Today, we’d like to introduce you to Diane Risdon.
Hi Diane, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start, maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers.
I started my career as a Special Education teacher (16 years) and also coached H.S. girls’ basketball. I started working out at the local Bally’s… because a friend of mine dragged me to an aerobics class that she was teaching. One thing led to another, and I eventually became a certified instructor and started teaching group fitness classes. I also started learning about strength training and worked with a trainer at the gym. I realized the importance of weight training…. and I love to learn, so I continued to expand my knowledge of fitness and enjoyed helping others (especially women ). Women often ignore strength training because of the myths surrounding it and also because they do not know what to do. I watched the women Not know what to do at the gym where I taught and also worked out and decided I wanted to start my own small group personal training classes (this was long before anyone was doing this type of training…it was all one-on-one training or group fitness (which is not personal training!), I had a space that I could renovate (my grandpa had a 2100 sq ft pole barn that was his motorcycle business, and he had retired a year before, and it just sat there.) So… my husband and I took a home equity loan and remodeled and bought some equipment, and my first gym (Fit For Life Fitness Center) was born, and I started teaching classes and my small group personal training classes. (while also teaching special education full-time). I hired another instructor to offer morning classes, and we also had a playroom with a babysitter. After 4 1/2 years, I decided I wanted to expand and move to a more centralized location. So, we took another leap… and another loan… and I opened a 4200 sq foot facility with free weights, machines, treadmills, ellipticals, bikes… and a dedicated cardio room where we offered 26 group fitness classes a week. I also offered small classes for Strong Women, which were small. Group personal training for up to 6 women per group to train with me. It was at this time that I also took a leave of absence from my teaching job (and had my 3rd son). After two years in business, I officially resigned from teaching as I knew I wasn’t going back. After nine years and more learning and evolving… I closed Fit For Life and started Bad Girl Fitness… a fitness studio offering small-group training for women only. I relocated to Westlake as I thought the concept seemed better suited to the market at the time. It was very challenging in the first year as I knew no one in Westlake and had no money to market the business. Eventually, we grew our membership (word of mouth was very helpful) and were completing our 7th and most successful year when Covid happened… and we had to close down for three months. And even after we could reopen, membership continued to decline as people were afraid to be in that environment. It was very stressful and challenging, and I wanted to just quit and close down several times. Then, in the spring of 2021, I was walking at the park when I knew that I didn’t want to quit but that it was time to come back home…where I started my journey. I closed my Westlake studio and began the hunt for space in Amherst. I lucked out and found the perfect space to call home and opened Bad Girl Fitness in Amherst in Sept. of 2021. It was great to be back in the community of people who knew me and were excited to come back and work out with me again. It’s been a great 2 1/2 years, and our members at BGF are the best. I am also expanding my services to add online personal training, nutrition, and mindset coaching for those women who want to improve their health and fitness but may not be able to get to the studio.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Yikes! No… it’s definitely not been smooth. As a teacher… I’m really good at teaching! But opening your own business requires learning lots of other things….so I had to learn a lot! And there’s marketing what you have… and that can be so challenging….especially if you don’t have a big budget. So, lots of learning, trial, and error, and the mindset to just keep going!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I own Bad Girl Fitness, a fitness studio for women. We focus on the unique needs of women in the area of wellness. Not because they need different exercises or can’t do workouts men do, but to allow them to appreciate their uniqueness and strength, both inside and out. I believe in providing an environment that allows each woman to feel confident and fearless on her journey to living a life of health and wellness. I love creating workouts so we work SMARTER… not just harder. Workouts that focus on building strength, increasing metabolism, challenging our core, and improving our mobility and flexibility… in 45 minutes… provide an opportunity for busy women to get results from their workouts without living in the gym.
What sets us apart is that we offer great workouts for women only. We offer lots of instruction, motivation, and modifications to meet each woman where she is on her fitness journey.
So many women have lots of anxiety walking into a gym or a new fitness class. Our goal is to take that anxiety away by providing an environment where everyone feels safe and will get all the help they need to be successful.
I know that our mindset is the most powerful thing when it comes to following through on that journey, so the walls of our studio are covered with the words I AM… I CAN… I WILL…and women are encouraged to write in chalk whatever they feel inspired to share.
The language we use with ourselves is so important, so instruction is given in a way that encourages and supports each woman to feel confident on her journey.
The thing I am most proud of is the community of support, encouragement, motivation, and friendship that is a part of the Bad Girl Fitness culture. Each new member who joins feels this when she walks in the door and then shares it with the next new member. For this, I am so grateful:)
Alright, so before we go can you talk to us a bit about how people can work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Any woman living near our studio in Amherst, OH, can join our BGF community by becoming a member. We offer a free workout to try it out.
I am always looking for trainers who want to be a part of our BGF team and enjoy teaching and helping other women on their fitness journey.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.badgirlfitness.net
- Instagram: bad.girl.fitness
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/badgirlfit
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@badgirlfitnessonline
