How a lonely maternity leave reignited a passion for fitness – and sparked a new career | Canada Voices

Kelly Grennier, 41, spent the early years of her career working in the demanding world of television sales and marketing at companies like Disney, Corus Entertainment and Nickelodeon. At the same time, she was an accomplished runner and athlete, competing in marathons, triathlons and duathlons.

But things changed for Ms. Grennier when she went on maternity leave with her first child. Feeling isolated, lonely and missing the challenge of working at a fast-paced job, the seed of an idea for a new role began to blossom – a vocation that matched her lifestyle while nurturing her passion for fitness.

In this series, Reimagining Wealth, we explore the evolving definition of wealth in today’s world. Ms. Grennier, now based in Clarkson, Ont., talks about the move from the corporate world to creating a running club and fitness company, HeartBeat & Co., while pursuing her dreams of elite fitness competitions such as a recent triathlon in Spain:

Were you always into running and fitness growing up?

Movement for me has always been medicine. I was a competitive gymnast growing up, so I trained ridiculous hours. That was my release as a child. A lot of my friends also raced so I was like, I’ll do that half-marathon. I’ll do that 10k.

You started off your career in brand strategy for television – what did you like about it?

I loved that it was fast paced. It was exciting. I was around incredible people who challenged me and who were always striving to make things better. I learned and grew so much in my time working in downtown [Toronto] in corporate. It was very demanding on my time, but I didn’t have kids.

What changed for you after you had your first child?

When I was working in corporate, that became my identity. That’s what I did. So, when I wasn’t doing that any more, it was very isolating. And I don’t know if it was postpartum [depression], but it definitely was not what everybody said having a child was – wonderful and magical. I felt a lot of guilt that I didn’t feel that way.

How did you make the decision to become a stay-at-home mom?

We had a new CEO and my team had changed. My job and role had changed. It was that, paired with the [high] cost of sending my child to daycare. Also, my husband works in finance and his hours were unpredictable. We couldn’t have both of our hours be unpredictable.

How did you start attending fitness classes, and then teaching them?

A friend told me about classes that were happening at a [local] studio and they offered a mom and baby class. [It] took a lot of guts to go, but once I got there, I met the most incredible people, and that’s how I got connected to the community.

I am naturally social. [So] I was at the front of the class, I was there early, I was always making the effort to speak to everyone. At the time, the owner of the class was solo teaching. She said, if it did expand, would I be interested in joining the business? And I’m like, ‘Oh jeez, I went to school for marketing’. But I’m a ‘yes’ girl. I’ll challenge myself with anything.

I taught my first class and I was hooked. I didn’t get paid very well. I just did it because I loved it.

After having your second child, you moved out of Toronto to nearby Clarkson. How did you go from teaching moms and babies to launching your running club and fitness company HeartBeat & Co.?

All my friends kept asking me, ‘Hey, would you ever be interested in teaching [your own] class?’ So, [during COVID] I offered a Thursday night online workout called HIT Party for an entire year for free. We had over 100 people online doing the class.

I wanted to create something that was exactly like my [previous] career, which was exciting, fun and energetic. [That’s how] HeartBeat & Co. was born. It started out as virtual classes three times a week and it’s evolved so much since then. HeartBeat was exactly the void I needed to fill.

Tell me how it evolved from virtual classes to being a run club with hundreds of members.

I started meeting school moms in the parking lot, and I’d say, ‘Do you guys run? We could just run from the coffee shop.’ Three of us moms started running and with word of mouth it just caught on and it went from three to 130 women.

We run at all different levels. We have two people doing Ironman races coming in the top 10. Two people, including myself, competed at the World Triathlon Championship Finals in Spain. Two went to Malta to do an adventure race. We also have a road biking group.

The people are so inspiring. Moms with three kids who are working full-time but they’re waking up at 5 a.m. because that is their [only] time to run. They are not giving up on their hopes and dreams just because they are moms.

How do you fit in all the training, the teaching and your kids?

I think it’s really important [that] if you are going to tell people how to run, race, live their lives for longevity, you are a model and you are also doing those things.

My schedule is chaotic. It can be derailed in many ways, like the kids being sick – and my husband works long hours so it’s just me. Sometimes I’d be waking up at 4:30 a.m. just to get [a run] in, but it’s important for me to do that.

I had to train through injury for the last year and that was a challenge. The run club has really been the community that has kept [me] going.

What would you tell someone who isn’t fulfilled with what they are currently doing?

Some people don’t have the luxury to change careers or jobs. But I would say the biggest thing is focusing on what they can do to fill their cup, even if it’s just a walk on their lunch break or meeting a friend. To me, showing up for myself and racing is important. I make sure to prioritize that.