Meet the Coach: Karli Soyland

Ever wondered how a simple corporate inquiry could ignite a life-changing career? Join us as we celebrate three transformative years with Coach Karli, who entered our gym unexpectedly and became a cornerstone of our community. Karli takes us through her high school years filled with an array of sports and how her initial dreams of a healthcare career shifted towards coaching, leaving a significant impact on both clients and colleagues. Hear firsthand the bittersweet emotions surrounding her upcoming departure as she prepares for the next stage of her journey.

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Transcript

Coach Carly's Career Transition

Speaker 1 0:00

What is going on, friends? Welcome to the next episode of the Fit and Healthy Sioux Falls show. And we are combing at you today with another coach and a little bit of an interesting journey, as we talk about Coach Carly's journey and we actually get ready to send her off onto the next part of her career path. So I'm excited to dive in today with our gal, coach Carly. Let's go.

Speaker 2 0:47

Let's go.

Speaker 1 0:48

All right. Well, hey, Carly, welcome to the show. My girl, we had you on I don't know a couple months back, A while ago, yeah, talking about Fit Body Forever, and I think that was kind of it wasn't right when you were taking it over. I think it'd been almost like a year, yeah, yeah a year or two after it.

Speaker 2 1:03

I think it'd been almost like a year. Yeah, yeah, a year or two after it. Okay, yeah, it would have been a year, yeah.

Speaker 1 1:07

So, and now here we are and my goodness, we've got literally this episode comes out and we've got like two or three days. Yeah Is all.

Speaker 2 1:19

Yeah.

Speaker 1 1:19

Left with Coach Carly on the mic Big transitions.

Speaker 2 1:24

Yeah, it'll be a very big change in my life and it's been awesome working here for the past few years. So I mean, how long have you worked here? It'll be three years, literally the week before.

Speaker 1 1:38

So you'll hit three years, Yep, and then the next week and the next week. Yeah, yeah, yeah, wow, it has been an awesome journey. I still remember back to, honestly, we were at a time and point this would have been like three and a half years ago. We were at a time and point where we were looking for a coach and I had owned SitBody for six years at that time and never in the six years of owning the gym had anybody reached out to HQ or corporate asking if we were hiring. And it just so happened that you sent like a support message through like our corporate website. And all of a sudden, here we are, we're looking for a coach and I'm like, hey, do we know this Carly? And like, oh yeah, she's just started here at the gym. And I'm like, oh well, she like applied to be a coach, Like who is she? And just so wild to have that be where the journey started and have it take us all the way through here.

Speaker 1 2:38

So I'd love to really talk about where you're headed, why you're headed there. Really, I want to talk to you about why you even wanted to be a coach and before we started recording today, you were talking to me about some different desires and wants that you've had and really I want to let the audience know. I mean, you've been an awesome coach and I tell you what. I've had clients letting me know that they are so bummed to see you go, but also so happy to see you go in the way in which you're going. Right, that's very bittersweet. Yeah, it's one of those things, too, where change happens and it's all about how you navigate it. And I think, man, you're 24, 25 years old and we talked about this even a couple of weeks ago but the way in which that you're leaving is just such a good way, and I think that that's important because I think that that is getting lost a lot.

Speaker 1 3:37

Yeah, absolutely yeah. So I know I just kind of unpacked a lot. That's okay, but you can take this wherever you want to go. But let's kind of talk about what kind of you graduated high school. And Well, first, what year did you graduate high school? 2017. 2017.

Speaker 2 4:01

Okay, and what was your desired or want and where did you think you'd head with the career path? Yeah, during high school my career path changed quite a bit. I didn't necessarily know what I wanted to do. I knew that I kind of wanted to be in some kind of healthcare, but I also knew that I had a really big love for sports. Sure, growing up I played eight sports.

Speaker 1 4:17

Oh really, yeah, Okay, what eight. I got five, six, I got eight fingers Okay.

Speaker 2 4:22

Basketball and dance were my main two. Okay, did those all throughout until I graduated. Track Track, I ran, I did high jump.

Speaker 1 4:30

What did?

Speaker 2 4:31

you do in track Short distance, so I did like 100, 200, 400. Okay, hated, hated. Yeah, I did not like it Okay.

Speaker 1 4:45

I did it to stay in shape for basketball, to be honest. Okay, oh wait, did you say? Did you say basketball? Yet basketball, dance track? Okay, high jump, so is that okay? So field track and field, yeah, okay, counted as two.

Speaker 2 4:51

Okay, four more uh, cross country was worse than track oh yeah yeah terrible, that's long, long ladder, yeah, a lot.

Speaker 2 4:58

I hate running, uh. So again, I did it. Uh, one of my best friends, it was just in middle school. I did it. One of my best friends, it was just in middle school. I did it for one year. One of my best friends did it. So I did it with her and you would run your race and they would hand out popsicles at the end, but I would run so slow that they would literally run out of popsicles. I wouldn't even get one. Yeah, anyway, so I think that's five.

