As Kettlebell Kickboxing Canada has evolved, CEO Jodi Barrett shares with us her journey of the past 4.5 years of her business and a look at her past life experiences! Getting the May 2021 Feature in Gym Owners Monthly Magazine.
Titles
CEO of Kettlebell Kickboxing Canada (KBKBCanada) and KBKB Studio owner, and Master Level Trainer,
and mom, these are some of the titles I carry, but today I write this simply as Jodi. The person I am who
has been molded by many things. I have been laid out flat on the floor a broken mess, but yet I chose to
get up, smile and move forward as I have a belief in myself and in my dreams. Many of us go through
life without knowing our purpose, it is commonly something we search for. When you know your
purpose, it helps guide you and when your ship is rocked it is the anchor that helps hold you steady. I
have not always known my purpose but I have always looked at the bigger picture and known that is
better to be positive and grateful, always. My values and beliefs were instilled in me from living on a
small farm in Southern Saskatchewan, Canada. I decided to go after my dream at 41 years old and likely
most thought I was having a midlife crisis and maybe I was, but I had this thought, “why not me.” I often
think people cap their potential, I guess at 41 I decided to officially uncap my potential and here the
story begins.
Life’s Half-Way Point
Have you ever been in a place that feels like you are drowning? Nobody notices because you smile
brightly to make sure they are happy. My goal when I was got married and had children was to exude
perfection and have a scheduled routine that allowed no change. As a small child I had become a
peacekeeper, one who would bend over backwards to make sure all ran smoothly or at least I tried.
These are parts of my life which I have had to work on to build healthy boundaries so I could build a life
raft for myself and eventually for others. My story I think is not really unique, majority of our population
is divorced and move forward. What I think is unique is I went through all of this carrying more hope
and happiness because the ugly and mean drags a person down and I had already experienced the
feeling of drowning and I was not going to stay there.
In my training our Motto has become Strong Body ~ Strong Mind, as I believe physical training was my
anchor throughout life, even as a youth. I poured myself into physical activity as it was a simple thing.
Training or working out made me feel whole in the moment and after. As I grew up I realized it was the
simply things that allow you to create a road to success and started to apply the Strong Mind to my
training as well. Looking back when I left my marriage, I realized I was physically strong but not
mentally. I wrote about my story two and a half years ago and said I looked at myself as Broken and
writing today, I believe I was not broken, I was brave. I was in a marriage where I had no goals and not a
real partnership. I decided to take the steps to take care of me. In any situation in life when we make a
decision there are consequences and that was the altering of my children’s life. I did not take this lightly
and took me years to find the courage to make the decision. Even today my hope is that one day they
will truly understand and know that no matter the situation is that my love for them is constant. I
choose to move forward without their dad, and this propelled me into a world of growth, self-discovery
and adventure. So, in as little of 4 years after separation and from being a stay at home mom of 13 I had
launched my own company, had trainers across the country to eventually opening a studio location
during a pandemic! Life has not always looked pretty behind closed doors, but I always was confident
with my decision to grow myself and my company in this unknown world to be known as the fitness
industry!
Curiosity
Launching KBKBCanada emerged through two things I had in my life, kettlebell and muay thai training. They brought together something new to me, curiosity – we are all born with curioustiy it but it is often what we push down as adults as we think grown-ups can’t be curious or maybe shouldn’t be. I was life curious again. I fell in love with how holding the kettlebell felt in my hands and the discipline of martial
arts piqued my interest. The evolution of both merged when I discovered Kettlebell Kickboxing on Instagram. I instantly reached out about certification and wanted the company to hire me, yes this was all in my email. Asking to get certified and asking for a job, I was no longer afraid to ask questions, I was learning quickly you will always get a no for an answer especially if you don’t ask. If you ask enough, you
will find your yes. I was ready to go after all of it! Getting on the plane to New York City I was nervous but nervous excited, I could close my eyes inhale, pause, exhale and I would feel and know that I was on the right path. I think we often busy ourselves, so we don’t have time to listen, listen to the whisper that helps guide. It is kind of like when we all know what we are doing is not good for us, but we bury our head in the sand using excuses for the reasons to stay “stuck”. I was finally above water and I guess
my head was out of the sand. Life is worth sorting through the hard and excuses are lame and if you are
going to uncap your potential you need to ditch them! So, on that plane I was ready for a new chapter in
my life, because I discovered “I do get to write my l life’s story” and I was going to make it as incredible
as I could!
New York – Small Town Girl
I could not write this and not share some of my experiences on my first trip to NYC. I want to share
because it shows innocence, bravery and maybe a little life crazy! I had up until this point not travelled
anywhere alone. I always met with friends or stayed with someone I knew. At 41 I was going to spend 6
days in a hotel 5 blocks from a Martial Arts Training Academy, hanging out with complete strangers. I
arrived to my hotel room sat on the bed in awe of what I was doing and kind of scared as I had moments
thinking “ what am I doing,” “I’m a single mom of 3 and I am not young anymore,” I laughed likely a
little hysterically and shook my head lots. I messaged a dear friend and he said “you got this, get out of
that room and do what you were suppose to do.” Even then I was learning you need people, good
people to have your back! I spent most of my days at the Academy training everything I could. I was
certified within 3 days and hired to work within the 2 nd day. I was asked if I wanted to teach a Saturday
class and before my brain had time to process, I said “you bet!” The most I had every taught was maybe
8 people now I was going to teach 30-40 people, again uncomfortable but ready to grow myself! In my
mind I had always thought “small town farm kid, “how can I do it” and slowly I replaced that dialogue
with “why not me”. This is what I would learn later on, was my internal dialogue. It is how you speak to
yourself on the inside. I unknowingly placed boundaries on myself all my life because but now I was
starting to change the way I spoke to myself. Not going to lie I was pumped about what I was doing, I
felt scared, brave and crazy all at the same time! I ended up having sushi with 4 fighters from the
Academy one day for lunch. Sat there talking a laughing and SMILING because inside my head I was like
“OMG I had been a stay at home mom for 13 years, I just rode the train and now having lunch with 4
really cool humans that I had not known existed who have also fought professionally!” Now to you I
know I sound exactly what I said I was, a small town person and that is okay because it is part of me but
sitting there realizing the power and potential I had for my personal growth, if I was willing to go there!
I did not take a picture that day, but I did pause in the moment and take a mental snapshot of Jodi,
sitting there so out of place (if I choose to see it that way) or completely in place in my new journey! I
was choosing to write my story!
Everything that Grows Must Change
This I believe can be your guide in life and in business. My company from 2017 till now looks nothing
like it did. It has grown and evolved to opening our KBKB Studio location to the evolution of
kbkbstudio.tv training platform. The pandemic had a part in the evolution for sure, likely it fast
forwarded our online training platform. The changes were all things that needed to happen. If you try
to fight change you will become exhausted because change is inevitable. In relationships people change
and grow, if you do not do it together the relationship will falter or dissipate. It is why I relate so much
of my training to my life… you must break down the muscle to grow it. You must look at yourself to
grow. None of that is easy, sometimes the simple is the hard. Taking the simple things and breaking
them down will allow you growth and growth will open a whole new world for you. My story is not
over and many chapters to write is my hope. You do get to choose your path. Life’s lessons are gifts if
you are willing to learn from them. Every hard thing I have endured has been a gift to me, it has made
me who I am. Without them I could not simply be Jodi.
To Connect with me info@kettlebellkickboxingcanada.com
Instagram: @kettlebellkickboxingcanada
Train with me : www.kbkbstudio.tv
Strong Body ~ Strong Mind
Read Story in
Gym Owners Monthly Magazine