We are thankful to partner with Adrea, owner of Seaside Fitness, for Mom Boss Monday. We love to support women in business, especially mothers in our community.
When my children (Mary Nelson, 6 and Gates, 3) were born, I worked as a Regional Human Resources and Recruiting Director for a national restaurant chain. I traveled a lot, and I worked some weekends and all holidays. The job was stable and paid well, but it wasn’t something that I was passionate about, honestly. It was a great job for 10 years, but my priorities had changed.
I decided that if I was going to continue to be a working mom, I wanted to be passionate and driven in my career. And I wanted to be able to teach my children the value of hard work while maintaining a nice family life.
For several years, I taught fitness classes on the side. It was something that I enjoyed, plus, I made a little extra money, which is always nice. I also realized that after becoming a mother, I REALLY looked forward to my personal workouts. I needed that hour of time every day to forget about work, meals, kids’ projects, housework, and everything else that comes along with being a working mom. For those moments, I was able to focus on just myself.
I knew that other moms must feel the same way, and I wanted to help.
In August of 2018, with a 4-year-old daughter and a 1-year-old son, I opened Seaside Fitness. My goal was to provide an environment for women (and a few men 😉) to get that hour of “me-time” in their day. I wanted to cultivate a unique place, where the workouts were challenging, effective and creative (no two classes at Seaside Fitness are EVER the same). Our members can completely let go of their daily burdens and stressors.
I also wanted Seaside Fitness to have a social aspect to it… A place where friendships are made and fostered.
Another important piece of Seaside Fitness is, of course, my family. My children are staples at the studio. In fact, my daughter has recently taken a huge interest in our 5 a.m. class! She wakes up when she hears my alarm at 4:15 a.m. and begs to come with me. Usually, I let her!
Our members know that their children are always welcome, as well. New moms are always so excited to come back to classes. Often, their newborn is right beside them in class while they’re on maternity leave.
I love that my children will grow up witnessing so many hard-working, motivated women, making time in their busy schedules to take care of themselves.
All of our trainers are mothers and understand how important that “me-time” can be. It’s not unusual at Seaside Fitness for a trainer to gently rock a fussy baby to sleep in its stroller, while leading their mom through a rigorous workout.
I LOVE that these children will grow up thinking that working out is a normal and natural part of life! I’m also quite proud of the work ethic that’s being instilled in my children. I am by no means a perfect mother (I mean, who is?!), but they see the long (and super early) hours that I put into making Seaside Fitness what it is, and they also know that they are the driving force behind what I do.
I am a firm believer that you can’t pour from an empty cup. At Seaside Fitness, I truly believe that we help our members fill their cups each day so that they can be the best mothers, wives, friends and employees (or bosses!) possible.
The physical strength that they gain from exercise is crucial to maintaining a healthy life. But, the mental strength and clarity that they receive when they take time to take care of themselves are also invaluable.
Our members are genuinely some of the most caring, motivated and dedicated people I have ever met. Our trainers are absolutely incredible! Seaside Fitness would not be what it is without the 7 women that dedicate their precious time to helping others reach their goals.
Read more about other local Mom Bosses!
