Real. Raw. Birthday.

WOW! 3 Years! As I reflect on my 1,095th day of MVP I write to everyone in shear astonishment.

Although each day of 3 years was pretty freakin' different, there are several that stand out. Most recently there was a day that MVP Dance Fit was recognized as the 2016 "Best Gym" in Dayton! Social media was in a total uproar of congratulations, and hundreds of clients were claiming MVP as "their gym". Their overjoyed excitement meant even more than the title itself.

The date I'll never forget was standing before our body of MVP family and rejoicing over the opening of our studio expansion funded entirely in donations & manual support! (I can't even type this experience without choking up, STILL!) Ladies donated money for no other gain than spreading the opportunity for more women to join our family. INCREDIBLE!

Lastly, I still think back to a shameful, horrific day as a business owner late 2014. With a very slow start to clientele & business sales, I had to muster the disappointed to my staff, totally embarrassed & humiliated that I couldn't afford them to teach with small class sizes. I lost a LOT of instructors those first few months. What. A. Failure. Among all my doubt & shame I had a core team of staff that STILL kept teaching! For NO compensation, they drove out to MVP many-many mornings & nights. Underpaid, they over delivered! Instead of turning their backs against me & all of MVP's future, they unconditionally loved & supported me AND all their clients. They were always smiling, constantly challenging the fitness trends, and in a short time MVP became a movement, a brand, a lifestyle. I promise I will never-ever forget this day.

This unconditional acceptance is a staple of MVP I never expected. MVP Dance Fit opened less than a month before I delivered my second baby, David. As a totally unqualified - disorganized business owner, I invested in an idea rather than a business model. (Damn the things I didn't know). What began as a desire to be "noticed" in my career & design my own ending, quickly became fuzzy with post-baby drag. In the fall of 2014 I took on a heavy class load (because I was broke remember lol), But MVP wasn't the only thing feeling "bankrupt". I was bankrupt. As a younger mother and the only mom of my husband's & my friend group I felt undesirable. I envied all my friends for their "pre-mom" bods, their personal time to do hair, nails & shop. I viewed their selfies & awesome FaceBook lives as these bomb wives, and I felt.... identity-less. Who was I?

To mask my shame I designed a playlist & moves to let me be someone else. I embodied an alter ego that was happy & sexy & fit (even though I was not). For the first time I started wearing lipstick & made myself workout in mid-drift tops... watching my figure in class reminded me how much "work" i needed to do to be a wife my husband would be proud of; not just a washed-up "mom".

Something profound happened...

Clients kept returning to my classes & investing in ME! They poured compliments & support into a woman that desperately needed hope. That body I needed to "change" became a body I embraced because of my dedication to being a healthy MOM!

MVP SAVED MY LIFE!

Since the fall of 2014 my staff and I have relentlessly poured this strength back into it's body. It's our mission to help women realize their self-worth & understanding that they workout because they LOVE their bodies; not because they HATE them. Our staff have seen clients & each other walk through our doors experiencing loss, divorce, illness, infertifility & pain. To overcome fear, doubt & shame it requires a strong body, mind & spirit.

No matter WHAT you are going through today, regardless of circumstance or burden, 1,095 days later we still promise to be your strong body, mind & spirit until you're also strong enough.

Thank YOU for saving me!

Thank YOU for saving many!

Happy Birthday MVP!