistency comes into play big time. Coming back to the gym 3 months postpartum and throughout the last 2 years I have had many sleepless nights taking care of my kids. My clients knowing that, they have watched me continuously show up to host their sessions on a strict, and structured basis. By showing them that I am trustworthy, and reliant this has built long term clientele within my business. The way that they feel, and their own personal progress is a testimony to the consistency. Aside from that I come from a smaller rural community where word of mouth is everything. Once one person has a good experience and they tell a friend who tells a friend it becomes a trickle effect of momentum that ripples throughout the County. I offer many free events or sessions throughout the year to entice new members as well!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kaylacivellotraining.com
- Instagram: kaylacivellotraining
Image Credits
Alix Kirshner