Ep. 40 with Jodi Barrett from Kettlebell Kickboxing Canada

Barb McGrath 0:02
You are listening to a CJ tr podcast.

Okay. LinkedIn is best known for its vanilla posts about job changes, motivational messages. It’s a professional network for sharing, sharing information. Our guest today is adding some color to that network. And with all of with all of her daily videos and commentary, very few people have the courage that she does to get out in front of her audience the way she does. So I’d like to welcome our guest today. Jody Barrett, the CEO of Kettlebell Kickboxing Canada. She’s going to talk with us about building a fitness Empire, one trainer at a time. Welcome, Jody.

Jodi Barrett 0:55
Thank you for having me.

Barb McGrath 0:57
It’s great that you’re able to be here today. Tell us a little bit about yourself

Jodi Barrett 1:00
Kettlebell Kickboxing Canada, well, it started in 2017. It is a fitness program that takes the Russian kettlebell with martial arts motion. So yeah, you get to train a little bit of cardio, strength and mobility all in one.

Barb McGrath 1:20
Okay. So tell me about the other disciplines, because that’s not something that I’m familiar with at all. So the

Jodi Barrett 1:25
Different martial arts Yeah, so we actually just did the last four, Tuesday’s we did, like, Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, so they do a lot of mobility training for their art. So we take a lot of motions from that. So we, you know, we just incorporate different things that functionally would help somebody in their day to day living.

Barb McGrath 1:45
Okay, um, how do you have all of that knowledge, I can go out, and I can throw a baseball, and I can hit a volleyball? Because that’s something that I learned as a youth and as a team. So how do you have all of that knowledge?

Jodi Barrett 1:59
Well, I would say like, I would never sit down with a martial artist and tell them I have more knowledge with them. Absolutely not. That’s why we say it’s the emotion of it. The co founder of the company is deeply immersed into martial arts. So she built a program around that. So we just, you know, we, you know, some of the names or when you notice an exercise, different names come kind of evolve. Okay, so, yeah, so we teach our trainers to have the basis of all that we always encourage them to, if they’re, you know, interested in that other aspect to go down that road a little bit more to

Barb McGrath 2:32
So trainers can develop a certification with Kettlebell Kickboxing, but then they can also extend their training to include some of the martial arts as well.

Jodi Barrett 2:40
Absolutely. I would always encourage them, I’m always telling them to take as many different classes not even necessarily martial arts, but, you know, I think there’s something to be learned in every kind of classroom setting.

Barb McGrath 2:51
Absolutely. Well, not even necessarily in the classroom. So yeah, but any activity, pick up a new sport, you’re going to develop a new muscle, you’re going to develop, you know, a brain muscle to go along with it. And the body has great muscle memory, it’s so much easier to go back to something you know, or have done before. And you pick it up again, so quickly, compared to, you know, Okay, I’m gonna learn a whole new sport, right. And I teach my kids all the time. My son is a skater, he plays hockey, and I skated for years, but honestly, never really enjoyed it. And so he gets me out on the ice every once in a while. And last time, he’s like, well, I can’t believe like, this is all you can do. Yeah, okay, but so you’re 11. And I’m a little older than you. But you’ve actually been on skis a lot more recently than I have. So we have a joke in our house that I prefer my water when it’s defrosted and in a swimming pool, and everybody else at home tends to prefer their water frozen, and on a sheet of ice, so skate on it. Yes. You’ve heard my stories. I much prefer the beach environment.

Jodi Barrett 3:56
Yes, I’m kind of inclined to go there. So yeah,

Barb McGrath 3:59
Exactly. So Jodi, what made you pick all of this up?

Jodi Barrett 4:04
Well, I, well, if we go way back, not too far back. I’ll give you a Nicole’s version. Okay, I got separated in 2013. So I’d stayed at home for like 13 years of my life. And I have a degree in kinesiology. And so you know, I was like, they say when something hits you hard you you search for something. Sure. Right. And I didn’t I just thought I didn’t want I didn’t feel like I was the regular nine to five job kind of person and always into fitness. So I was doing kettlebells with some friends and I got I got a certification here in the city. And I was like, Huh, that’s good. It was really good. But I was like, I want any want more more knowledge you want it felt like it needed to take it somewhere further and took a muy Thai class with a friend of mine and then I actually come across kettlebell kickboxing on Instagram. Ah, okay. And you know, I wanted to get certified but I was like, at the time I was thinking, Okay, I’m gonna think big. So I messaged her and I’m like, Okay, I’m gonna come get certified Kate and fly to New York. But I said, I want to work for you.