Speaker 1 5:20

Yeah, we got three more.

Speaker 2 5:21

Volleyball was okay. Yeah, we got three more. Volleyball was okay, Soccer did not like.

Speaker 1 5:27

What's the last one you think? I don't know Swimming.

Speaker 2 5:29

No, I got kicked out of swimming lessons, though.

Speaker 1 5:34

Yeah, there's a lot Lacrosse, no.

Speaker 2 5:36

There's got to be the general one. I don't know.

Speaker 1 5:39

Competitive beanbags.

Speaker 2 5:41

Yeah, that's got to be it. It's gonna come to be later, let's go with that yeah that's cool, though I don't know bowling. Yeah, did you bowl? No, golf no, maybe, maybe I counted that I did first t for a little bit, oh yeah yeah, okay, that's crazy yeah that's a lot of sports yeah, very cool. So sports has always been kind of my passion yeah uh, but going into college I had the idea of doing a biology and psychology major with an art minor, which was so random.

Speaker 1 6:08

Okay, yeah, that's a little.

Speaker 2 6:10

Yeah, so wild. I didn't really know where I was going to go with it, but the idea was to do. I was between two. I didn't know if I wanted to do like cardiothoracic surgery, which is like heart and like blood veins kind of in the torso area.

Speaker 1 6:27

Okay.

Speaker 2 6:29

And then all throughout the body with the cardiovascular I guess. But I realized I did not want to do surgery at all and that seemed like a very high stress job and it wasn't revolved around sports. So then I kind of changed my path to like orthopedics.

Speaker 1 6:42

Okay.

Speaker 2 6:43

Orthopedic surgeon and I'm like, oh, that's still surgery. So then I kind of changed my path to like orthopedics. Okay, orthopedic surgeon, and I'm like, oh, that's still surgery. So then I kind of landed on orthopedic PA, so that's like bones, hips, joints.

Speaker 1 6:51

Okay.

Speaker 2 6:51

And then a physician's assistant, which is usually the initial person that you see Like if you're going into a clinic.

Speaker 1 7:00

Sure.

Speaker 2 7:00

And you think that you broke your bone. That's going to be kind of the initial person that you see and they kind of assess and evaluate you and tell the orthopedic doctor then kind of what they think is going on, and then the surgeon is who does the procedure.

Speaker 1 7:14

Then obviously Sure Okay. So that was kind of where you initially landed, yep, but then you have to apply to get into those programs.

Speaker 2 7:23

Yep. So orthopedic PA was what I kind of set on throughout college. Um and did. I ended up doing a exercise science major, so it was a little bit more, um, sports related rather than just biology. And then I had a biology and psychology minor and then actually got a coaching minor as well.

Speaker 1 7:42

Okay.

Speaker 2 7:43

Um, so a lot of schooling and I'm not done, right, I just love school. But then I was applying for PA school, so 2017,.

Speaker 1 7:53

you graduated high school. When did you start in college? 2017. 2017. So like right away.

Speaker 2 7:58

Yep, okay. I graduated in May 2017 of high school at Lincoln, here in town.

Speaker 1 8:03

Okay.

Speaker 2 8:04

And then I went to Augustana. Here in town, I've never left.

Speaker 1 8:06

Okay.

Speaker 2 8:07

In the fall of 2017.

Speaker 1 8:09

Okay, and then when you started working at Fit Body in 21. Yep Were you in. You were in school.

Speaker 2 8:16

Yep, I did a bonus semester yeah.

Speaker 1 8:17

Okay, okay and so, but you have not been in school now for Since January of 22. So two solid years. Two years out of school, yep, but in the interim of those two years you were applying to get into school, right?

Speaker 2 8:34

Yes, PA school.

Speaker 1 8:35

Yeah, Because I remember at one point in time we had a conversation and you're like hey, I'll let you know, Love being here and definitely want to be here, but I am applying for PA school.

Speaker 2 8:45

Yeah.

Speaker 1 8:45

And if I get in, that may change my availability.

Speaker 2 8:49

Right, and I think honestly, we had that conversation like literally right when I was hired.

Speaker 1 8:53

Yeah, yeah, and.

Speaker 2 8:53

I was like, hey, this is kind of my plan, just to be kind of transparent with you guys, and I feel like that's kind of like my MO.

Speaker 1 9:00

Yeah. It's like your go-tos mo.

Speaker 2 9:06

Yeah, it's like your go-to's.

Speaker 1 9:06

Hey, this is where I'm thinking I'm heading. Yeah, very, very big on communication for sure. Yeah, that's good, and I think that that's something that you know you're. You're 25 years old, as you continue throughout your journey, and that's one thing that I have definitely learned in any relationship. Uh, communication is key, because we can't read right, you know, and if you have this thought of, hey, I wonder if they're thinking X, y or Z like you should go have that conversation. And I think even too, over these three years of you and I working together, we've even realized that, man, communication is the biggest thing, because a lot of times we may be working or living under this preconceived sense of stress that we think someone is thinking, and then we have that conversation and it's like I didn't even know you're feeling that way, I didn't even know that was a thing, and so I think that that's huge. But you then came to us and said hey, I am applying for PT school.

