Why I closed Pop Fit Studio and What I am focusing on this holiday season - Ep 93
Nov 21, 2023
Christine DeFilippis
In this emotional episode, I share why I closed Pop Fit Studio, a fitness space that was more than just a business for me and for many clients. This episode is not just about the closing of a brick-and-mortar business, but the complexities and emotions that come with such a huge change, and the reality of operating a fitness studio in the face of unprecedented challenges brought on by the pandemic. Also shared: a different approach to fitness and food this holiday season.
In this emotional episode, I share why I closed Pop Fit Studio, a fitness space that was more than just a business for me and for many clients. This episode is not just about the closing of a brick-and-mortar business, but the complexities and emotions that come with such a huge change, and the reality of operating a fitness studio in the face of unprecedented challenges brought on by the pandemic. Also shared: a different approach to fitness and food this holiday season.
Welcome to episode 93 of the Breaking Body Biases podcast. This is Christine here, and this is now a video and audio podcast. So if you're listening to this on wherever you listen to podcasts, whatever app you use, know that there is a video of this as well. My attempt right now is to make a deeper connection for those that I don't get to see on a regular basis, because I do have a very big update and an explanation, if you will, for why you haven't heard a new podcast in quite a few weeks. So, if you don't know, I have closed PopFit Studio.
Speaker 1:
For those that are clients, we're clients of PopFit Studio. You obviously know that we've closed the studio as of the end of October, and this was a very hard decision. This wasn't something that I did very lightly. We invested a lot into the studio, not only financially but emotionally all my time and energy, and it's been home for not only myself but for my family for the last five and a half years really, six and a half years, because we spent a lot of time building out this space and creating what I like to refer to as my dream studio, and the transition has been challenging for many clients I've heard from, and for myself as well. It's been hard on Nico too, who has known the studio to be his second home for all of his life, and it's been challenging and it was a hard decision to make something. Again, I did not make this decision lightly because of how much we have put into the studio, but at the end of the day I had to decide what would be best for myself, my family, for our future. And it just became too challenging During the pandemic being open but not open during a time when everyone was struggling.
Speaker 1:
I understand that, but being in a fitness space where people weren't running right back to gyms and studios to work out during the pandemic. First of all, we weren't able to be open for many months, and that's challenging. And many of our modalities weren't able to do online can't do bungee online and for those that did not, we'd only had so many pieces of pump and other equipment pieces like TRX or like trampoline. We had to loan out only a certain number of pieces of equipment, so not everyone had the ability to do at-home workouts. Plus, not everybody wanted to do at-home workouts. Not everyone had the space or the desire to work out at-home.
Speaker 1:
A lot of people came to PopFit Studio because we had a space and a community there and, while it was the best decision for my family to close the studio and not struggle financially with having a brick and mortar space, it's hard to let the space go and that's why, for many months, we just kept pushing forward and saying we're just gonna keep going and going and eventually we'll dig ourselves out of this. But unfortunately, after many, many months post-pandemic, it just wasn't adding up to what we wanted it to be. So unfortunately, we had to make that hard decision and again, not based on emotion and not based on anything other than just really crunching the numbers and knowing that it's just not sustainable what we're doing. We made the hard decision to close. So, that being said, I also had to take some time away from the podcast because it was really hard closing the studio. So much stuff. So in our physical studio space we started to really collect a lot of stuff over the years and, although it was really easy once all the clients bought a lot of our equipment and our merchandise and a lot of the stuff started to leave the studio, it was so much like little things and it was a lot of work, and that last week, the first week of November, when we were in there. It just took forever to clear out that space and it was exhausting and it's emotional because, again, I didn't particularly want to close the studio. It was the best decision for us, but I had a lot of emotional connections to the studio and that week became more challenging as a result.
Speaker 1:
So all these emotions that I'm dealing with, the grief, and just change in general. Anytime I've changed facilities that I was teaching at or changed jobs. It's a transition and it's been a transition this past month. In getting into a new routine. I've been able to spend some more time with Nico, more quality time, because I think when I was running the studio, I was working all hours and I was stressed, and Nico can sense that. So instead of listening to him play his drums, I was too worried about getting an email out or replying to someone or making sure certain things were working correctly or making sure classes were covered.
Speaker 1:
So again, now I'm much more present and we've had some really great moments and I'm looking forward to the time ahead. So what's happening now? So I haven't settled on where I'm teaching next, so if you have suggestions, please let me know. I'm not really interested in renting a space and subletting it. I've been there, done that. I just want to go in and teach a class and see people again and get movement in, and there's lots of different modalities that I'm interested in teaching. So I'm exploring all that right now and leaving my holiday season open to be able to be present with Nico and family so that way I can really enjoy the holiday season. This year I already have a pretty full schedule. Even though I don't have a full schedule, I'm really looking forward to this holiday season and I'll have some pop-ups. I have that information for you in the next episode of the podcast, but I also wanted to share with you. Since we are approaching the holidays, I'm releasing this episode right before the Thanksgiving holiday.
