Meet Chelsea Gren of Remedy Pilates and Barre in Arcadia and Scottsdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chelsea Gren.

Chelsea, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When someone asks about “my story” it can often feel intimidating and overwhelming. I am forced to pause and think of how it all started; all of the great memories and also, all of the hard ones. I have learned through my past, that there has always been and will always be two choices; evolve or repeat.

My life in 2015 was at a standstill; I had no idea what I wanted to pursue in college, my relationship at the time was hidden in secrecy and shame, and my home life in Seattle, WA was slowly tearing me apart. My sister and brother in law moved to Scottsdale and convinced me to apply to Arizona State University; I figured I had nothing to lose. Low and behold, I was accepted into their Social Work program for the upcoming fall semester. My sister graciously invited me to live with her and her family, so I packed up the only life I knew and headed to Phoenix a few months later.

College has always made me uncomfortable as I have struggled in school for most of my life. I lacked complete confidence in my ability and blamed almost all of my “faults” on my attention deficit disorder. I knew I needed to do things differently this time around if I was going to get through this program. I was determined and steadfast to achieve success on my own, without any help of medication, as a reminder that I can do this, even if it is hard. I ended my first semester with a 4.0.

The success of college was new, as was living in a new state, under the same roof as my sister and her growing family. My sister taught Pilates and often came home talking about the movement. I was intrigued to find out more, so I started to take some of her classes. Immediately, I was super intimidated by this weird machine they called a “Reformer” and was taken back by how difficult it was! As a former athlete, I have always enjoyed fitness and this was a new and different challenge. I was told they were hiring a front desk/office position that happened to work perfectly with my school schedule, so I took a chance and said yes! This was the start of my journey in the fitness Industry.

I ended up working for this Pilates Studio for just shy of three years. I loved everything about my job and how it aligned with what I aspired to be… confident. My coworkers were confident in who they were, while still challenging themselves and working incredibly hard. Although I wanted to be more involved, my school schedule was strenuous and time-consuming. When I graduated with my BA, I was left with a really tough decision; do I end my working relationships and dive into an advanced 1-year master program for Social Work, or do I put my further education on hold and accept an offered full-time salary position. I took a risk and accept my boss’s offer.

The more I was around this company, the more I wanted to get involved. The voice inside told me what to do next; teaching Pilates. Wait, what? Teaching? Putting myself out there? This felt scary, especially because I wasn’t able to commit to taking classes from other teachers due to self-consciousness and doubt. The fear of teaching pilates was not going to leave so I knew I had to do this afraid. I signed up for the next training and began my teaching journey into the fitness world.

Despite my butterflies and shaky hands, I taught my first class, and then my second, and then it became a new norm. Teaching provided a feeling I haven’t really felt before; Confidence. Leadership. Joy. In all aspects of my life, things were starting to fall into place. I became an instructor, I married my best friend, I moved into a beautiful apartment, and I was finally apart of a company I loved.

Life has a sneaky way of saying “Just kidding!” Within a few months of this “I love life” attitude, everything I loved and fought so hard for starting crumbling piece by piece. My parents were in the midst of a divorce, my wife’s eating disorder starting spiraling out of control, and I was fired from what I thought was my dream job, along with losing my friends that worked there. I didn’t know what to do or where to start; I was married for two months when my job was taken from me and my wife was sent to an inpatient facility for severe anorexia and obsessive-compulsive exercise. While she spent months working herself, I knew it was time for me to do the same.

My sister was my closest ally and confidant. She encouraged me to get back out there and sign up for Barre training, put on by her employer and teacher. I had never thought about Barre training since I have never been to a single class, and yet I knew I wasn’t done in the fitness industry. I took the training and became a certified barre trainer. The teacher of Barre and owner of Remedy Pilates and Barre blew me away. Why was Kelly so nice? She is busy owning her studio, but she still took the time to know me and invest in me. I was so confused and also very inspired.

Remedy was opening up a new studio in a few short weeks after my training and again, I knew in my gut I needed to be apart of this. I was new and still uncomfortable with taking risks and selling my abilities and myself, but it was my only way in. Without fully believing in myself, I approached Kelly one day after class and told her she could use my help for this her new Remedy location. I told her I knew how to run a studio and told her I would be an asset to her team; Kelly believed in me and gave me a shot. I never expected to become manager of both studio locations, but she saw something in me that no one had before. Her love, support, dedication has transformed me into being the best manager, teacher, and person I could be in this fitness industry

I am now a full-time teacher and manager of Remedy Pilates and Barre. Teaching group fitness has been my favorite outlet and form of self-care. I try my best to teach and incorporate values like self-love, worthiness, and body positivity in all my classes. My goal and passion is for all of my clients to see their strength, beauty, ability, and potential, just as Kelly saw mine many months ago. I am forever grateful for Remedy and Kelly Snailum for bringing out this light in me; I have learned so much in the past 4 years. I can do hard things. You can do hard things. Believe in yourself and take it one day at a time.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
-Lack of confidence
-Self-doubt
-Fear
-Perfectionism
-Fear of rejection
-Allowing myself to live an open and honest life.

Please tell us about Remedy Pilates and Barre.
I am a Studio Manager and Barre Instructor at Remedy Pilates and Barre. I am in charge of all the social media accounts, front desk staff, teacher management, organizing workshops and events, and supporting staff with customer service. Since I have my degree in Social Work, I try to incorporate as much of what I learned in school that is appropriate to this setting. I try and slow down the “American pace” in our studios by talking to clients after their classes to check in and learning about their life, My goal is for them to feel like they have a home with Remedy, a safe place. I also try my best to teach and incorporate values like self-love, worthiness, and body positivity in all my classes. My goal and passion are for all of my clients to see their strength, beauty, ability, and potential. I am very proud and honored to remind my clients of their self-worth.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My future plan is to further my education in Pilates. I would love to be able to teach this style of Pilates and bring more self-worth into the fitness industry. Once I get the “ok I won’t panic when your focus shifts” look from my boss, I will look deeper in pursuing this. Timing is everything.

I would also love to be a mom one day… I am in no rush. 😉 My 2-year-old niece is more than enough right now!

Pricing:

• First fitness class is FREE (come Barre with me)
• 4 pack of equipment Pilates: $100. My coworkers are AMAZING

Contact Info:

• Address: Remedy Pilates and Barre (Arcadia)
  3629 E Indian School Rd
  Phoenix, AZ 85018 Remedy Pilates and Barre (Scottsdale)
  6949 E Shea BLVD
  #115
  Scottsdale, AZ 85254
• Website: www.remedypilates.com
• Phone: 480-699-8160
• Email: chelsea@remedypilates.com
• Instagram: remedypb
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RemedyPilatesandBarre

Image Credit:
BSullivan Photography

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