Hey beautiful! My name is Stefanie Calloway and I’m the founder and head coach here at Crowned Girl Fitness. I wanted to share with you a little background of my fitness journey and how I ended up following my dream of owning my own fitness business and helping women like you!
As a kid, I wasn’t too seriously involved in sports. I played basketball briefly, but I absolutely LOVED P.E. class! Even though the gym uniforms were hideous lol, I just fell in love with every aspect of it. How it made me feel, how it boosted my self -esteem and I just felt healthy! I wasn’t considered thin like many of the other girls in school, which made me self -conscious. In fact, I was made fun of because I was a thicker girl, and just built differently and developed earlier than the other girls! I never really saw myself as an athlete because I didn’t believe that I fit in. I purely loved the way it made me feel. I felt empowered! In fact, one P.E. teacher told my mom at a parent/teacher conference once that I was the best undercover athlete at the school and that I should have played sports seriously. I was always pushing myself when it came to fitness! I remember in elementary school I struggled so hard with trying to finish the mile run without stopping. My legs would give out, and my lungs were on fire! So in the 6th grade, I set a goal for myself to finish that mile without stopping and sure enough, I ran that darn mile without stopping!! I was red as a tomato when I finished, but I felt sooo good about myself! I felt on top of the world! I felt stronger, confident, empowered, worthy!
Then in middle school and the first couple years of high school, I would drink about 3 sodas a day, eat taco bell for lunch at school, and my best friend and I would come to my house after school and share a large pepperoni pizza and watch soap operas all afternoon! We would go out to eat at Denny’s, and Mexican restaurants and just indulge in bad food all the time! One day I just had this ah-ha moment and I decided I didn’t want to eat that way anymore and just give up drinking soda. I felt soo much better that I cut out fries and then bacon, and then mayo and before you know it, I had adopted a healthier diet.
A few years later at 15 years old, I had my first real gym experience. My family and I went to a crab feed and my brother and I won a Free 1 month gym membership to a small local gym in town. I was so excited! We went to try it out and I hopped on all the machines and played around with some weights. It instantly felt like home. I grew to love how it made me feel so much that after that membership ended, I convinced my dad to drive me to the gym on Travis AFB (because I couldn’t drive yet) where we had free access. I went a couple times a week and I just began to challenge myself every time. I would get on the treadmill and start walking and then eventually increased to jogging a few miles! Then I would challenge myself on the dumbbells and I just fell in love with how it made me feel. I felt empowered and strong! I had more confidence. I slept better! I was in a better mood and it was a stress relief for me! As I got a little older, I made the decision to become Certified as a Personal Trainer. I really wanted to help others feel the same good feeling I had!
Once I got certified, I started out training all sorts of clients- men and women, one on one.
I quickly found my niche after working with several women when I saw the same pattern in how they loathed themselves, lacked the confidence, self-love, and strength – all of which I struggled with myself. I felt that I had an instant connection with them and that I could relate but also offer hope and encouragement. I would encourage them on a daily basis trying to convince them that they were beautiful, worthy, and awesome. It would actually break my heart to hear these women pick themselves apart and be so critical of their appearance! I had this burden on my heart to do something about it! To change the way women view themselves- and whaddya know, it just so happened to be through personal training!
Over the next couple years as a one on one trainer, I was pressured into teaching a cycling class! Yes pressured! Eeeek! I hated being in front of people!! But my fitness supervisor convinced me to get group certified and nearly forced me to teach the cycling class in the evening. Well, let me tell you, once I got on that bike, and put headset on, cranked the music up, I came ALIVE!! And I was HOOKED! Then I started teaching a couple bootcamps at the gym and I knew then exactly what I wanted to do… I wanted to train groups of women!
After a few years in the corporate gym, I was itching to finally branch out and start my own small gym! Crowned Girl Fitness started with just a handful of ladies at the park! After the back to back births of my first 2 babies, I took some time off from teaching to spend with them. During that time, I learned so much about the business side of fitness and I gave myself a goal to return to work when my 2nd child turned 1. And so I did and I started the business back up – again with only a handful of clients in a small room that I rented out of a church building. And the rest is history!
It is my belief that inside every woman is a Queen. God made women with a purpose. We are strong. We are confident. We are brave and we know our worth! But we don’t always see it! Sometimes it takes someone else to point it out. That is what I hope to draw out in every woman! To show her that she is worthy, beautiful and strong!
You know, something happens when you find your strength. You realize- WOW! I really AM capable. I CAN do this. And you become stronger, more brave, and confident in other areas of your life!
My mission is to inspire, motivate, and encourage women to love themselves at the size they are at while finding their strength and knowing that they are worthy and Loved by God right where they’re at!
I hope you will join me in unleashing the Queen inside of you!
