Meet Stephanie Gilbert | Fitness Instructor and Studio Owner

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie Gilbert and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
I laughed a bit as I read/heard this question because, honestly, I wasn’t really interested in starting a business. But, like so many other people, COVID hit, lockdowns were put in place, and what was supposed to be a couple of weeks of shelter-in-place turned into…well…working from home for some, businesses shutting down permanently for others, and people relying on government stimulus checks to buy groceries.

I was the studio manager and a fitness instructor for a local, boutique fitness studio so the COVID lockdowns had a real and immediate impact on my income. After a week of being cooped up in the house, I was going stir-crazy. I was desperately wanting to see my ladies and get a workout in. I decided to go live on Facebook with what I called a COVID Crazy At Home Burst Workout. I posted about it early in the day, to let people know if they wanted to get in a workout later in the evening, I was going to go live and they could join me. It was a hit with my ladies and even a few of their husbands.

I did this several more times over the next few days and then, to my surprise, I had a few of my ladies ask if they could pay me to keep doing these. At first, I thought that was a little crazy. I didn’t even know how I would collect payment from them. I was not planning on doing anything more with it but my husband, an online marketing pro and website developer jumped in and told me he could get everything set up so that I could launch a true virtual studio to serve my clients during this crazy time.

Within a couple of weeks, we were off and running with an online system for selling memberships and single-class passes and offering an on-demand library of recorded classes for members whose schedules wouldn’t allow them to join us for a live class. We used Zoom to connect with everyone and, again, my husband helped make sure that the quality of our virtual classes was top-notch because of his background in audio, video, and streaming. This helped me really differentiate myself from other instructors who were trying to do the same thing.

So, my thought process behind starting my own business originated with the need for survival. Survival from both a mental health standpoint – dealing with the isolation – and from a financial perspective. But, after that, I really just wanted to help my ladies not to feel alone and to give them an opportunity to work out with a group of people who were all feeling a lot of the same things. The fact that they were all willing and even excited to pay me for a virtual membership gave me the confidence that maybe this could be my business.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
My business is running a boutique fitness studio called Fitness Loon. I focus on physical fitness for your mental health. I’m the owner and lead instructor. I have six instructors who also lead classes for me. At Fitness Loon, we use private, small-group exercise and physical fitness classes as a tool to encourage and empower women who may feel isolated or alone and who struggle with anxiety, depression, or low self-esteem, reminding them that they are strong, confident, and worthy of love. Life is full of challenges, but you don’t have to face them alone.

I’m a survivor. As someone diagnosed with anxiety and depression, who also survived a suicide attempt, I understand the struggles many women face every day. I’ve already walked in their shoes and I’ve discovered the power and positive effects small group exercise can have on mental health. I believe that my compassion and empathy for my clients give me an unfair advantage.

I like to tell people it’s like group therapy with burpees and squats. It’s physical fitness for your mental health. Come see us and we’ll help you work that crazy out!

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
My family and I love Tribble Mill Park. It’s in the Grayson/Lawrenceville area of Gwinnett County. It’s an amazing place with a couple of lakes for kayaking or stand-up paddle boarding, trails for walking and biking, and even a slippery rock/waterfall type area where people will wade in the cool waters. There are playgrounds for the kids, a couple of big open meadows for flying kites, throwing the frisbee or football, and there are even soccer and rugby meetups that take place there sometimes. We like taking visitors their for a walk around the lake and a picnic.

For dinner, we love a spot in Grayson called the Railyard. There are two really great dining options there. One is Sam’s on Main which features a blend of exceptional Mediterranean and Amercian cuisine. Sam, the owner, is friendly and cares about his customers. Across from Sam’s is San Lucas Tex Mex and Cantina. The guacamole is made fresh, as are the tortilla chips and they have al fresco dining on the rooftop. They feature live music on the weekends and a great bar.

After dinner, only about 20-30 yards away, we’d walk over to Beren’s Frozen Custard for the thickest, most creamiest, dessert around. They have daily and seasonal flavors and can make anything from sundaes to concretes. If you don’t know what a concrete is, think about a richer, thicker, creamier blizzard like you might get at Dairy Queen. You won’t be sorry.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’m dedicating my shoutout to my husband, our family, and our amazing members. There’s been so much love, encouragement, and support from so many. We actually used a crowdfunding platform to help us move the business from virtual only to also being an in-person, physical studio space so that we could continue to grow and serve more people. There’s no way I could have made it this far without my husband and his love, encouragement, and skills. My three boys sacrificed space in our house as we built and grew this business and they never complained about the inconvenience. And my members – my ladies – have all supported me in many ways. Some contributed to my ifundwomen campaign, some gave me furniture or supplies or other things to help us get into our studio. Oh, and the men’s group from our church took care of painting the walls. Again, so many to give a shoutout to.

Website: https://fitnessloon.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefitnessloon/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephanie-gilbert-8027a7149/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefitnessloon