First of all, let me introduce myself! My name is Chelsea and for those of you that don’t know me already, I am the founder and creator of Barreroom & Barreroom onDEMAND. You may have seen me in a couple on demand workout videos, but for the most part, I can be found behind the camera filming, editing and working on all of the fun wheels spinning with our onDEMAND platform as well as our physical studio operations. It truly is a dream job. And while yes, running a business is hard (very, very hard), I say dream job because thats exactly what it is for me. Let’s dive into that a bit…
The dream of what is now this beautiful community of incredible, authentic and inspiring people came out of a couple of unexpected life changing, heart breaking events. Back in 2015, while working in an unfulfilling career in the finance industry, I received the crushing news of my mother’s diagnosis of stage 4 ovarian cancer and without hesitation took a leave to be her primary caregiver. Fresh off retirement as a grade 1 school teacher at 60, with three young grandchildren, and a beautiful home & garden, she had some of her best years ahead. This came to a sudden halt and despite a brave 2 year battle, we lost her in 2017. Life forever changed.
Somewhere in the midst of my moms battle, another difficult event changed the course of my path yet again. During a summer day of wake-surfing on the beautiful Lake Okanagan, I suffered a fracture to my L3 vertebrae. At first the injury was incorrectly diagnosed as a muscle tear but after months of excruciating pain, it was later found to be a spinal fracture. With a huge passion for being active and working out daily, this was crushing news. Upon some additional testing I was also diagnosed with Osteoporosis, which at 33 was a complete shock. This did however explain how someone breaks something from even the simplest fall.
It was during my months of healing that I was referred to try a workout called Barre. Living in a smaller town it was something I had heard of, but nothing we had a lot of where we lived. This was the moment a light inside me sparked, turning pain, into purpose. The huge weight of watching someone you love slip away made me realize what mattered most in life. That paired with being in a job that didn’t breathe any life into me, allowed me to see clearly what I wanted my future to hold.
I immediately booked a barre training and within two weeks was off to Long Beach, CA to be certified. I then spent the better part of the next three months creating a fun and effective method unique to us, while using my learnings from my certification and background in fitness. With zero dance experience, I knew I had a huge gap to fill. While teaching myself the basics of musicality, beats-per-minute and practicing the most important foundations of ballet, as it pertains to barre, I created a barre program that suits all levels – regardless of whether they have any dance or fitness background at all. And Barreroom was born.
At its core, Barreroom is more that just a workout. It is a space where people can connect and feel they have purpose. They can sweat, laugh, and burn off a little stress, all while having fun doing it. It’s a place of healing for myself and many others. The music is motivating, the community is inspiring and the workouts are uplifting.
To see all of this now transform and shift with our growing onDEMAND platform, truly is a dream I didn’t even know I had. But what I do know is I am going to live this dream to its full potential and I hope you will all join me. I couldn’t be more thankful for our incredible virtual Barreroom community and I am honoured to be on this journey with you all, however, wherever it finds you.
Much love,
Chelsea
xo