Speaker 2 10:04

Yeah, yeah, right, yeah, yeah. So I had about. I don't know. I think the last time I applied for PA school was probably 2022.

Speaker 1 10:14

Because did you apply twice?

Speaker 2 10:16

I did. I graduated or I applied when I was still in school.

Speaker 1 10:19

Okay, and then I that's a hard program to get into, right, yeah, huge. I remember I think it was you or someone was telling me like, like, so many apply and they select people that apply like per school or something crazy, and then like they pick, like one or two. Yeah.

Speaker 2 10:34

Uh, so it was a very like high, intense, um applying situation. Yeah, um, and I think that like my application was strong, but we have to like write essays of like why do you want to be a PA? And like it was very driven by like helping athletes get back to their sports, and it's like that's not necessarily what a PA does yeah. It's definitely like in.

Speaker 1 10:59

The realm.

Speaker 2 11:00

Yeah, it's in the realm of it, but that wasn't like their key Sure Point.

Speaker 1 11:14

Yeah, it's in the realm of it but that wasn't like their key point, so I think that was really not necessarily what held me back, but I think you know it wasn't God's plan and that was his way of being like hey, I know what you're supposed to do, but like you're not there yet, so. But it's always one of those things where, once you get through the stress, through the struggle, it's like ha, hmm, okay, that was probably a better plan.

Speaker 2 11:34

Yeah, yeah, and it's super hard in the moment to truly understand that.

Speaker 1 11:40

I mean, you go through so much Well and not getting accepted had to be feeling of failure. Yeah, had to be feeling of failure.

Speaker 2 11:44

Yeah.

Speaker 1 11:45

Had to be feeling of not good enough.

Speaker 2 11:48

Yeah, right, yeah.

Speaker 1 11:49

And so you have to deal with those.

Speaker 2 11:50

Yeah, I mean I've always been. I always like to think I've been a good student. I've always, like, put a high priority on my education and I'm going to Augustana. I mean they definitely expect a lot out of you there.

Speaker 1 12:00

Yeah.

Speaker 2 12:05

Augustana's faith-based yes, yes, yep, yep and, to be honest with you, like to be completely vulnerable. I didn't even get an interview for PN.

Speaker 1 12:09

Yeah.

Speaker 2 12:09

Like, I applied and I didn't even get through the past like the first.

Speaker 1 12:12

Let's kind of unwrap that, if you will, absolutely. How did that make you feel?

Speaker 2 12:29

Awful enough and I feel like that's kind of like a core, not a core value, but like a core belief. Yeah, and I have. That is really hard for me to fight against. But again, like over, I would say over the past year, year and a half, I've been like really diving back in, getting a little bit deeper with my faith, yeah, um, and there's like no explanation to like how that changes everything yeah um.

Speaker 2 12:41

So I think once I, like you know, kind of dove back into my faith, going back into that, um, you know, viewpoint of life in the world and things like that, um, and just really living out like through christ yeah um, it was a lot easier to like accept the things that I cannot change. Yeah, like move forward. I'm not saying that's not, it's not hard, like it's definitely 100. Yeah, um, but it's a lot easier to accept things and move forward.

Speaker 2 13:03

And'm not saying that's not, it's not hard, like it's definitely 100, yeah, um, but it's a lot easier to accept things and move forward and like understand, like okay, this might be hard in a moment, but like I have to understand that like I don't know everything, which is super hard yeah, yeah um, and that my plan doesn't always line up with his plan and yeah, that's, you know, obviously, the the higher. Yeah, there's things that I'm not going to understand and I think once you get that, it changes everything, it makes it easy.

Replacing Faulty Beliefs With Truths

Speaker 1 13:30

It changes everything, you know. I feel that this is it kind of led us to a conversation that I didn't expect.

Speaker 2 13:36

I hear you.

Speaker 1 13:38

It's good because I feel like a lot of people and I'm actually going through this right now I'm working with a counselor and I think that sometimes that even gets like a negative yeah notion, yeah, like oh, you're working with a counselor yes up yeah, but yep, yep, messed up.

Speaker 1 13:54

Yeah, we all, uh, we all are, you know, and the thing of it is is like what I've really realized is we're all messed up. Humans, yeah, just messing up other humans, yeah, basically doing our best to not, but that's what we're doing, and one of the things that I'm working through right now, um, with my, my counselor, is understanding that you know, as it pertains to faith, if you, if you have a faith in, in christ and you have a relationship with god and that is you know know how you're trying to live Right, god has truths that he has basically said about us Yep, you know that we are valued, that we are loved, that we are worthy, all these things that are truths about us as sons and daughters of Christ. But from the moment that we're born, the world has lies Yep, and the world tells us lies Yep. And from the moment we're born, we start to hear these lies. And the world tells us lies. And from the moment we're born, we start to hear these lies. And then what happens is we start to believe them, and when we start to believe them, they become our foundation. And when we have a foundation that is built on lies. It doesn't matter how good we do, it doesn't matter anything that we do, we still come back to our foundation, which is faulty, built on lies, and so I kind of like what you said.

