Name: Zoe
Job Title: Business owner of Zfit
Years in Field: 16

At school, I was always into sports. I played team sports with the boys, every after-school sport I was there! I played county Hockey and Netball, and I always thought I’d be a PE teacher. Following school, I attended Grimsby Institute College and studied Sports Coaching. I wasn’t sure where to go following that course, as I really wasn’t keen on going to university. I’m such a practical learner, and I hated exams. A tutor told me I’d be great at sports massage, so that was my next role, and that then led into gym instructing.

Path to Your Current Role:

I got my first health and fitness related job at Kenwick Park Leisure Club in Louth, where I was able to build up experience in teaching fitness classes, complete my personal training course and go into swim teaching too.

In 2014, I got a job offer at East Lindsey District Council in the Sports & Development Department (which is now Magna Vitae Trust for Leisure & Culture). This role included running a community project across East Lindsey, setting up exercise classes in rural areas for ages over 55. During my time in the role, I gained new experiences with project management, in building up a customer base, marketing, health and safety and recording KPI’s. I was able to train in so many more classes within this role too, such as Clubbercise, PoundFit and Pilates.

The project enabled the biggest fitness class in Lincolnshire, of over a hundred people in Skegness Embassy Theatre doing Clubbercise – it was amazing! There were so many aspects to this role which I loved and I gained so much. It was so rewarding working with people of all ages, from babies through to a woman who was 93!

However, I felt I was doing so much, from daytime classes, evening classes, swim teaching, admin work, and managing other instructors, and I felt like I lost any work life balance. It was so hard to leave Magna Vitae after five years – I can’t thank them enough for all the opportunities – but it was time to do something for me.

In 2019 I decided to take the very nerve-wracking plunge and start my own business, ‘ZFit’. I thought if I’m teaching all these fitness classes for another company why can’t I do it for myself! I had built up such a good relationships with hundreds of people over the whole of the district. I had no idea where to start, and what classes to launch, but I went for it!

I launched Clubbercise in Skegness, and Spinning and Pilates in Louth. I was teaching three evenings and six sessions a week, whilst also working full time in my day job at East Lindsey Council. It was so full on, but I needed to just go for it! The challenging parts were organising suitable venues to teach in, getting the word out about the sessions, and not just on social media because I wanted to engage the older generation too, and ensuring I was up to date on all the health and safety aspects.

During the six years I’ve been running the company, there’s been so many changes of venues and timetables along the way. I now teach two evenings a week with two Pilates classes and a Kettlebells class, which are currently fully booked. This is a better balance for me now alongside working full time – from 2022 I’ve been working as a Civil Servant and am looking to continue to progress in that role as well as continue to build ZFit – oh and alongside looking to start a family too!

What are you most proud of?

I think what I’m most proud of is not stopping; Throughout the Covid pandemic, I delivered online Zoom sessions, supporting mine and participants’ mental health during that time; the times I’ve been recovering from surgeries and numerous health conditions I’ve had; the times I’ve felt so tired, those freezing evenings and when class numbers have been low, I’ve just kept pushing through. I’ve got the class members to thank for that too. As much as I help their physical and mental health, they help me just as much!

What do you love most about your job?

Six years on, I still can’t believe I have my own company doing what I love, I’ve branched into children’s entertainment too which has proven so popular. Just knowing how much I improve people’s lives makes me so happy, making all that hard work so worth it.

Future Goals and Advice for Aspiring Professionals

Future goals are: continuing to provide an excellent service, continuing to develop and to learn. Active Lincolnshire are helping me to do that by funding a Level 4 Pilates qualification. It’s so important for me not to stop learning and for classes not to become boring or not progressing their goals. My vision is ensuring Pilates is inclusive for everyone; it’s always been an expensive fitness class but we’re in a cost-of-living crisis and I believe everyone should have the opportunity to look after their health and bodies.

For anybody wanting to go into this profession, I think my advice would be to get as much experience as you can. That might be in employment, before going self-employed. Don’t rush into launching – build the marketing and the excitement first, and don’t fully rely on social media to promote your classes – get around the community.