Bethanee Randles of Elevate Strength and Conditioning talks with Danielle S. Castillejo about entrepreneurship, inclusivity, the pandemic and healing through movement. Bethanee's community-oriented business is located on Bainbridge Island and she and her time work to "build powerful humans."
www.elevatestrengthco.com
@bethaneerandles
@elevatestrengthco
Meet the Team HERE. (https://www.elevatestrengthco.com/our-team )
Welcome to Elevate Strength and Conditioning, Home of Bainbridge Island’s Most Inclusive Fitness Community
HOME OF BAINBRIDGE ISLAND’S MOST INCLUSIVE FITNESS COMMUNITY
ACCOUNTABILITY: Every member is important to our coaching staff. Each person will have a full accountability partner in every staff member, paired with a community that will support you every step of the way.Elevate is not just a gym where you pay a membership, Elevate is a family. Your goals are our priority.
COMMITMENT
WE CARE ABOUT YOUR GOALS.
We are committed to helping you become your strongest, most confident self.
Every session spent working with our highly skilled staff will help you, “become the machine,” and prepare you to move through life with ease and confidence in your movement. Our mission is to help you actualize yours, one step and one drop of sweat at a time, at a pace that works for you.
GRIT
We are going to do hard things. We are going to struggle. We are going to fail. We are going to succeed. We will do all of these things together. Strength is the key piece of everyone's individual independence in movement, and together, we will overcome obstacles to become stronger, more capable humans.
INTEGRITY
We are honest in our assessments and programming to meet each person where they are so we can take them where they want to be. We believe in our method and our programming and its ability to help every single member progress responsibly and with quality movement.
Transcripts:
Danielle (00:38):
Welcome to the Arise Podcast, conversations on faith, race, justice, gender, and healing. Uh, so proud to welcome my dear friend, uh, Bethany Randall's, owner of Elevate Strength and Conditioning on Banbridge Island, Washington. And this girl, this friend of mine, really knows and cares for human beings. And so here we go. Um, that I'm recording.
Okay. Got it. Well, hey, Bethany, uh, welcome to recording a podcast with me. I've been wanting to do this for a long time, so it feels really special and important, and in fact, I just saw you today, so that was fun.
Yeah. I brought my whole, well, three of my kids with me, so that was kind of a surprise for you and also for me,
Yeah, no, Bethany, I wanted to just, people may be like, well, how did Danielle and Bethany know each other? And I would say, it's been like a decade, right?
Bethanee (01:39):
Yeah. Yeah. It's been, let's see, yeah, it's been at least nine years since I've met you, right? Nine years. Yeah. And for anybody watching this, just just know that my two, uh, French bulldogs are in the room, so if you hear any funny noises, it's just them. And, sorry,
Danielle (02:00):
That's great. Um, yeah. So I met you at the Y M C A and I came to one, I think I came to your ripped class first and then started working out, and that was when it was like in a smaller room, but eventually it grew to like the gymnasium to where you had people lined up.
Bethanee (02:19):
Yeah. Yeah. So when I met you, sorry, the dog's cracking me up. Um, when I met you, I was working at the Y and I might have still been a volunteer at the Y I'm not sure if I was an actual employee there, but, um, I started teaching some group fitness classes there, uh, kickboxing, cycling ripped, which was a, like a high intensity interval class. Um, and when I started, I was being trained by two other instructors, and eventually I was able to go off and have my own classes. Um, and then they kind of grew into really big classes. And that was kind of the start of my, um, career and teaching fitness to others. So, but I, I, you and Louis would come to those classes, which was great.
Danielle (03:06):
That's true. And I remember he filled out like a comment card once,
Bethanee (03:12):
Yeah. I still have that comment card.
Danielle (03:16):
Yeah. Um, yeah. Well, then I started doing some personal training with you there, and you actually introduced me to some movements that weren't a part of the classes. I think it was like deadlift and cleans, um, and just a lot of laps around the upper track, like bear crawl laps sometimes. I remember those. So just a lot of, um, fitness. But the one thing I remember about you from the very beginning, and that still stands out every time I see you, is that you, the way you relate to people and the way you show up is consistent and kind and inviting. And that, not that I don't love to work out. I do. I do it on my own too when I can. Um, but I, I did just enjoy showing up to get to hang with you and experience being with you. So, um, yeah.
Bethanee (04:09):
Yeah, yeah. So you're talking about, you know, just the time you spent kind of around me, I guess we got to spend more time with each other, whether it was in the private training or in the classes. And, um, we developed a friendship mm-hmm.