Speaker 1:
If you're in the US, I know that this time of year can be really challenging. It can be a time of year where we're stressing over seeing family members that we haven't seen in a while and the topic of our bodies becomes the topic of conversation, and it shouldn't be. We shouldn't be talking about people's bodies, so shutting a lot of that down can be really challenging. And then it's also challenging for us to be thinking about food and enjoying the holiday season not just Thanksgiving, but this whole holiday season that's upon us and thinking about food and movement, and there's been this connection for many, many years. We have connected our food to exercise and it's a problem because you don't have to earn any food that you eat. You don't have to burn off the food that you eat. Why not just go into a holiday, or any meal for that matter, and just enjoy the food that's in front of you?
Speaker 1:
Exercise can provide us with so many different benefits. Right, it's not just burning calories why we exercise. Many people, that is the main reason why they exercise. But, in all honesty, exercising movement or workout classes or just working out in general, all that provides us with so many more benefits outside of just calories burning or calories in and calories out, kind of idea. So what can we focus on when we work out, as opposed to focusing on all? Right, did I burn off what I just ate last night? How about focusing on all the other great benefits of movement Feeling energy, getting a good night's sleep, feeling stronger, greater flexibility and mobility?
Speaker 1:
I know that is a main reason why I work out is for my mobility, so as I get older, especially being an older mom, having that mobility is to be able to play with Nico, get up off the floor and be able to run around. I know that during these couple of weeks that Nico and I have spent more time together, I've really noticed that he has a ton of energy and he is very mobile. So how can I continue to have that? So that way I can have fun with Nico and Nico wants to have fun with me. So there's so many reasons to work out Feeling less stressed. I know, as a mom especially, I don't want to be angry all the time or stressed because this kid is driving me bonkers right, and especially for me. I'm going through perimenopause and feeling these moments of anger and lack of patience and frustration over things has really shown me that my exercise routine really helps, that I feel stronger, I feel more capable, I feel more confident. So there's so many reasons to exercise, well beyond just that calorie in, calorie out theory that we've been taught over the years.
Speaker 1:
So as you approach the holiday season, remember that movement is way more than what's on your plate. Then, on top of that, as you look down at your plate, whether it's for a meal or this holiday season. I want you to remember that, yes, food is nutrition. Food is gonna give you energy, food is gonna give you fiber and vitamins and nutrients and all of that. And food is pleasure. Food is tradition, food is your culture, food is memories. Can you think of foods that remind you of a certain time of year or a certain family tradition or family member or so many things with our food are tied to our heritage and our culture and our family and our memories and traditions? And again, pleasure. And you deserve to enjoy food. So, as you look down at your plate, please enjoy every bite. Please don't look at it as you're being naughty or you're being bad. Food is more than just fuel. It is life. It is to be enjoyed.
Speaker 1:
So, as you go into again this holiday season or any meal that you're having, enjoy your food, enjoy your workouts. Think about all the reasons why you wanna enjoy the food that you do and why you move the body the way that your body, the way that you do, and continue to separate those things. You don't have to earn your food, you do not have to burn off your food. And, on that note, I want to share with you that I will be posting some pop-ups so that way you can enjoy some shame-free and guilt-free, judgment-free workouts with me in the month of December. And if you are looking for something online, I do have an on-demand library that you can access for free right through the end of the year. In the new year there will be a small fee that, if you do wanna pay and have continued access to this online site, you'll be able to dance workouts, bar workouts, bounce workouts, boxing workouts all kinds of different workouts that are shame-free, that are giving you the energy and the strength and the support that you need in your workouts, without, again, shame and judgment and comparison and all the negativity around fitness that becomes toxic and the reasons why we don't generally want to work out, especially around the holidays, because we're feeling this heaviness of feeling shame and guilt around what we ate or what we drank or what we didn't do, meaning we didn't do our workout because we were at a holiday party. So shame on us. So let's remove all that this holiday season. Will you do that for me? Will you celebrate family and friends and food and joyful movement? And if you have suggestions, please let me know.
Speaker 1:
If you liked this episode, please rate and review this episode. It helps new listeners find us and helps me know what kind of content to put out there for you. I have some great new episodes coming your way. Back to weekly episodes where I'm gonna be sharing interviews with some amazing fitness professionals and other wellness practitioners that are helping to destroy diet culture and change the conversation around movement and food, so that way you can live the most abundant and joyful life without shame and guilt and judgment right, and that's what we do here at Breaking Body Bias. So if you know of a great guest, please send them my way. Go to breakingbodybiascom. I'd love to interview them. I have some important announcements coming in next week's episode, because I can't quite share it yet a big update. So stay tuned. And again, thank you for tuning in today and I can't wait to share a brand new episode with you next week. Bye.