Speaker 1 15:12

There is you feel that you have like a core belief, not a core value, but a core belief of you're not good enough, and that's totally false, however much easier said than understood. And now, though, you have understood it, you have recognized it and, and, to your point, you've then been digging in to, hey, what are the truths that god says about me? Because those are true. And then we have to set out on this journey to replace that faulty foundational belief of I'm not good enough with I am absolutely good enough, and it isn't overnight, but I've been working on that too and, oh my goodness, I've found so many.

Speaker 1 15:56

I don't know if you want to call them cracks in my foundation, but I've found so many and I didn't even realize. But they're beliefs that I have instilled in me that are totally not true. Yeah, and I feel like a lot of our audience probably watching, listening, they have at least one or two Right, right, foundational beliefs in them. That is absolutely not true, and it probably is something holding them back, because you found one that's holding you back. I've found several that are holding me back and now we work on it, and so you recognize that, hey, pa wasn't the plan. Yeah, you decided that you're going to. Even through writing your essay, I think you already had some light bulbs, like hey, wanting to help athletes get back to their sport. This and that kind of led you to where you're going now.

Speaker 2 16:44

Right, Um, again, it kind of goes back to like a faith story. I mean, it wasn't really my intention of our podcast today, but you got to do everything through Christ. That's right. It goes where it goes, yeah, so it definitely makes sense. But but I had kind of just I didn't really know what I wanted to do.

Speaker 1 17:01

Yeah.

Speaker 2 17:01

Last time that I applied for PA school, I didn't get any interviews, didn't get in. Yeah, I kind of had just like accepted okay, we're going to rock with Fit Body, which I absolutely love, yeah, what we're doing here. I just never saw, like I always thought that I'd be going back to school.

Speaker 1 17:19

Yeah.

Speaker 2 17:22

Don't take that wrong. I absolutely love everything.

Speaker 1 17:23

Yeah, yeah, no, no, um you know me, I don't yeah yeah, good, um, and my brother went to med school yeah um, and so we were attending.

Speaker 2 17:32

He had graduated from med school um, so we were attending his graduation um, and this would have been a year yeah.

Speaker 1 17:39

Yeah, like 20. A year ago, yeah, yeah, yeah, a year ago, yep.

Speaker 2 17:43

And so I went to that and we were just sitting in the auditorium in Vermillion and like hearing all these people's names, like get up and walk across, and I'm like it was like this push from behind me, yeah. And it was like you're not done with school. Yeah, you thought PA, yeah the school. Yeah, you thought pa. Yeah, you're going pt, yeah. And so the whole ride home, the whole 45 minutes yeah, I'm looking up different pt schools and I'm like it's never really crossed my mind.

Speaker 2 18:06

I actually worked at a physical therapy place, uh, for about three years before I even worked here. Okay, I don't know if you knew that I think just recently.

Speaker 1 18:14

Yeah, um, you had mentioned, because it's the one that you're working at now. Yeah, yeah, I'm actually back there, so you're working there and you have been working there part-time for since about may yeah, a couple days a week. Four, four days a week. Carly likes to fill her schedule. Carly likes to work 40 hours a week at fit body and then 40 hours, 20 hours, at other jobs too so, but I love it.

Speaker 1 18:34

I love what I do yeah, um, and what's that one that you're at now, proactive, proactive physical therapy and you said that they at Proactive, it's on Minnesota Avenue, yep, and they've been around for a while 25 years.

Speaker 2 18:47

Yeah, he just saw it.

Speaker 1 18:48

That is so awesome. Yeah, yeah, I'm excited for when Fit Body gets to be 25 years.

Speaker 2 18:53

Yeah, why not?

Transitioning to PT School Discussions

Speaker 1 18:55

Yeah, but you said that their kind of target market or average client is probably 55 plus, which is this kind of ironic that you run our 55 plus program at Fit Body and that is their target demographic there, and so I do feel that you, somewhere inside of you, you have this desire of helping that demographic, the 55 plus demographic, stay active yeah, I really think that you know and we talked about this last time I think that my parents kind of play a huge role in that.

Speaker 2 19:33

yeah, um, and I just I see it feels like a generation that just kind of gets lost, like we're always worried about the next, the upcoming thing, and you and. I were, and older generation, and it's just a huge target market that's just not being taken care of. And I think that is a core value of mine is to just like take care of other people, especially when I feel like they're not being taken care of.