Wow. fly to New York. Okay, that’s Yeah, put this in perspective. That’s huge. Yeah. So I was I was had a lot of people tell me I was crazy and all that stuff. But I, you know, at the end of the day, I was like, I don’t I take a risk, and I can’t reap the reward. Yeah.

And I was like, I don’t know what if something in my gut that it was like, when I was on the plane even because I didn’t really didn’t fly or travel by myself. Okay, so Wow, even my mom’s like, Can I come with you? And I’m like, No, like, I totally want it to be uncomfortable for seven days. Got it. And I was.

I don’t doubt it at all, but I never ever felt like I was doing something that I wasn’t supposed to be doing. Okay. So it was always like I was on the right path.

Barb McGrath 5:51
Exactly. Yeah. It just felt right. Yeah. Okay. So that was your us counterpart then? Because you’re kbk Canada. So they’re the US.

Jodi Barrett 6:01
Yeah. Okay.

Barb McGrath 6:01
So how big is it in the US at this point? Any idea?

Jodi Barrett 6:04
Oh, well, she’s been doing it for over 10 years now.

Barb McGrath 6:07
Okay. So and how many years? Have you been working on it?

Jodi Barrett 6:10
Ah, two years and three months.

Barb McGrath 6:14
But who’s counting? Right?

Jodi Barrett 6:15
That’s like, you notice we did she didn’t say like days an hour. Bad minutes.

Barb McGrath 6:23
Very good. Okay, so you headed down to New York and you’re you’re going to do your certification. And so you had a huge learning curve. What happened in those seven days? What transformed for you that said, I’m ready to come back and take on Canada,

Jodi Barrett 6:37
Right? I am. I think the biggest thing was just being uncomfortable and being okay with it. Like, she threw out to me the second day. She’s like, so do you want to teach class on Saturday? And I was like, right before I even thought about it came out of my mouth. Yes. And I’ve as I’m walking back to my hotel later, I’m like, Okay, well, you’re right here. In the bigger picture, I was like, why not? Why wouldn’t I is what’s the worst that could happen? Like,

Barb McGrath 7:03
Exactly. I can’t imagine that she was leaving you stranded. Like, I’m sure she was in the class or another trainer was there if she was, or, you know, and maybe she wasn’t tennis. Like, she was obviously comfortable with your skill set. So that skill set by that point in time, so she had confidence that you were gonna be fine.

Jodi Barrett 7:22
Yeah, so it was, um, so did that. And actually, I went to a basketball game. I always wanted to go to NBA game.

Barb McGrath 7:27
Oh,

Jodi Barrett 7:28
Yeah, I went, rode the train by myself and the game. And it’s kind of funny story there that the lady beside me about halfway through the game, she kind of looks at me funny and leans over. And she goes, he must really like basketball to come by yourself. And I was like, yeah, it was just, you know, but it was all just I wanted to do it alone. I don’t know if I have to prove to myself that I could do it or just something about, you know, I just want to do it. So I came back in when I went down three months later, that’s when she phoned me three days before and she said, do you want to do the Canadian region?

Barb McGrath 8:00
Oh, okay. So when you originally went down, it was really just as you said, done work for her. So I came back to her. Yeah. And then she asked you to kind of spearhead the region. Oh, wow. Okay, so what a cool opportunity then. Yeah, right. Um, okay. So when you came back from this trip, and I’m actually kind of going back to a personal experience in my life. Yep. When you came back from the trip, did you find that having done all of this on your own away from your home setting that kids are gone? families, you know, not all their phone call away, but they’re not immediately available? Did you find that from a growth perspective? That you were in a really different place?

Jodi Barrett 8:39
Yes, you’re a

Barb McGrath 8:41
Different person. When you came

Jodi Barrett 8:41
Back. I actually found when I came back, I found a pole to go back there. Because I found that the mindset that I was there within I just craved it. Like cuz everyone thought so big. Yes. Oh, no. So when I come back to just buy I would normally do. Yeah, I felt like oh, you know, I gotta keep that energy level up. Yeah, take it to where I want to take it exact. So I made myself a deal that I would go back there at least once a year. Okay, just if anything to recharge your batteries, then grab some of that energy.

