When the gang at CanadianLiving.com initiated our inaugural Bikini Boot Camp program on May 4, we had no idea our program shared a name with a Calgary company headed by a dynamic duo of Canadian entrepreneurs. Here’s the story of the women behind Bikini Boot Camp© . . .
Inspired by the outdoor workout regime she had adopted as a student in California, Lindsay Nealon started Bikini Boot Camp© in 2004 as a way for the women she met largely through her Calgary-based chiropractic office to get fit before summer started.
“Bikini Boot Camp© started as one group of eight women, then it was two groups of 12, then it kind of ballooned,” explains Lindsay. “We made the front page of the Calgary Herald in May of 2005. I had to hire more trainers! It was an exciting but chaotic time.”
Lindsay called on her best friend Dawn Kosloski for support. “She helped me with financial resources and became a silent partner,” says Lindsay. It wasn’t long before both women were boot camping full-time.
“I sold my chiropractic office in April of 2008 to run Bikini Boot Camp©,” says Lindsay. Dawn, who was a geologist in downtown Calgary for over a decade, also came on board. “She quit her 'big girl job' last year, too,” Lindsay laughs.
There are now Bikini Boot Camps© in nine major centres across the country. “I have always had an entrepreneurial spirit. I learned the business aspect through my chiropractic office.”
As for the secret to their success, Lindsay attributes it to hard work and courage. “Dawn and I put our hearts into it. And I take the approach that if it's not scary, it's not worth doing. There are very scary moments — whether it's meeting people where it's, like, 'Wow! I can't believe I'm meeting this person!', or telling my husband that I'm going to sell my chiropractic office and run Bikini Boot Camp© full-time, there have definitely been scary moments and that is what's propelled us so far.”
What an inspiring success story. Tune in tomorrow for details of what the Bikini Boot Camp© workout is comprised of. And yes — these workouts are outside. Year round!
For more info, check out BikiniBootCamp.ca.
