And here I am!!! 175 days and counting and I still have my moments, leaving this amazing historic building I live in, walking to the studio or salon, waiting for the street car, popping in the corner grocery store (finally learning a girl can only carry so many groceries 2 1/2 blocks!), stopping, looking up and taking in every soul shaking second.

Is this my life?!

Yes. YES. IT. IS.

The adventure started last September, from Fort Smith to Bentonville to Kansas City. 3 apartments, 3 cities, 9 months. I loaded up my two fuzzies, my yarn and my kicks and left my hometown, family, hair clients, THE OTF family, everything familiar and safe for the first time in my 41 years. Saddle up partners. It was quite the year that landed me in the Library District. And it would have never happened if that crazy decision back in 2020 to respond to this obnoxious (smoking hot) frat boy who worked for some random juice bar/gym franchise hadn’t happened. Insert Orangetheory.

In my defense, small town Arkansas and a very sheltered travel lacking life, we had Orange Julius and I knew of some theory business in NWA but, at this point, my experience with fitness was POUND (lived, breathed, did all things POUND, twice a day, all the days) and barre and the other half was the CrossFit obsessed universe. I had my Group Fitness Certification for POUND’s Tour Crew, but personal training was a different (intimidating) world for me. I was most certainly intrigued at the idea of doing more fitness than hair. But what even was a Splat? And who even cared about getting those? I was basically having to trick people into coming to Pound just to get them to try new things and a little skeptical this would even be a thing in the Fort. The Google said it was a pretty big deal and these Orange people were so dang happy and excited about working out “just take your free class, just take a class and see” yada yada on repeat. Fine. So finally March 10th, 2020, I drove north to Fayetteville, all antsy and excited, listening to true crime and not a clue how much life was about to change. I took that first 3G class with a 10minute row for distance (kill.me.), next to one of Arkansas’s best coaches, that’s all it took. I drank the juice, I was hooked. Sign me up. Uniform me, mic me, let’s GO!!

And then…

Wake up the next day to the pandemic SHUT DOWN. Like you can’t make this up. Y’all were there. It happened. But talk about the universe and some jerk timing. Dude. Enter a whole new fitness world. Virtual hell.

Gross. Grateful to have an outlet but y’all. No.

Patience was had, ZOOM was embraced, a new approach to onboarding was developed and July 2020, I coached my first class under those orange lights. Ok. You guys. Have you ever had that moment where it’s still and quiet but it’s not and you’re just calm and you know you’re in the exact right place, exactly where the Big Guy intended you to be. It’s a moment. Don’t stop doing the things until you have it. Totally worth it.

So y’all, I now have the best job in the world. I get to help this new family be the best versions of themselves, surprising themselves, doing things none of us would have been doing (DRI TRI, ohhh how about Everest?!! Anyone?!), going big together and making some amazing memories and connections along the way. What?! I know. The fire this “job” lit in me and the doors that have opened seemed so impossible. But here we are.

It didn’t take long to start shifting hair to fewer hours each week and picking up as many classes as I could coach. The weeks and months flew. In October 2021, I took the Head Coach job in the Fort when my otha brotha moved north and it was a short 11 months later I followed up and transitioned to Bentonville as Head Coach. What a crazy drop flip and reverse that 9 months was. Super proud of the growth I got to flex. Learned who I was as a leader. And that I had plenty of room left in the character building meter. I also learned that some experiences are short for a reason and sometimes the Big Guy just needs you in a certain zip code so the right coach from Kansas City can land on your roster. I did hate Bentonville for a hot second. Probably 3 seconds. I wasn’t homesick but I definitely wasn’t home. It was a necessary chapter in this adventure and I made the exact right friendships for the season of life I was in and coming into. Got to spend some precious time with my favorite people (team Rye). And dang it if I couldn’t be any more grateful for that small army of friends and their love and support. But was I not-so-secretly elated to pay a small fortune to get out of a lease and peace out?! 100. All those years living in the Fort, I thought I would thrive in NWA and it was just the stepping stone to KC. Who knew?!!

The coach. That one from KC. Sent one email. Blew open doors I just couldn’t wrap my brain around. I didn’t believe it. I remember telling my Dad the story and feeling like I was making up some conglomerate of a tale. I stared at that email chain for days. If you know me, you know I’ve loved this city for years. Always too afraid to jump. Always an excuse. I suppose it was just easier and safer to stay in my lane all these years but I will forever and ever and ever be grateful for that nudge from one angel of a coach. And the connection to Kansas City was made.

I feel like maybe when responsible adults make huge moves, plans are made months ahead of time? Is that a thing? Does that happen? Is that only in movies?! And lets be real, when do I do anything the ‘easy’ way? After an apartment waterfall, a new lease on a prison cell, and a quick move, I was over Arkansas. I met my future OTF owners. We had coffee on one of the first patio-worthy spring days and talked about a fall transition north. I put my head down and was as focused as this girl could be, still not yet believing all this was real. Went north for the birthday, took classes, peeked at apartments being calm and intentional with my moves. I was practicing patience y’all. Look at me! This was a new approach for a jump then calculate kinda gal. But what kind of adventure would it have been if I didn’t get THE phone call the first week of April. Let me tell you what buying out a lease, running back and forth covering classes from AR to MO, looking for another apartment, and changing everything you’ve ever known does to a gal…

IT WILL TEST YOU TO YOUR SOUL AND BACK. FROM YOUR TOES TO THE TIPS OF YOUR GINGER LOCKS. IT WILL CHALLENGE EVERY INCH YOU GOT.

But do it.

Figure it out. Jump. Pull money out of your ass. You’ll make more. Bob. Weave. Drop. Flip. Reverse. Whatever you need to feel alive.

DO IT.

AND I DID THAT. I am happier than I’ve ever been. LIKE EVER. Am I fighting like hell at moments? Oh for sure. Should I have had a back-up plan to the back-up plans back-up? Probably. Do I have moments I should wave the white flag and call Dad? 100. Do I figure it out and or make a new way? Dang right I do.

I’m here. I made it to KANSAS CITY. Downtown. Coaching. Doing hair. Living my dream. And I can’t wait for y’all to experience KC with me!!

The neighborhoods, the food and pop-ups and the fans!!!

But have you rode the Street Car?…

LET’S GO!!

Xo

Midwest Ging