Barb McGrath 9:16
Back with me. So how many times have you been to New York now then three or 4466? Okay, no, that’s so so tell me like what what do you love about that environment? What as you say, pulls you back there every time.

Jodi Barrett 9:32
I think the energy that just the dream big the you know, you can accomplish anything if you have if you really want to do it. You can? Yep, you just have to start

Barb McGrath 9:41
Right, exactly. How many trainers do we have in Canada now?

Jodi Barrett 9:45
We have 34

Barb McGrath 9:47
Oh, wow. And across Canada coast to coast

Jodi Barrett 9:50
Across Calico schools, and we actually started like a kin program. So we’re the trainers because that’s my biggest thing when people walk away from a certification always felt like, you know, you get certified, you leave and goodbye. And that’s all you ever saw that right. And because I was building a brand, I kind of wanted to know how everybody was doing. I wanted to help them along on their journey. Right. So we started the program last May. So we’ve actually have a couple of the trainers from the US that have come on board with us to come up to our trainers weekend. And so just a good way to keep everybody connected and growing together.

Barb McGrath 10:25
I explained the concept of a kin program. What does that mean? Oh, so it’s like kin is family tribe? Got it? Okay. kin in the sense that we traditionally think of it for family. Yeah. So you guys are creating a kbk family? Absolutely. Got it. Okay. And do they do something like that in the US, or this was totally your initiative to try and keep it. Okay. And that’s a great idea. Because you’re right. When you get out there, after you’ve done any kind of training program, you get out there, you start practicing, start doing your own thing. And especially as you say, because you’re trying to build a brand, it’s really easy for that brand to become diluted, right? Do your trainers need to come back on an annual basis to sort of renew their certification? or What does that certification look like?

Jodi Barrett 11:12
Yeah, so we have our trainers weekend. So it’s recommended to the least I know, everyone can’t make them all. That’s why we have more than one. So then we come back. And we all like whenever I do a certification in, say, I go to Calgary, I always invite my current trainers, back to the certification. So they can always it like, I mean, they come back, they don’t pay to come back for the second time. It’s just, it’s good for them to practice and keep their knowledge up and I can touch base and we can, you know, build a

Barb McGrath 11:42
Relationship. Build the kin program. Exactly. Yeah, continue to do that. Okay, so lots of folks, you know, especially this time of year, people are very conscious, they’re, you know, getting healthy. They’re getting back to the gym. Do you have a number of new clients coming out this time of year?

Jodi Barrett 11:59
Yeah, usually I find it doesn’t start till the end of January, beginning of February. That’s where I find it. Oh, you find that people have a little break from after Christmas. Okay. So, and then, yeah. Okay.

Barb McGrath 12:12
So what would you say to someone who, you know, they call you up out of the blue, and they’re like, Hi, Jody, I heard about your program on Instagram. I want to learn more about it. I haven’t been in the gym in 10 years. What do you say?

Jodi Barrett 12:23
Well, I always tell them that they’re always welcome to come join us. So we do offer a Monday to Wednesday, beginner program later at seven to eight at night, just because there are some people that aren’t 100% comfortable coming into a class where they know people have been training for a long period of time. So we run that also, just as a, you know, give people a couple options of what to do. Mm hmm. Yeah,

Barb McGrath 12:45
Exactly. And so you’ve got the beginner program a couple of evenings and then otherwise got the, what do I say the mainstream the regular class? There we go. Regular class times Monday, Wednesday, Friday, if I remember correctly? Yeah. And how many people usually come up for a class?

Oh, we have about

Jodi Barrett 13:05
18 to 20? Yeah.