Speaker 1 20:12

Yeah, and I was talking with either one of our clients in Fit Body Forever or just someone else that I had met. I don't remember exactly who I was talking to, but we were talking about it's so messed up and backwards how in life you are young and vibrant and you have all this energy and all this desire and all this goal to do all these things and you lack finances yeah, lack finances. And then, as you age, the goal is to hopefully accumulate finances so that you can have the money to go do all these things. But unfortunately, more often than not, by the time you get the finances to go do all these things, you then lack the health and it's like, hey, that's messed up. And so I think that that's even a desire of yours too, because you see your parents and you're very similar to me in the fact that I love my parents and you have a good relationship with your parents.

Speaker 1 21:11

Yeah, roommates, right, as a roommate, I love it. I'm in the basement, yeah, but you want to see them go do all the things that they want to go do? Yeah, but you like, you want to see them go do all the things that they want to go do yeah. And you don't have your health, you ain't doing it. Yeah, hey, yep, yep. So so now you applied for PT school. Yep Got accepted, yep. And you got accepted a while ago, was it?

Speaker 2 21:32

Yeah, so on my drive home, just to like rewind. Yeah, on different schools um, and augustana pops up yeah and I went to argue for my undergrad and I'm like whoa, how did I not know?

Speaker 1 21:41

that they had a pt program.

Speaker 2 21:43

Yep, uh, because they had just started it literally. When I looked it up, they were just starting their first really cohort, so I'll be in the second course.

Speaker 1 21:50

They call it a cohort okay, like a class second class yeah, um, so that's a new program too.

Speaker 2 21:56

New program, new program yeah, okay, yeah, um, and I they do like it's not an advanced application. I can't remember what. It's all right now Sure. But it's like when you apply they will get it right away and then they'll send it back where a lot of schools will do like. Your application is due in November. We're not looking at applications until November, so it doesn't really matter.

Speaker 1 22:16

Yeah.

Speaker 2 22:17

When you send it to us.

Speaker 1 22:18

Yeah.

Speaker 2 22:18

So I filled out the application to augie and that was the only one I did and I got in pretty quick right away.

Speaker 1 22:24

Yeah, I mean it was a.

Speaker 2 22:26

It was a pretty simple process to where, like, I got the email back that I was in an interview, and then we had an interview on zoom and yeah, it was the interview was weird too. It was a weird process because the video, the questions were recorded oh and so then it just like pressed play, and then I had like 20 seconds to like think about it, and then I would answer the question. Oh, yeah. Super weird, yeah, it worked out obviously.

Speaker 1 22:45

But you know, I think that's wild because, thinking back, it was like nine months that you yeah, like, you're like, hey, in nine months from now I'm going to be going to PT school. And you think about it and it's like, okay, we'll deal with that when it comes. Here we are yeah.

Speaker 1 23:01

And time just keeps flowing. You know, that's one thing that never stops. A lot of things in life we can put on pause. We can't put time on pause. No, it keeps going. And so here we are now. And, you know, to that point we're like, hey, all right, we have to figure out a fit body. Yeah, all right, we have to figure out a fit body. Yeah, who is going to kind of take over fit body forever? Yep, and how's that going to look, and all that. And we've been working on that and getting that ready to rock. And here we are now.

Speaker 1 23:27

We're going to be, you know, celebrating your last day this coming Saturday. Yeah, and you're going to be miking it up. Yeah, better see you there Last time. Yeah, better see you there when you're a client, past client, future client never want to be a client. Come hang out, come hang out with us. It'll be a party. It'll be a party. And because that's August 31st, 31st, this coming Saturday, and yeah, it's going to be a great time, yeah, I feel like, I think we're even like West is going to be close. West is going to be closed. West is closed, yeah, closing West, inviting everyone over here. We're going to just open up the garage doors. Yeah, yeah, have a great time, but so when do you start school?

Speaker 2 24:07

Yeah, so our first day of class is September 30th. Okay, we have in-person, that's a Monday. Yep, we have in-person orientation on the Thursday, friday before. So I believe it's like the 26th, 27th of September.

Speaker 1 24:21

That's in-person orientation.

Speaker 2 24:22

Yep, but then we have three online courses to complete before and, kind of, like you said, I've been working 60 hour weeks so I've been like kind of tapping into it but like not super serious about it. So between this upcoming Saturday, I guess the 31st and the 26th.

Speaker 1 24:40

You got to get those three.

Speaker 2 24:41

I get those three things done. Hopefully, by the time this comes out I'll have one of them done, or?

Speaker 1 24:45

something. Yeah, absolutely Absolutely, and so and I think that's good too, that you gave yourself some time to transition. We had talked, and I believe the plan is that you're still going to work out and cause you're going to still be living here in town, yeah, Going to school, but it's like all online, except for like two weeks. Yeah, month or something.

Speaker 2 25:04

Yeah, so they do a hybrid program. So usually PT school is like three or four years.

Speaker 1 25:09

Okay.

Speaker 2 25:09

And Augie is doing it in two, so I don't really get too many breaks. We go right through the summer yeah, through the first year. It's like six, seven weeks online to where some of our courses are on Zoom, so they call it synchronous.

Speaker 1 25:26

Okay.

Speaker 2 25:33

And then some of our courses are asynchronous, so they just send us the information and we go through it on our own, and so we do that for six, seven weeks, and then we have a week to two weeks in Blaine, minnesota for what's in Blaine? It's the National Sports Center. It's like the biggest youth sports center, I think it's just like a facility that's closer to and so, augie partnered up with them?

Speaker 1 25:53

I think so, I would assume.

Speaker 2 25:54

So, yeah, okay, I mean you'll learn more obviously, yeah, I feel like I know nothing about my program, for it starting in a couple of months, but, with that being said, I think, like our main doctors live in Blaine, minnesota.

Speaker 1 26:09

Got it. How far away is Blaine, do you know?

Speaker 2 26:11

It's 30 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes north of Minneapolis. Oh, okay, really like a solid four hours.

Speaker 1 26:16

Yeah, okay, very cool. And then four hours yeah, okay, very cool and then you are, where do you stay?

Speaker 2 26:22

do they have like dorms or something down there? Uh, yes, it's kind of like it's a room with like four bunk beds so if you want to do that? Uh, you can.

Speaker 1 26:28

You gotta pay for it like every other thing yeah, um, otherwise you can just stay wherever you want.

Speaker 2 26:32

Yeah, I just booked a hotel for my first one, because the intention is, like you can stay with your friends or whatever, but like we now, we don't know anybody. Everything's online. I got no friends. I ain't got no friends, which is is funny. Um, because it's an augie program, yep, and so being from sioux falls, being an augustana grad.

Speaker 2 26:53

Um, working in sioux fall like I've literally never left yeah I kind of assumed that I would like know a couple people because the cohort, the class, is supposed to be a hundred people. I don't even know how big our class is Okay. And I literally know one person and the ironic thing is that she works at the PT place that I do.

Speaker 1 27:09

Oh crazy.

Speaker 2 27:10

And I went to Costa.

Speaker 1 27:10

Rica with her and she's in your cohort. Yeah, she's the only person I know in my class. That's wild, yeah, so, wild, yeah. So how does she work full time at? No, she works morning and I work afternoon, so I never see her.

Speaker 1 27:28

But we communicate and text and stuff. Yeah, very cool, okay, so, yeah. So. So big things coming, big change coming.

Speaker 1 27:30

And change isn't easy and that's one thing that Carly and I had kind of talked about. You know, as you go into this change and that's one thing that I do and I know you as well a lot of our clients to fit body becomes family, it becomes community, and so it's just so important that as we go through these changes in life, that we have that support, that community, and so it'll be a lot of fun to still see you coming in and getting your workouts in and then, who knows, whenever we may need a guest coach on the mic, carly's only a text or phone call away. So I mean, I could definitely see that as possibilities into the future. But let's just dive in.

Speaker 1 28:10

We got a little bit of time here. I want to dive into what has been kind of and let's kind of highlight the last three years of you being a coach. What have been some like moments that pop up in your mind, that you haven't really thought about, but they pop up in your mind. It's like man, these are highlights yeah, these are highlights of my three-year career at Epic Body.

Speaker 2 28:32

I think the first thing is so silly that pops up into my mind when West opened, we did a dunk tank. And I think that for me, is just such a big highlight. It was just so fun. It was so different out there and I remember we were raising money I believe it was for the Special Olympics and we put all these mason jars out and people had put money in there and whatever coach had the most money in there got to go in the dunk tank.

Speaker 1 28:55

Oh, and Fit Body Forever. They rocked it up, man, oh my gosh.

Speaker 2 28:57

They literally took. I think there was another coach that was it was between me and another coach and they took the money out of the other coaches and counted it and they made sure I had like two extra dollars.

Speaker 1 29:07

Yeah.

Speaker 2 29:08

Um, cause they were like the last session before we, we pulled the Called it.

Speaker 1 29:11

Yeah.

Building Community in Fitness Industry

Speaker 2 29:11

Yeah, so, but honestly, I think, like overall, necessarily like a specific moment, uh, but just like being with Fit Body Forever has been such a blessing, honestly. And, um, going to school and getting an exercise science degree I always said the last thing I want to do is work at a gym. I don't know if I've ever said that to you, um, but it was just like never in the plan and kind of like we were talking about like when you plan things that never really works out, um, and I think that this has been the best thing for me. You have taught me so much. I think I've grown up a lot in the past three years. I'm getting teary-eyed, it happens, yeah, but I would not be the same person I am today without working here and without your support and your help, and working here has been unlike literally anything else.

Speaker 2 29:55

You have been such a big support and truly just like a mentor for me yeah um, both in like a business aspect of things, personal growth aspect of things, a faith aspect of things. Yeah, whether you know it or not, I think that you know you have more people. Yeah, of course you have more people looking up to you than you know yeah um, and I don't really think that like the age matters. You are, you know, just a little bit older than I am.

