MAD LOVE MONDAY - Chantelle Beasley | Aradia Fitness
Chantelle was nominated for a MAD LOVE MONDAY by her assistant Ashley Moorji from Aradia Fitness! Below is what she shared with us about Chantelle!
"She owns 4 different Aradia Fitness locations (Kingsway, Whyte Ave, Sherwood Park and St.Albert).
She decided to take on Aradia fitness when she was just 19 years old & has since built the largest pole dancing business in Edmonton! She works so hard every day to ensure that not only her business is running smooth, but that her staff and customers are treated fairly & are happy. While building up her pole dancing empire she also had a daughter & finished her social work diploma through Grant Macewan. AND to top it all off she started a charity (
) for young girls. I have been working for her for nearly 4 years and have NEVER been so inspired or motivated by anyone than I have
Chantelle!
I would love for her to be featured. She truly deserves all the praise she can get! <3"
Hey! Thanks for reading!
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My name is Chantelle Beasley, and I am the owner and operator of Aradia Fitness. We have six studios, and four locations including Whyte Avenue, Kingsway, Sherwood Park, and St. Albert. We primarily specialize in pole fitness and aerial arts, but we also include fun alternative fitness classes such as hip hop, belly dancing, aerial yoga, dancing in heels, twerk, strength/flexibility, and so much more!
Growing up, people knew me as the unathletic slug that avoided gym class at all costs. (We’re talking, I would only show up to class to get signed off for attendance, and then I would sneak away to sleep in the gym locker room). I absolutely despised physical activity. Often, I would find myself going to the gym because I felt like I had to, or because I was trying to burn off as many calories as what I had for supper that evening. I hated it – it became about obsession in regard to what my body looked like, and it didn’t help me appreciate my body for what it was.
I was about 17 years old when I saw MTV Canada interviewing a pole dancing studio in Toronto. I was glued to this interview, and I couldn’t help but think “What!?! You can take pole dancing classes? It’s a form of fitness? This looks like something I actually wouldn’t hate!”
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And as soon as I turned 18, I signed up for my first class at Aradia Fitness. I was a nursing student at the time, and I convinced one of my classmates to join me. VERY long story short, I became instantly hooked. (Yes, my first few classes were awkward as heck, and I felt like I was in the wrong place the entire time, but once I got past that feeling and realized everyone was in the same boat as I, it was incredible).
And for the first time in my life, I finally stopped counting my calories. I began setting goals in pole fitness as to what tricks I wanted to attain, not how much weight I wanted to lose. I would look at girls in higher levels, and think “WOW, if I could EVER do that, I would be so proud of myself.” And with practice and work, I did learn to do those things, and through it all, I learned to become proud of my body for the incredible things that it can do, as opposed to just how it looked.
So at the age of 19, my dad who owns his own business as well, also owned some commercial property in Sherwood Park. He had a vacant mezzanine, and he would constantly suggest “we should open up some kind of a business up there.” With my new passion, I suggested that pole fitness would be a great fit in the community – and he agreed to let me put a studio up there! And that was it – from there I took over the original Edmonton studios two years later, and opened up our fourth location in St. Albert almost three years ago now.
chantelle pole
Without realizing it, I think my lifes’ motto is “just do the things.”
I take a lot of risks – and I admit that I haven’t been very cautious about my business decisions. If something sounds like a fun challenge, I hardly think twice about it, and honestly just go for it. Sometimes I have absolutely NO idea as to how these “opportunities” are going to play out, how I’m going to even afford them, or if it will work – but I do them anyways. I only think about the possible positive outcomes of those adventures, and even if failure does happen, which it WILL, I think about what I will learn from it, and how it will help me grow as a leader and entrepreneur.
I just feel that if we only have one life to live – what are we doing to live it to the fullest? Being an entrepreneur, and owning Aradia has helped me live my passions out to their fullest.
I am always setting goals. I have daily goals, weekly goals, monthly, yearly, and even 5 year plans in place. They definitely change all the time, my 5 year plan today could be different tomorrow, and that’s okay!
Did I ever have a time where I wanted to give up? I’d say I contemplate giving up more often than I don’t. Being an entrepreneur will never, ever be easy. My biggest struggle is that I’m a huge people pleaser. If somebody is unhappy with something, I take it very personally, and lose sleep over it until it’s “resolved” or made better. As you can imagine, having a clientele of 500 students, and 50 instructors – it’s next to impossible to please everyone – but they keep me on top of my game, even when it’s hard! My business is my baby, it is an extension of myself, so I feel that when somebody is unhappy with my product, they are in return unhappy with me. I try and use this as a positive for my business, because I truly want my customer experience to be incredible!
Chantelle straddle
The reason at the end of the day as to why I’ve never given up, is because I believe in what I do – SO strongly. Getting the e-mails, receiving the feedback, and hearing about how pole fitness has changed somebody’s life… there’s no greater feeling, there’s no greater reward.
None of this could be done without my incredible team. They are the face of Aradia. I can sit behind my computer and make business decisions, but without my team to carry forth safe training, a body positive attitude, and a want to build community – Aradia is nothing without them.
As a YEGBOSSBABE, I want to connect with other YEGBOSSBABES in order to find a means of support. Admittedly, when I am going through my business lows, I struggle emotionally. As much as my husband lends an ear for support, he does not quite understand the struggle of a business owner. Additionally, I can not put the stress of my woes on to my team – it would be incredible to find a support system from other YEGBOSSBABES who can relate and connect by supporting each other through the difficult entrepreneurial times!