Danielle (04:29):
So then tell me about your journey from the why forward, and I'd love to hear like how you made it. One thing we're just checking in with business owners and people, therapists, whoever we're in, whoever I'm interviewing is like, how did you make it through c what is your business doing? And like, where are you headed? So those are a lot of questions, but yeah, just catching up.
Bethanee (04:50):
Yeah. So, um, I moved to Bainbridge Island in 2015 to manage another gym, and I was still working for the Y M C A at the time, and I continued to work for the Y M C A for another year and a half, uh, after I moved. So I was commuting from Bainbridge to Silverdale, uh, multiple times a day.
So, um, before I was hired, the gym saw a lot of turnover. Uh, its membership numbers were pretty low, and my job was to kind of turn that around. So within, I think it was within the first two years, uh, we doubled the membership size. Uh, we started to double the, uh, revenue, and we grew a personal training clientele in addition to group fitness clientele. Um, so that gym kind of became my home base, and I found, you know, lots of great friends and family, um, chosen family there. And some of my favorite people, like Danielle came with me, um, made the, the drive out to Bainbridge multiple times a week to work out. And in 2017, I became co-owner of that gym. Okay. And I was minority owner. I was not, um, like a big player in terms of partnership, uh, but it allowed me to kind of take on a little bit more in terms of what my role was.
And at the end of 2019, um, the decision was made to take me off of the ownership. Okay. Um, which in retrospect was actually a really good decision. Okay. So, uh, the, the majority owner wanted to keep kind of control of the business and wanted to do it, um, so low. So I kinda stepped back a little bit. Um, then Covid happened. We moved the gym right before Covid happened to a new home, and that was really rough. We actually had a more than 50% turnover Oh, geez. When that happened. So, um, we had a very small membership, and then the shutdown came along shortly after Covid kind of became a mainstream thing. And so we immediately pivoted to an online type of format. We rented out all of our gym equipment, and I started putting on, uh, two days a week, or two days a week, two times a day, um, five days a week, live workouts for people.
Whoa. So people could, they could tune in from their phone or their computer or, um, we actually linked it through YouTube as well. And, um, the gym owner at the time, he was streaming the content and I was delivering the workout, so I was writing the programming. Um, but we made this accessible for everybody by making it free. And our members continued to support us by, you know, keeping their membership active. Um, and we supported them by the videos and letting them borrow equipment. So, um, that went on for a few months, and then in May of 2020, um, it was time for me to step away from that business and go on my own because the owner was going to close the business down. So I did, and I kept doing the live videos. So twice a day, five days a week, um, up until actually over a year after that timeframe.
But, um, in July of 2020, I was able to finally, uh, open my own gym business. And, um, I was working at a deal with the owner of the former gym to basically buy the assets of his company. So the membership, the equipment, um, the social media rights. So I didn't actually wanna buy the, the business itself. I wanted to kinda start fresh on my own. So, um, I was able to do that. It's a very, very long story that I don't know if you wanna spend time on, but, um, a lot of hard work on my part and a lot of support from my community, um, made that possible. So, so yeah. So in July of 2020, um, I decided to open my own business entity, and I didn't have a home for the gym. Um, I was basically training people in parks, in people's driveways, uh, school basketball courts, um, outdoor baseball fields, soccer fields, like anywhere I could find space, I would host classes, I would take private clients.
Um, and I hauled equipment everywhere. I have like a little suv, it's like a mini suv. And it was full all the time of like, you know, thousand pounds of dumbbells medicine balls and kettle bells. Um, I even got three rowing machines in there a couple times to take them to the park,
Um, so as of June 2nd, 2020, I was able to meet people. Um, there was that little bit of time there between May and July when I officially opened where I wasn't technically, um, an employee of the former business, but I was still running the classes. I was still doing the live streams. Um, and my hope with that was that people would stay with me through the transition. Um, I also couldn't talk about a lot of it while it was going on, because it was in transition, uh, and I didn't wanna freak anybody out, if that makes sense. So my hope was to continue to foster a feeling of like, okay, this is our normal workout group, this is our normal time, this is our normal instructor. We're gonna keep that going. Mm-hmm.
So, um, hang on one second. Sure. You're okay,
It's closer to the bridge. So when you're driving onto Ba Bridge Island, it's about two minutes past the bridge. And so, um, a lot of people had feedback from me and they said, you know, that's too far for a lot of people to go. And I just said, you know, if people are willing to follow me to a park, to a school, to somebody's random driveway, to somebody's random property in the middle of the woods to do a workout, like, they'll come to this location. And, and so, um, I signed my lease, I put my deposit down. And so yeah, that week I had my, my business deal done. I had my lease, and luckily I had a really great landlord who was willing to work with me and, um, make it so that I could afford to be there. So, um, my gym community helped me remodel the space.
