Brittany van Schravendijk shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Hi Brittany, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
I’m most proud of building better relationships with the people I love. Relationships are a lot of work — they require us to work through our personal issues, communicate about hard things, and get uncomfortable in order to grow. I took about a year away from my career in fitness to focus solely on healing myself and my relationships — because it truly is the highest priority in my life — and I’m so glad that I did. When I look back at my life on my deathbed, I want to know that I showed up for my loved ones with strength, grace, integrity, and love.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a World Champion and 7X Master of Sport in Kettlebell Sport, as well as a kettlebell coach and personal trainer of 14 years. I have an engineering degree from UC Berkeley, but after graduating decided to follow my passion and pursue a career in the fitness industry instead.
I teach follow along kettlebell classes and programs inside my online membership platform, called Kettlebell Solo. We take the intimidation factor out of kettlebell training so that beginners of all ages and abilities can get the benefits of kettlebell training. Our motto is “sustainable gain without the pain”, and most of our members are women ages 50+.
Okay, so here’s a deep one: What breaks the bonds between people—and what restores them?
Bonds are broken between people when trust is violated. Trust is restored when the person who broke it takes accountability for their actions and makes amends. In my experience, the best way for someone to rebuild trust is to show their apology actually means something by making a change in their behavior.
When did you stop hiding your pain and start using it as power?
I used to repress my emotions and hide them. I am a very sensitive person — I can feel others’ emotions and moods, and they affect me. I thought being sensitive was a bad thing, and that feeling my emotions was a burden to others (and myself).
I came to realize about five years ago that not feeling my emotions was actually holding me back from being the person I wanted to be. I was weighed down by everything I had repressed, and as I finally allowed myself to feel my emotions, I started feeling lighter and closer to my true self.
I realized that being sensitive is a superpower, and that doing the hard thing of fully feeling my emotions and examining pain from my past gave me the ability to lead others through similar hard things. Feeling and showing my pain has been an invaluable tool for becoming a better coach and helping others heal their pain and live up to their potential.
So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The fitness industry gives you the idea that the more exercise you do and the harder you work, the better your results. This is not true, and often leads to people getting injured, burned out, and demotivated.
Lasting results come from consistency over time, which means your exercise routine has to be sustainable. It’s more important that you exercise gently 1-2 times per week in the long run (think years, not weeks or months), than that you do an intensive 6 week bootcamp that kicks your butt every day. In fact, the latter can actually set you back.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: Have you ever gotten what you wanted, and found it did not satisfy you?
I have lived most of my life as a high achiever. Whether it was grades, athletics, or career — I wanted and needed to excel to feel good about myself. And I was successful, as I have achieved a lot, including being valedictorian of my high school, earning an engineering degree from UC Berkeley, becoming a World Champion in Kettlebell Sport, etc.
However, none of it satisfied me because I was trying to prove something that could not be proved through achievement. I felt unworthy of love, and was hoping that somehow achievement would make me more lovable. Of course, achievement is not the way to fill that hole. God is the only way.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.kettlebellsolo.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kbfitbritt
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kbfitbritt
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@kettlebellsolo
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/@kbfitbritt
Image Credits
Michael Castrogiovanni