Barb McGrath 13:08
So anyone who has followed you on Instagram knows that you do a ton of videos or on LinkedIn. Right? That’s actually originally where I found you was on LinkedIn. And as I say, if you’ve seen Jodi’s videos on LinkedIn, you know, that she’s, she’s bringing a lot of color, to what is very, typically a bland environment. And to give you a lot of credit, because even though you’re doing fitness videos, I, you know, they could be done, I’ll say raunchy style, but you are keeping it, you know, Above the Fold, no pun intended. But she’s really keeping it above the fold. And when somebody decides to make a comment, that’s maybe, you know, a little too colorful, or a little too suggestive, Jodi shuts it down. Right away, she doesn’t doesn’t hesitate at all. So for anyone who has seen your videos out there, they know that you’re doing a ton of different stuff. And, and why do you do that? I mean, somebody could probably go through your video videos and get a whole class out of that. So So why are you doing that? What’s the end game the end value for you?

Jodi Barrett 14:15
Well, we put up with you know, that that is something that we think about a lot because we’re like, you know, you put out so much content and I’ve had people say, Well, I just you know, if I don’t make it to the gym, I just pull up a video or whatever, right? It’s way to reach people connect people show them proper form. Because not every you know, realistically not everybody’s gonna come train. It’s mean not everyone’s gonna like it. Yeah, but I think more of just connecting personally and just, you know, sharing knowledge. And eventually, you know, if they enjoy it, they’ll come on board either on our live stream or one on one or get certified. So Exactly.

Barb McGrath 14:50
Yeah. Let’s talk a little bit about the live stream because that’s a new program that you have. And in fact, you and I had a conversation about it yesterday. I you can can participate. In Jodi’s classes via the live stream. And you know, if you can’t get out of the house, because you know you’re at home with the kids, or you’re just not ready to get out of the house, it’s a great way to participate. So tell me about some of the folks that are using the live stream.

Jodi Barrett 15:15
Yeah. Well, I have some friends that are moms that have little ones can’t get out right now. Yes. You know, and then I yeah. And then I had some people that from out of town that, you know, they’re not here, but they want to train some people down in the States. I my interesting story was I had a gentleman, he followed me from Iran. Oh, oh, and he was so excited because he’s like, his sister bought him online, for him as a gift. And so he messaged me, and he’s like, I’m so excited, coach, God, I get to train with you. And so I’m like, Alright, this is awesome. So it turned out he couldn’t get the love the high speed where he was. Oh, so we’re gonna figure out something for him. But his sister now who got it from she’s training down Texas with

Barb McGrath 15:55
Kindness. Wow. Yeah. Okay. So have you ever been out in public, you’re at an event, you’re at a coffee shop. And somebody goes, Hey, you’re Jody, I recognize your voice or I recognize you from your videos. Have

Jodi Barrett 16:07
You had that happen? I have, actually. And you know what is funny about that? Because I met someone in the airport, and he trains with me now. And he’s amazing. I always tell people, if you see me, come say hi, because I do get people to send me messages. Like I saw you today. But I was nervous to come say hi. And I’m like, please, just, exactly, I’m very, I feel like I’m very approachable. So just come say hi, and connect. So

Barb McGrath 16:27
Exactly. I remember the first time that happened to me, after I had started The Secret Life show. Yeah. And I was just coming out of a yoga class, one of those hot yoga classes.

Jodi Barrett 16:35
And so,

Barb McGrath 16:36
You know, you’re drenched in sweat, you’re just covered. And we’re putting our boots on, it was probably January or something. And this lady comes up to me, and she’s like, hey, you’re a bar. Just like, Oh, this is weird. Right? At the same time, it was like, okay, that is so cool. A you felt comfortable to come and talk to me? Because I love that.

Absolutely. Come and talk to me. Tell me about your business. And, you know, maybe we want to talk about being on the show. Be Yay, you’re listening to the show. You’re following the show. Right? So it’s a really cool moment as a business owner to go. Somebody is out there paying attention. Yeah. Right. So it was awesome. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so we’re, where do you see your industry, the fitness industry? Like, where is it going? There’s There seems to be a real fracture out there. Where it used to be, you know, get your gym membership, you can swim, you can go spin on a bike, go jump around and do some aerobics. But but we’re really seeing some concentration in terms of, there’s kbk. And there’s a number of other varieties out there. So where do you think this is all heading?

Jodi Barrett 17:47
Well, it’s all over you. I think you’re always have to evolve, right? Because it’s always gonna change. I couldn’t sit here today and tell you what this is going to look like in 10 years from now. Yeah, because things will change as we go. I do think people, I think people are craving a sense of community.

