Take two busy Kelowna moms with a passion for inspiring women to be strong and healthy, add a dash of entrepreneurial spirit, and you get Chelsea Harrison and Mel Breitkreutz, the masterminds behind HIITit.ca.
The business model is simple: one 12-minute, high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout video is sent to subscribers every day.
“Our biggest thing is taking down all the barriers to people having to work out. You only need a small six-by-six space to work out. We will never require equipment,” said co-owner Chelsea Harrison. “And we’ve also taken down cost. It is a very minimal cost that we sell our member ship for.”
The idea for HIITit.ca was formed when the two friends were pregnant with their second children, and could find neither the time nor the finances to work out.
“I started doing some home workouts myself. I started making up exercises, like burpies and squats, and I would do it for 12 minutes because that’s all the time I had. I then asked Mel if she wanted to join me,” Harrison said. “She did them for a full 30 days and she was just blown away.”
Breitkreutz has experience in personal training while Harrison has a background in cardiac ICU nursing. They are also both certified with the Canadian Fitness Education Services.
WATCH: Staying fit while pregnant
The company has grown since starting up in 2014 to about 500 subscribers, with an overall reach of approximately 10,000 users.
The pair have also solidified a partnership with Costco Canada and a sponsorship with Mizuno Sportswear.
“Go to our testimony pages. The changes you see are phenomenal,” Harrison said. “People ask Mel and I all the time ‘Seriously, only 12 minutes?’ It does sound too good to be true, but it’s not. If you push yourself for those 12 minutes, you are sweating and you are building that lean muscle.”
Inspiring women, especially moms, is something that the duo believes is crucial.
“We want to spread the fire of encouraging women and being a tribe of women that supports one another,” said Breitkreutz. “It absolutely fills us up. We just see how much being active and healthy contributes to positivity.”
The two fitness buffs have also been encouraging others to share stories of strong women in the community.
“This year we put together a video where we asked our HIITit participants to submit stories about women who inspire them. Women who are doing amazing things right within their world,” Breitkreutz said. “The winner, who we thought really deserved that thousand dollar giveaway, is featured in our video.”
For more information on this Okanagan company, visit HIITit.ca.
Comments