Uh, they donated money for the floor. They donated money for, uh, repairs that we needed. The building I moved into, needed a lot of work to be a functional gym space. And, um, on October 10th, so a little over a month later, we opened our doors. Wow. That is So, yeah. And it was just in time for like, the rain and the cold. So our workout hours were starting to get kind of cold, you know, 6:00 AM class was in the dark. Um, but overall, like, you know, it was perfect timing. And with Covid, sorry, there's lots of seagulls outside right now. Um, with Covid, there were a lot of restrictions around opening a business, and I had been really enjoying being outside because we had less restrictions outside. Like, everybody felt a little more comfortable. We didn't have to wear masks. Like we could space out, you know, 50 feet away from each other if we wanted to.
Um, moving everybody inside was a challenge. I would say at least 30% of my membership didn't wanna be inside. And even with that, we could only run classes of five people at a time, because state regulations said five people at a time. So we made these squares, like, I think it was like seven by seven squares. You'd come into the gym, you'd go to your square, you'd get your equipment, you'd stay in your square, keep your mask on. Um, it was hard, you know, and trying to basically tell people, like, you know, your workout will still be fun while you're wearing a mask. Uh,
Yeah, so we opened on October 10th, and then on November, I wanna say it was November 15th. So a little over a month after that, they shut down indoor fitness again in Washington State
So we were out there Christmas Eve, we were out there in New Year's Eve, we were out there in the snow. Um, some days we had, I mean, we had to wear masks, I think up until like January. Like there was, there were a lot of rules. And I'm just really grateful that people were there to, to work out. And, you know, they were uncomfortable and they were cold. And, um, I figured if we could make it through that park, like basketball courts, like snow outside, inside, like I figured whoever was still there would probably stay. So
Danielle (16:32):
I think what you haven't said, I think what you're saying, and also didn't say very clear, like it's very clear, but it's not like in a clear sentence, is Bethany, people love the community that comes around you and the, the vibe and the community you create. And I think it's just evident, you know, first I know it for firsthand from my relationship, but even to hear the story again, I'm just so impacted at there's more there than just like, Hey, I wanna show up and lift a dumbbell.
Bethanee (17:05):
Mm-hmm.
You know, we needed, um, we needed a sanctuary, we needed an outlet. You know, there were people that were working from home who had never worked from home before. And all of a sudden, you know, your environment changes. And with that comes, you know, do you have kids that are also home? Do you have a spouse that's also home? Like, are you able to have, you know, you time, are you able to have self care time? Um, are you able to take out, you know, your stress from the pandemic in like a healthy way? Uh, elevate became a place, I mean, for all of us, for me too, um, where we were able to just, you know, work on ourselves or be with people that we loved, you know, outside of our families. Um, and with us shut down restrictions. Like, you know, we're not all hanging out with other people. So for some people, like this was their only social interaction mm-hmm.
And, you know, for me to, to be able to try to foster that environment for people, like that was everything for me. Like, it's great for me to see all of you. Like, I love that. I never take that for granted. I'm always happy when anybody walks through the doors. But to see people be able to, you know, develop relationships with other humans, you know, even if it's like in a, like we're workout buddies, you know? Um, I think during that time, especially during like strict quarantine, lockdown time, like coming outta that, like we needed interaction mm-hmm.
Yeah. So anyway, it was kind of a safe haven. And we also got to work out, which was like a super bonus. So
Danielle (19:02):
One thing I always notice about coming into your gym too, I think that creates a community feel for me is that you have all of these different flags hanging in the gym, and you've supported, um, supported so many different causes that I think move towards community or inclusivity. And I just wonder you've made that a really important part of your community and how you do business. I just wonder if you'd speak to that a little bit.
Bethanee (19:29):
Yeah, yeah. So, um, I come from, you know, pre elevate days. I come from a background of doing general fitness in a, in a big setting, corporate setting, like the Y M C A, you know, or a Snap Fitness or a, or a Silver Fitness. Um, and then coming into the CrossFit world, elevate is not a CrossFit gym, but the gym I used to manage was coming into that world and seeing, you know, flags up in gyms that are representative of the, the armed services, you know, honoring people that serve their community in some capacity. Um, so when I open Elevate, I wanted it to be different. Obviously, I didn't want it to feel like a CrossFit gym because I was trying to get away from that. Um, and that's a whole other great story. Um, but there was more, there was more than that, right?