Barb McGrath 18:03
Like, oh, I only hold when people come

Jodi Barrett 18:05
Into my gym, I pride. My clients are amazing that they, you know, it’s one thing for me to welcome people in, right, because that’s a one on one thing, but when I have clients walk through the door, and I have clients that will go directly up to an introduce themselves and make them feel welcome on the mat is just a huge, huge thing.

Barb McGrath 18:25
Yes. And you know what, I’m glad that you brought that up, Jody, because I had a chance to go to a couple of classes in December in January. And community is one of the things that I have found really hard to replace. So I’m coming from a gym, where community was the bL endl. And a lot of gyms speak that language about community. But they’re not necessarily putting it in place. There is no community that goes along with it. And even though I was only able to attend a few classes, the people that I met and the people that I saw, you know, sort of time and time again over and over. Absolutely, they came up, they introduced themselves, they weren’t afraid to make eye contact. And that eye contact piece is something that so often in a gym, nobody makes eye contact, right? They’re there, they’re going to do their workout do their thing. And they they almost want to avoid human contact. Right? And it’s like, we’re all conditioned to you know, talk to people and we’re not gonna fight. Exactly. So I agree wholeheartedly. That is something that you’ve done incredibly well. And I kudos to you for doing that because you know as as the leader there you’re absolutely the the driving force behind that. Yeah. So if somebody does want to you know, sort of learn more about you come out and try a class quickly give us you know, kind of a high level where do they find you What’s your Instagram account? Give us the the ones over

Jodi Barrett 19:54
Here right so Instagram Kettlebell Kickboxing Canada, which is also Facebook Kettlebell Kickboxing Canada. I’m trying to think website is also kettlebellkickboxingcanada.com. I always say when you send an email, it’s that long Kettlebell Kickboxing Canada. That is a long email. Yes,

Barb McGrath 20:10
I have experienced.

Jodi Barrett 20:13
That’s my marketing pitch right there. Like you’ll never forget it. Exactly.

Barb McGrath 20:18
Yeah. So you’re pretty easy to find online and you’re out there all the time. If somebody was to be googling a service, yes. How are they going to find you?

Jodi Barrett 20:27
Um, you Google like, I’m thinking when I’m going there, anything with kettlebell comes up. kickboxing comes up. kettlebell kickboxing. Okay.

Barb McGrath 20:36
So I’m gonna challenge you. Yes, my hand is typically marketing. But I think a little bit broader, because you’re a solution. But, but what’s the problem I’m trying to solve when I’m going to find you, because if I just search fitness, Regina, I’m going to come up with tons of options. So So what’s the what’s the problem you solve that might be a little bit different than some of the others out there. So as

Jodi Barrett 20:58
Far as coming, why would you come train with me versus the others? Yeah, I think because it’s a whole program. Like it’s, I don’t know, hate to say there’s not a whole program for someone, but we train the pillars, all the human movement pillars. Sometimes you go into class, and they’ll just do push ups and push ups and more push ups. When if you want a well rounded program you want all like the push the pole, you know, your rotation, your level changes. So and people always say, well, don’t you have one day where you just train legs? And I’m like, Well, no, because for a couple of reasons, if I have a kettlebell, and if someone comes in on a Monday and trains with us, but they miss the Tuesday, they’re missing part of the whole training the whole body. Right, right, exactly.

And, you know, it goes back to the saying is when you walk down the street and lift something, you don’t just use your legs or your arms use everything. So it’s really functional. And it’s fun.

Barb McGrath 21:50
Yes, exactly. And that’s a huge part of it. You can have the best training program out there. But if it’s not fun, you’re not going to keep people, right. That’s why kids enjoy sports. Because they’re, they’re fun. They’re just playing at a different level. And so being able to find something as an adult, but it’s like, this is just fun to do. Yeah, right. It can be really tough to find that. How do you market yourself?

Jodi Barrett 22:18
How do I market myself? Oh, wide markets all the time every day. So we grab so there’s difference. Like I’ve learned this through my growing as a business owner, the difference between branding and marketing and sales, right? So we’re kind of we work on a little bit of targeting what our market is, right? Now. I’m pretty fortunate here that hidden myth is a fortunate or not, but my, my class ranges from like 18 to 72 right now.

Barb McGrath 22:47
Oh, 272.