Speaker 2 30:20

Yeah, um got you by nine years yeah, come on now, uh, but I do think like even people who are older than you and working out here, they can see kind of how you're living and how you're yeah um projecting like your life yeah um and living very faith-based and very like people oriented.

Speaker 2 30:35

Yeah, we were just talking. What is it today? Thursday, two days ago? We were, yeah, we were talking about our bird profiles. So our bird profiles are kind of like our personalities, yep, and we are both big, huge parrots, yep. So we like to talk, we like to yap, we like to be loud.

Speaker 2 30:56

We like to be center of attention. Yeah, and you do a good job of just something that I admire about you so much. Yeah, thank you. Yeah, and again, like these are things that I've probably never told you, but things that I've always thought about you. Yeah, and it's just. It's been such an honor to work, you know, not underneath you, but like beside you.

Speaker 1 31:15

Yeah.

Speaker 2 31:15

You never put yourself on a pedestal, even in like a team aspect way of things. Pedestal, even in like a team aspect way of things, yeah, and that has just been so fresh compared to literally anything else out there.

Speaker 1 31:26

Yeah.

Speaker 2 31:30

Being kind of, you know, like a locally owned gym you know you're running things with your people and you love to tell kind of your story of when you started. I mean you used to like literally sleep here yeah, hey, it's a one man show and sleep here and get up coach some morning sessions, take a nap, wake up coach the afternoon sessions, sleep here, um, and so putting sit body at the forefront of your life has really affected thousands of people. Um, and I know that it's not necessarily been the the easiest journey for you throughout the nine plus years that you've been here, but having that effect on so many people and I mean that's really the goal and you're doing it.

Speaker 1 32:08

Yeah, I really appreciate that. I think that our team and I know you know this, being part of the team but like and I've shared this with our team multiple times and I think I probably even shared it with our listeners but I always, when I started off, I always would pray. I was like God, if you're going to bless me to keep this business going, bless me with an amazing team, and I really feel that our team is a dream team.

Speaker 2 32:33

Yeah.

Speaker 1 32:34

Do we have struggles in our team? Of course we have friction, we have points of contention, where we have to chat and talk and work through things, but I think that's it right when the going gets tough, we don't just part ways with each other. We dive deeper, have a conversation, let's work through it, and I think that's why our team has been able to really relate to so many of our clients in the way that we do, because every single one of our clients and this is something we always say we have no idea what they're going through. They walk in and we get them for 30 minutes, and so how can we be the light in their life for 30 minutes? To make sure that you know whatever darkness that you might be going through in the world, you can turn it off for 30 minutes, focus on you, become the best version of yourself and then go out there and deal with the darkness.

Speaker 1 33:23

Yeah, and I think to your point you had said like I never kind of picture myself in a gym. Sure, I resonate with that. Yeah, why I do is because, man, when I graduated high school in 2008, went and got certified as a personal trainer in 2009, moved back to Sioux Falls and worked at a gym, one-on-one training, yep and same like it wasn't for me, right, and same like it wasn't for me, right, I didn't like it. It was nothing to do with the gym, it was nothing to do with that establishment. It had everything to do with, like, I don't like gyms. Yeah, Like I really don't. Yeah, even to this day, when I walk into a traditional gym, I get kind of like the imi jimis, like man, this is my profession and I still feel, because, again, it's that foundational belief of I don't fit in here.

Speaker 2 34:13

Yeah.

Speaker 1 34:13

The gym's not, for me, like these beliefs that we're working on reversing and redefining Right, but in Fit Body. It's like it's a gym, but it's.

Speaker 2 34:25

There's so much more than that and I think I you know primarily work with Fit Body. It's like it's a gym, but it's. There's so much more than that and I think I you know primarily work with Fit Body Forever. That's kind of been my baby.

Speaker 2 34:33

Yep, yeah, for the past couple of years and you know, even with them. I was having a conversation with them the other day and, like our, I've been making our workouts a little bit harder, yeah, and um, I was, like you know, at the end of the day, I don't really care how much. I mean, I do care, but I don't really care how much you're like working out, cause they like to chat quite a bit, um, I don't care how much you're lifting, I don't care how much you know you're. Yes, I want you to progress, yes, I want you to lift more. Um, but like, the main goal is like we're building a community, we're building a family and like we're having this true connection. Because, like you said, if you're going into a traditional gym, especially for that 55 and older, like or what do you, what do you?

Speaker 1 35:12

do, what do?

Speaker 2 35:12

you do, you just you're alone. You kind of just feel out of place.

Speaker 1 35:15

Yeah.

Speaker 2 35:15

Um not saying you can't do that.

Speaker 1 35:18

Yeah.

