Today we’d like to introduce you to Erin Clarke.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Erin. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I was born and raised in a small town in Northern California. I am the youngest of 4 and only girl with 3 older brother. My family was always very involved in sports. So, I learned from a very young age the importance of working hard and always striving to be the best you can be. I played both high school and college volleyball and softball and also discovered a love of coaching and mentoring others. I have always been super outgoing and enjoyed talking to people and learning their stories and background. After college, I put this strength to use and spent almost ten years in corporate sales. I thrived in this fast-paced and overly competitive environment. I loved the challenge and was driven to climb the ladder as far as I could go. However, after having my first child, I found it incredibly difficult to go back to work. The things that I once valued so much all of the sudden no longer mattered and I had absolutely no clue who I was anymore. I stuck it out at my job for about a year and then decided to become a stay at home mom when my oldest daughter was about 18 months old.
Not long after, I found myself five months pregnant with my second daughter and moving from Portland to San Diego for my husband’s job with very few friends and no community. Needless to say, this was not a very good fit for this extreme extrovert. After having my second daughter, I suffered from extreme postpartum anxiety. It reached the point where my husband had to rush me to the emergency room multiple times with unrelenting panic attacks. As amazing and supportive as my husband was he could not help me. I had no idea who I had become. I also felt like I was failing to be the amazing Mother that I had always envisioned. I loved my daughters intensely, but did not feel like I was deserving to be their mother. Most days it was a struggle to even get out of the house and I truly believed that my children and my husband would be better off without me. I was at a breaking point and something needed to change.
By a stroke of luck, one of my friends invited me to attend a FIT4MOM- Stroller Strides class at Mission Bay in San Diego. I was barely functional so, she told me to get in the shower while she got my girls ready and did everything except carrying me to that first class. (Thank you, Molly.) I was super hesitant and had no idea what to expect. The former athlete in me was excited to finally get back to something I knew. But, in my mind, I didn’t belong with these other mothers because I was failing miserably. I quickly realized that I was very wrong. After lots of chatting and even more crying and hugging, I discovered that I was not the only one. We were all losing it!! Motherhood is HARD and is not a journey that is meant to be traveled alone. After that first class, I was hooked on the endorphins, the community, and most of all the love and acceptance.
For the next six months, I never missed a class. I became an instructor and started my own location in San Marcos in 2016. 3 1/2 years later, I have made it my mission to be a community builder and to be the support system that is so desperately needed in Motherhood. I’ve gone from having two friends to having hundreds of sisters. If you would’ve asked me 10 years ago if I would be in this place, I would have thought you were crazy. As the driven businesswoman that I once was, I would have never thought that I could feel complete without a traditionally high powered career. I’m still that driven businesswoman but am now driven by passion, not monetary successes. In both my role as an Instructor with FIT4MOM and as a Sales Manager with Tiny Trucker Co., I have the privilege to work and do life alongside other amazing mothers who are in the trenches of the hardest and the most amazing experience ever. In this place, I have found more success and fulfillment than I thought was possible. I guess you could say that Motherhood broke me, but then, it rebuilt me into something far more beautiful than I could have ever imagined.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It has absolutely not been a smooth road. But, life is messy. It is important to embrace the challenges and learn from them. The challenges that I have endured have only made me a more compassionate and complete person. We never know quite where life is going to take us, but I believe it is important to embrace the journey and follow your passions. Life should not be lived hoping for far off future successes. Enjoy each day and each season of life or before you know it you will have missed it. Success doesn’t always look like you dream it, but can still be just as fulfilling. My life isn’t perfect, but I try to look for the beauty in every situation and work very hard to make the best out of difficult moments. During my postpartum struggles and through the peaks and valleys of generalized anxiety, there have been times where I truly thought that I wouldn’t make it out alive. But, I now know that it always gets better and you just have to persevere. You will eventually come out so much stronger on the other side.
What should we know about Tiny Trucker Co/FIT4MOM? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
I currently work as a location Instructor for FIT4MOM and as a Sales Manager with Tiny Trucker Co.
FIT4MOM is the nation’s leading company for pre and postnatal health, wellness, and fitness programs for every stage of motherhood. From pregnancy through postpartum and beyond, our fitness and wellness programs help make moms strong in body, mind, and spirit.
Tiny Trucker Co is a San Diego based Mom powered hat company. We provide comfortable and stylish hats and accessories for the whole family to keep them truckin’ in style.
In both of these roles the thing that I am the best at is building relationships. There’s nothing I enjoy more than connecting with people and helping them solve a problem or making their day better in even the smallest way. I’m lucky to be able to use these skills in both of my roles daily. As an added bonus, I am passionate about both of these companies because they have a focus on Motherhood and building a community where all moms are accepted, valued, and appreciated. They both truly believe that we are all in this together and that together we can accomplish anything.
For good reason, society often focuses more on the problems rather than the opportunities that exist, because the problems need to be solved. However, we’d probably also benefit from looking for and recognizing the opportunities that women are better positioned to capitalize on. Have you discovered such opportunities?
As a mother of two daughters, I am so excited about where we are headed in respect to the future for women. My daughters are being raised believing that they can do and be absolutely anything that they want to. I cannot say that this is how I felt when I was growing up. I believe that this may have even contributed to me feeling like I either had to be successful in business or successful as a mother and could not be both. I feel like it is important for women to continue to stand up for themselves and be confident in our abilities. When we are challenged we must stay steadfast, get back out there and keep trying and striving towards our own personal victories. Also, I have learned that in anything it takes a village and that it is important to speak up and rally those around you by encouraging, supporting, and rising together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://sandiego.fit4mom.com and www.tinytruckerco.com
- Phone: 530-682-1653
- Email: erin@tinytruckerco.com
- Instagram: @strong_girl_mom
Image Credit:
Erin Clarke
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