Today we’d like to introduce you to Catherine Basu.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Catherine. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I might be the founder of a fitness company, but I’m a personal trainer with a secret–I grew up terrified of gym class! If you had told me in kindergarten that I’d spend most of my 20s working in gyms, I would have run away from home.
Finding and falling in love with running in middle school allowed me to finally start to gain an appreciation for the positive benefits of fitness. And when I did? I tried to convince anyone I could to start running, too!
However, that didn’t mean that I liked gym class! We didn’t run during P.E. and I was – and still am – highly uncoordinated. And while I might have been an A student in my other classes, I regularly failed and had to make up gym class quizzes.
I was so uncomfortable with gym class that when I got to college, I didn’t even want to try any of the group exercise classes because they were offered at the gym. Luckily, I had a roommate who refused to give up on me. I went to one and then many more fitness classes and fell in love. In my senior year, I took a study course that was offered by my college so I could become a certified personal trainer and fitness instructor.
I never thought I’d work in fitness full time. However, when I wasn’t able to find a job related to my biology degree after a summer internship, I started teaching more and more fitness classes. At one point, I was teaching fitness classes and training clients at almost all of the facilities in the small town in Rhode Island where I lived at the time.
I enjoyed working in fitness so much that after a year of freelancing, I decided to apply to a position as a wellness center director.
My experiences working in that position and at several other companies after I moved to Houston, Texas, is what helped me create my own fitness company, Fit Armadillo, several years later.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Fit Armadillo celebrated its 4th year of business this May. I’ve definitely dealt with my share of challenges these past few years. But, navigating the different obstacles I’ve faced is what has shaped the business into what it is today.
There have been small challenges, like having to explain why I chose the name Fit Armadillo. Many people have tried to convince me to change my business name, but I’m glad I haven’t-we’ve had several clients work with us because of our unique, fun name!
The name Fit Armadillo actually speaks to overcoming difficult roads and challenges.
While many Houston – dwelling armadillos find crossing a road to be a life-threatening challenge, fit armadillos and Fit Armadillo clients are much better supported.
Whether a client hopes to safely cross the first road on their fitness journey or they want to cross many roads by training for and running their first 5K, we are here to help. The Fit Armadillo tagline, “fitness at your place and your pac”, is something I take seriously. I don’t believe fitness can, or should, be enjoyed any other way. Fitness should be freeing and enjoyed on your terms versus the terms a gym places on you.
Which leads me to one challenge that was more difficult than rationalizing the business name – bringing Fit Armadillo sessions online.
Finding a tech solution that would allow clients to book their private sessions with just 30 minutes notice while also having trainers adequately notified was a challenge. Realizing that providing sessions over Skype really limited us (people often had trouble setting up or wanting to have a Skype account) brought in another tech challenge. Luckily, I’ve since solved both and made the booking and training process a lot more seamless and enjoyable for clients and trainers.
I’m really proud of how easy we make it for moms, the initial client base I wanted to bring value to, as well as others, to enjoy private fitness sessions.
We’d love to hear more about your business.
Since your Fit Armadillo trainer meets you online at your session time, you get the same level of accountability you’d get by working with a personal trainer at the gym without the added fees or hassle! We help you save time and money so you have more of both to enjoy what really matters to you.
Because sitting in Houston traffic to get to and from your private workout? That’s NO way to find your workout motivation!
Whether you want to enjoy one private fitness session with us to change up your routine or get feedback on your form or three sessions each week – you won’t need to pay any membership or application fees.
Most of all, we’re all about giving you more freedom when it comes to fitness. That’s because we believe that when you tone up on your terms, instead of signing a binding gym contract, you’re better able to enjoy life on your terms.
We offer personal training, as well as private yoga, barre and Pilates sessions. All of our fitness professionals are certified and passionate about what they do.
I’m most proud of the fact that I have such an amazing team!
Before starting my business, I worked as a wellness center director and swore I would never manage people again. I’m glad I broke that promise! I feel blessed to have each and every fitness professional we have on the Fit Armadillo team. They each bring unique skills and are committed to inspiring clients to make fitness a part of their lifestyle versus a phase.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was NOT interested in starting a fitness company that is for sure! In fact, I thought I would be an entomologist. For those of you who don’t know, that’s a scientist who studies insects.
I hated gym class, but I can see how I may have been interested in becoming a personal trainer and helping others.
When we’d do the mile run in P.E, I would always support the back of the pack, walking with them long after our other, faster my peers were off playing at the end of the test.
Pricing:
- A 30 minute private online fitness session is $49 without a package. We don’t have any membership or application fees.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://FitArmadillo.com
- Phone: (424) 247-6961
- Email: Catherine@FitArmadillo.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/FitArmadillo
- Facebook: Facebook.com/FitArmadillo
- Twitter: Twitter.com/FitArmadillo
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