Jodi Barrett 22:48
Yes. So my, my client came to me, Jamaica, is she 70 to talk about her. So I’m always like, you, anybody can train us and we can train, you just need to be determined to do it. When people come up to me, they’ll say I don’t really feel I don’t like I don’t think I train with you. And my answer back usually is probably not. Because you already think that you can’t. Ah, so there’s a mental block. So the minute you go, I can do it. I’m gonna do it. Yeah, we’re gonna come changes completely. Yes. So anyway, as I get off to another another thing I was doing often, but um, yeah, we just mark it to, you know, word of mouth is a great tool. Yeah, we use it. And just marketing Facebook’s a great marketing tool.

Barb McGrath 23:31
Yeah. Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn. Yes. A ton. are you sharing the same content on all three platforms? I haven’t.

Jodi Barrett 23:38
Ah, yes. Mostly. Okay, try to change it a little bit. That’s some thing that I have to do. But right now just because it there’s me and me and all these people, we have three of me that you

Barb McGrath 23:52
Know, all without you balance at all, then. So talk about that, because you’re training at 530 and 630 and 730 at night. I know when I’ve texted you for the show. you’re responding, you know, first thing in the morning. So how do you balance it all? Plus are still some kids in there that aren’t like off on their own?

Jodi Barrett 24:08
Yeah, well, balance is something I’m working on. Like, I’m like that balance is like juggling what I always say balances juggling what’s necessary in the moment. Okay, right. My biggest thing right now is trying to balance a Sunday off. And it doesn’t always happen in my thing I’m working on too is not beating myself up when it does when it doesn’t happen. So how old are your kids now? 19, 17, 14

Barb McGrath 24:33
Okay, so they’re they’re much closer. You independent? Yeah,

Jodi Barrett 24:37
They’re very independent.

Barb McGrath 24:39
Right? Yeah, exactly. They’re very close and I would suspect that your 19 year old is pretty much just doing their thing. Yeah. And checking back in with mom every once in a while kind of thing. Right. And are all three still at home or has a 19 year old moved out?

Jodi Barrett 24:53
No. Still there.

Barb McGrath 24:54
Okay. So yeah, you’ve still got you know, groceries to buy food cleaning. Yeah. Noble. Oh, Bit, right. So that it’s an audacious goal to Yeah, so

Jodi Barrett 25:04
They are with their dads too. So in the girls, we’d like back and forth. So,

Barb McGrath 25:07
Okay. And I suppose a 19 year old just goes where they

Jodi Barrett 25:11
Oh, yeah, he’s just Yeah, he’s like we do Sunday suppers and he’s like, Ah, okay, my friends got friends. Like I get it. I was 19.

Barb McGrath 25:20
And it but that’s always funny to me. Because Yeah, absolutely. like they’ve got friends and they do their thing. But they still have to eat. Yes, right, they still have to eat. God, I’ve been very neglectful, we actually only have about a minute left. Is there anything else that you’d like to throw in here before I wrap up the show?

Jodi Barrett 25:39
Oh, I think just um, if you’re ready to come, give it a try, either. You know, there’s so many different platforms, so many different things. You can train online in class, you want to get certified like, there’s just options for everyone. There’s options for

Barb McGrath 25:51
Everyone. Exactly. All right, that is pretty much time. So I’d like to thank everyone for joining us here today on 91.3 cJ ETR Regina community radio for the Secret Life of entrepreneurs. And a huge thank you to you, Jody, from kettlebell kickboxing Canada for joining us today to talk about your passion, your energy, this wind energy just like exudes from her and sharing a little bit of your secret. So building a more fit world sort of one person at a time and that’s a wonderful addition school. So I’m going to be back for my next show with Richard from Green Machine. And his company is building environmentally friendly, biodegradable disposable dinnerware. So yes, think about that. environmentally friendly, biodegradable, disposable dinnerware they’re made from Erykah lifs. So it’s some great big plant leaf. Anyway. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, you can email me at barb@googlegirl.ca or just reach out on Facebook and Instagram at abovethefold.ca. Just a reminder, you can even submit questions in advance of the live show on our Facebook page. I’m your host, Barb McGrath, local business owner and Google girl. Remember, you worked hard for your success. Don’t keep it a secret. Bye for now.