We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Stephanie Meekhof a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Stephanie, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the story behind how you got your first job in field that you currently practice in.
This is actually a pretty cool story! In October of 2013 I moved to Georgia from Michigan and was overweight, depressed, just overall unhappy. I was a nanny at the time and thought that was what I was going to be doing for the rest off my life. I loved kids and thought why not keep working with them, well, after working for a not so ideal family, I had changed that idea completely, but didn’t know where to go next. So I found a new family that was awesome and kept going with what I was good at. Fast forward to 2016 and I went to a boxing class with one of my friends and fell in love, I signed up that day and in 6 months lost 40 lbs, I was going to 2-3 classes a day! Not realizing it, but I was still very unhappy with my life outside of the gym.
In February 2017, I found Omni Fight Club Johns Creek and it became my safe haven. It was much more difficult than my previous gym, so I did not need to take so many classes in a day to get the results I wanted! Ha! I was only there for about 6 months and realized THIS is what I want to do! I want to work here and help other people like me change their lives. So I started working at the front desk, got my foot in the door and just kept working hard. I became a coach about 6 months after that and then the manager in February 2019 and have been here ever since.
This was my very first job in this industry and I am so thankful for it and everything it has given me over the last almost 5 years! Wow, 5 years at the dream job I didn’t know was my dream until I was here!
Stephanie, 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?
Wow, this is a big question with bit answers!
I am 38 years old and started in the fitness industry 5 years ago, its never too late to find your passion so don’t let anyone tell you different. I got into this industry truly by accident, I was a nanny for 10 years and just felt lost, not knowing what I wanted to do when I grew up! haha. I found boxing and did not want to turn back, fitness became my passion and I wanted to help others that we lost like me, not knowing where to turn to help yourself, but finding so much more than a gym. Truly finding yourself!
I had just gotten the management position at Omni Fight Club, when a friend approached me about this active wear that she had found and though I would love it and also would be good at selling it since, well I kind of lived at the gym at this point! So I listened and then kind of put off the business part, but purchased some Zyia Active leggings from her, and woah, these were literally the best leggings I had ever worn. It still took me a bit, about 18 months to jump in to the business, but I have also been selling activewear for 3 years not with Zyia Active and it is a great income supplement, plus the clothes are amazing, so its a win win.
What sets me as a trainer apart from others? I have been there, I know how mental your fitness/health journey is and I can help my clients push through those daily battles. The body dysmorphia, negative self talk, outside pressures from friends and family to go back to old behaviors, it’s a daily battle, even for me 8 years later. People do not like change, even when it is not them changing. There have many time that I have gone home to Michigan and get asked why I am or not eating something, why I don’t drink, why I can’t just sit and do nothing for hours on end. It is funny to me now that I have dealt with it for so long, but when I first started this journey, whew, that was hard t get through.
I want potential clients/customers to know that I am who I am, I will not sugar coat things, especially with health. Health is wealth y’all, if you don’t have your health you have nothing, you can’t keep improving when you yourself is in a negative space. I will be here every step of the way and will make sure that you know that! I can help you feel confident in your own skin as well as help you get clothes that are going to help your mental health and keep you going back to the gym because you feel god in what you are wearing as well!
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
This is an easy question to answer and I think that it goes for any and all professions/passions. Have a mentor!!!!!! Have someone that you can go to with questions, someone that you look up to and has more experience than you! I live by not being the smartest/strongest person in the room, you always want to be learning and be WILLING to learn! get out of your own way and realize when someone gives you a criticism, it is to help you, no matter if you feel it is negative or positive!
How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?
I think that just being me and telling my story has helped me a lot. I know a lot of people that it is hard telling their story because it is not always easy being vulnerable especially to people you do not know.
I really feel like being vulnerable in the fitness industry helps so much with people coming in to a new gym and understanding that everyone has their own story of why they are there. It could be to get fit, lose weight, need an outlet or need social time away from kids or stress, the gym is so much to so many people and we pride ourselves on that at Omni Fight Club. We are a safe space and a fun environment to get your workout on, and an amazing community to get to know your fellow classmates.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ofcjohnscreek.com, https://new.myzyia.com/STEPHMEEK/en_US/home
- Instagram: @smeekhof
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ofcjohnscreek, https://www.facebook.com/groups/stephunites/permalink/1419358741962429
Image Credits
All professional photos are by Melissa Giles Photography