Speaker 1 35:19

Um it just doesn't have that community feel like a lot of us are just looking to do life with other people. Oh, yeah, I feel that life is a team sport. It is, yeah, and so many people get stuck doing life alone. Yeah, and you know, jacob Lewis and I this was probably four months ago released an episode maybe not four months, but regardless released an episode just about isolation and loneliness and how, when you can do life with others, you can get better results in your health and fitness. You can get better results just in your life, and so I don't even know where I heard that first, but I just love that saying of I feel that life is a team sport because you just need other people to lean on.

Speaker 1 36:03

And I feel like, even to this day, you're now leaving and transitioning into a new career, but we still have our connections and our relationships that we've built over these three years together, that we're going to still be able to lean on into this next chapter in your life. And I love that because there's so many things that you have really become the expert on within FitBody from different things with FitBody Forever to community engagement to organizing events and I know without a question of a doubt that if I a month, two months, three months on the road, I'm like, hey, how did Carly do this? What was the process? Where is she keeping this stuff? I know that you can just reach out right and I can ask and we can get that info from you, and same I know for you that it's like hey, if all of a sudden I'm struggling X, y or Z, I know that my gym, my people got my back.

Speaker 2 37:00

Yeah, I mean I see you guys more than I see my friends, and I tell Fit Body Forever that a lot too. Um, I mean, you're the people that I'm surrounding myself with constantly.

Speaker 1 37:09

Yeah.

Speaker 2 37:10

Um, and I think one of the first things that I heard when I started working here is like, you are some of the five people that you kind of like surround yourself with Um and again. I think that's why I've like grown so much in the past three years is just because there's so so many like great people around me, um with good solid from from staff to client to to the community, things that we get involved with, Absolutely, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 1 37:37

Well, I love it, Carly, this has been fun. It's been fun to kind of take a little uh different look right, this is, uh, the first episode of meet the coach that we're launching, where it's like, hey, meet the coach and say goodbye to the coach, but it's been awesome. If there's one piece of advice and I kind of put you on the spot here if there's one piece of advice that you could give our listeners, what would that advice be, Whether it's health or fitness life career it's health or fitness.

Speaker 1 38:09

Life, yeah, career, yeah, like what's what is our young, bright, 25?

Speaker 2 38:10

year old. Yeah, mine's advice, um, I feel like this has been coming up a lot this past week. Yeah, um, when you feel like you don't want to do the things, like know that you're not alone. Um, and I help with youth group and we had a little bit of a youth group night. Uh, last night we had a worship night and a couple of the girls came up to me and they were like I just, you know, sometimes I just don't feel like praying, like I don't feel like doing it.

Speaker 1 38:30

Yeah.

Speaker 2 38:31

Um, or like I don't feel like connection that pull on my heart and it's like, yeah, we all feel that sometimes, whether it's you know, uh, within your faith, within going to the gym, with going to work, like sometimes you just don't feel like doing it. You just kind of want to hang out, walk through the paces, yep, um, and so here that everybody goes through it, but also know that, like you are called to get back on the horse and keep going.

Speaker 1 38:54

Yeah.

Speaker 2 38:55

Um, and you know you have your people there to to help you get there.

Speaker 1 39:00

Yep.

Speaker 2 39:00

Um so know that you're not in it alone.

Speaker 1 39:03

Yeah.

Speaker 2 39:03

Even if you feel alone, you got Jesus there with you, by your side.

Speaker 1 39:06

Yep.

Speaker 2 39:07

Know that everybody else is going through. You know something similar, Yep, and that you're going to get through it.

Speaker 1 39:12

Pick yourself back up. Yeah, keep going, keep going. I love it. I love it. Well, you guys, you spent some time with us today. I appreciate you guys for coming in, you for taking the time to jump on. Again, this is a Thursday. You're probably listening to it maybe on a Friday, so if you're listening to it anytime before the 31st, I'm calling you out.

Speaker 1 39:36

August 31st, 2024, central location. Get your booty to the gym. 730, 815. 730 and 815, two opportunities to come and just have an amazing workout. And again, whether you're a client, you're not a client, you ever maybe think that you would be a client, it doesn't matter. Come to the gym, have a good time with us. We're going to be there having a blast and really just sending you off with all the love. It's going to be a really fun day. All the love, it's going to be a really fun day. So, wherever you're at in your health and fitness journey or in your life, know that Fit Body is here for you. We'd love to see you August 31st. And, other than that, carly, excited to kind of watch as you continue on your journey. Yeah, absolutely, thank you. You know that we're here and we will keep on rocking.

Speaker 2 40:19

Yeah, absolutely.

Speaker 1 40:20

Well, hey, you guys, have an awesome day. I hope to see you on August 31st, and know that. Hey, how long is the program? Two years. You said Two years, yep, two years. So know that in two years, when you are looking for your go-to PT, we're going to have your gal, carly, ready to help you out on that journey. But, hey, have an awesome day. See you on Saturday. Other than that, know that you're awesome. Go out, have a great day. We'll catch you on the next episode of the Sioux Falls Fit and Healthy Show. All right, you guys, bye-bye.