Today we’d like to introduce you to Kelley Wojcik.
Kelley, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
A little piece of MY Story
“I am Beautifully Broken, Perfectly imperfect, Beautiful in my flaws, altogether I am a BEAUTIFUL DISASTER” and so are YOU!
I found that quote on a necklace, author unknown, but this is so true of everyone. We are all broken! That is a scary thing to admit! I used to think I was fine, that I couldn’t ever be broken, that I could do it all. But you know what? We are all human and we weren’t designed to do it all. It’s OK to fail, to lose, to ask for help, it’s OK to be broken because that is the very thing that makes us GROW!
That is how my journey of becoming a Zumba® Fitness Instructor all began. I was actually terrified of even stepping foot on that dance floor! But I remember hating every minute of walking on that ‘dreaded treadmill’ watching the Zumba girls shake it in the room next to me. They looked like they were having fun… but I was too scared! I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to keep up! I was afraid that I’d look stupid or trip and fall. And I wasn’t even Latin, so the music made no sense to me! But over every mental roadblock I encountered, I had something even worse lingering over my head… I had an illness. I had an illness that had no name, had no particular category, and doctors treated me like a lab rat. My illness had left my left arm numb and was causing me to have seizures. My eyes and my skin became severely sensitive to any kind of light. I went from being a “multi-tasker” to a “what did you just tell me to do?” kind of girl. I was a mess! But guess what? It turns out it didn’t have to be a sad story, because it only made me grow! I eventually stepped one foot at a time into that Zumba studio. And believe me, I was LOST! I hugged that back wall pretty tight for at least a month. I kept my numb left arm close to my side as my awkward body attempted this little thing called Zumba® Fitness. After that 1st month, I decided to keep going! It intrigued my mind in a crazy way. I kept pushing my arm to move and I what I realized is… no matter what is going on inside of us we have to keep going. When we stop trying, we lose ourselves in our sicknesses, our fears, our doubts and “The upside down” takes over.
Fast forward to today… I have been a Zumba® Fitness Instructor for 4 1/2 years now! I regained my strength and feeling in my arm. I still have that same illness who comes in and tackles me down every now and then. But I always get up! I always get up because when I look at my students, I know that somewhere in that crowd, someone needs me today. I love sharing my story with my Zumba students. They find out that they are not alone in their struggle, whatever it may be. When my students come to me and tell me things like “Thank you for getting me out of my bed this morning” or “Thank you for being that 1 hour of sanity I so desperately needed”, I know that this is what I was meant to do in life. I currently work at the Borderview Family YMCA in the South Bay and I can honestly say I LOVE my job! I love bringing people out of their shell, I love encouraging them to feel better about themselves, and getting them to do things they never thought they could do!
I am blessed to be a stay at home mom, who teaches Zumba Fitness, but I also have a different kind of creative side to me as well!
About six years ago, I began cutting, modifying, remodeling my old tee shirts. Mostly because I was kinda over my old tee’s, but yet couldn’t quite part with them because they still had some signs of some sort to me! I was busy attending tons of Zumba classes as a student back then and most of my old workout tee’s were hot and stuffy! So, I started cutting them up! I cut off sleeves to make tanks, created back slits that looked like air conditioning vents, turned larges into smalls, made tanks into halters, tied them up crisscrossed, french braided them and turned shirts into backpacks! The list went on and on. I realized I could pretty much turn anything into something! My friends started noticing what I was wearing and soon wanted their shirts transformed, re-vamped, Flipped! That was when I created my hobby/business, and I called it Flip Your Tee! I started by cutting shirts for friends and for Zumba Fitness events. That turned into working at events as a vendor! I’ve been so lucky again to be blessed with such a weird, quirky talent like this! And again I LOVE what I do!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
For Flip Your Tee, no… not a smooth road, not all the time. My biggest struggle was, for a lot of people, their first reaction to me would always be “why would I pay HER to cut a shirt for me? I can do that, it can’t be that hard!” That was a hard thing to hear, but was it true?
Nope, not true! In fact, it turns out that the exact people who thought that, ended up being my best clients! LOL!
I had to be patient, and believe in myself enough to keep going. I’m not the only one who does this, but I knew what I could do and it was good! and people would notice!
As for being a Zumba Fitness Instructor, not really a smooth road either! Everything you do in life will always have ups and downs. They say you go through cycles being an instructor.
1st – you LOVE it because everything is new and exciting and you think you know everything!
But when you wake up and realize you don’t know everything…
2nd – comes in like a thunderstorm, and that feels more like this – I’m tired, my body hurts, my students don’t like me… wait am I teaching too many classes? Why am I doing this?
3rd – OK, I’m back! I got this, follow more of what Zumba Fitness is teaching you, they have it all laid out! Relax and know that you will help change the world, 1 dance at a time ❤️❤️❤️
What should we know about Zumba Fitness and Flip Your Tee? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Flip Your Tee – Recycle, Re-use, If you don’t like it… change it! I specialize in taking something you like and turning it into something you LOVE. I create magic with my scissors!
Zumba Fitness – My specialty is bringing out your inner DIVA or DIVO! (Men are always welcome!) In my class, you will develop exercise-induced endorphins and develop self-induced blindness.
It doesn’t matter if I go left and you go right, you are feeling the music and that is what is important!
My class will allow you to let go and achieve a deeper layer of healing that is difficult to do with talk therapy alone. Zumba Fitness is therapy!
What sets me apart from others?…. In my class, there’s a magic that happens when you’re moving around. I truly LOVE what I do and that’s where all my energy is channeled. I want to “Move The World”! I am a “Happiness Hustler.”
Do you have a lesson or advice you’d like to share with young women just starting out?
Don’t give up! There will always be ups and downs because that’s what life is all about. Don’t bank everything on money. Money is great, but it is not everything. Love what you do!
Pricing:
- Flip Your Tee – Want your shirt cut? Basic tee shirt cuts $5-7/ Pre-cut shirts from $5-$25.
- Zumba Fitness with Kelley – not a member at the YMCA? Come dance with me 2x’s for free at Borderview YMCA! Check in at the membership desk and say you’re my guest
Contact Info:
- Website: www.kelleyzumba.com – or – https://www.zumba.com/en-US/profile/kelley-wojcik/1212179
- Email: kelleysue75.kw@gmail.com
- Instagram: #zumbagrl15
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/kelley.wojcik
- Other: www.facebook.com/flipyourtee
Image Credit:
Photos by Kelley Wojcik
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