So, not only do I wanna honor people who have served their country, so whether it's Army or Coast Guard, you know, um, air National Guard, Navy, space Force, um, somebody got us a Space Force flag. Uh, I wanted to make sure to touch on the other community members. Um, so like the l lgbtq community, the trans community, the non-binary community. Um, so we have flags that represent all types of people that are up in our gym. And, you know, when people walk in to elevate, I want them to, to see something that resonates with them. Like, I want them to see something that makes them feel like, oh, like, I belong here, or I'll be accepted here. Or there are people like me here. Mm-hmm.
Like, you're gonna know what kind of community we have. You're gonna see Black Lives Matter signs on the walls, like you're gonna see rainbows everywhere. And it's not just that, like, those things are great, but I also think that the people really make it special. So if like, you walk in, you don't know anybody, you just moved here, you, you've been in isolation for two years cuz of Covid. Like, I totally expect every single person in that room to say hi to you the first time you walk into that gym. And then every time after that mm-hmm.
And I'm so happy that there are more people like you, you know, welcoming, like caring, giving humans that are like, willing to give their energy or their space, you know, or a hug or just how are you, how are your kids? You know? Um, like I've, I don't want our gym to be a cold space. I want it to be a space where, you know, you walk in and you see a picture of somebody that you know on the wall doing something amazing, right? We have all these black and white photos of our community, um, doing hard things, doing workouts, like mm-hmm.
And, you know, if people, like, we have people that range all over the board. Um, bay Bridge Island is a pretty affluent community, but not everybody that lives here is affluent. Right? We have lots of people that lived here that live here currently, including myself, who depend on affordable housing, who depend on help, who depend on, um, additional resources like to stay here. And whether it's they wanna stay here for a job or maybe they have a family member or kids or a school district, like, I think that no matter what your, like social status is, your economic status, like your demographically, you should be able to have access to health and wellness. And what we do falls into those categories mm-hmm.
Um, but we also have a scholarship fund so that we can really help people who aren't in need of financial assistance. Um, yeah. And, and you know, some people have offered to help, you know, they've reached out to me and they've said, Hey, like, is there a way I can sponsor somebody? Like, is there anybody that needs, um, financial assistance to be here? And the answer is yes. Like, there's probably always gonna be people in our community that need help. And so the, at the very least, what I can do on my end is have options ready for them. Mm-hmm.
So I keep, you know, over 350 videos, prerecorded videos of workouts on my Facebook, my business Facebook people can access at any time. So if they wanna do a strength workout, they can access that. If they wanna do a conditioning or cardio workout, core workout, if they wanna do mobility and stretching for an hour, all of that is up there and all of that is free. Mm-hmm.
Danielle (25:00):
I love that. I love that. And, and just, I wonder if you would speak to now more recently, and I think you had some other, like, kind of like growing programs. You had a hiking group, I saw, um, you've had some workshops that are, have either happened or are happening. Like how does that work at Elevate? And, and would you talk a little bit about about more like what you guys offer for that too?
Bethanee (25:22):
Yeah. Yeah. So, um, the Elevate staff is made up of 11, 12 people. 12 people including myself. Um, and all of our staff are different. They're all amazing. They all have their strengths. Um, none of us are the same. Mm-hmm.
Like let's shine some light on it and let's make it your thing. Like, if you're really good at it, like you should absolutely be doing it if that's something you want. So, um, yeah, we've had a couple programs and I've, this has kind of been this last like six months or so. Um, I feel like we're finally coming out of the Covid Haze. Yeah. So we're able to actually do some of these things. Um, we've been able to establish a hiking group. So we have two coaches, Lance and Nikki. Both of them are certified mountain guides. Both of them are certified personal trainers. Both of them, um, do bouldering. They do like really long distance hiking, um, mountaineering, like this is their jam, right? And so I'm basically like, build a program. Mm-hmm.
Cause this is your specialty, and then let's put it out there. Mm-hmm.
So the goal was to help people basically start to be conditioned for hikes, but also to help them maintain and improve their, um, their strength, their stability, their coordination, um, their balance and mobility and their ankles, their knees and their hips. Um, but it was all very specific to helping them be better hikers. Okay, cool. So that was the first big program that we launched. Um, second program that we've launched recently. Um, Megan, one of my coaches, she is a prenatal and postpartum fitness specialist. Um, she has multiple certifications and education background in serving women, um, who are either expecting or recovering their body after having children. Um, and her program is amazing. She's probably the most thorough human I've ever met in my life.
So it's not so much about, I wanna lose the weight, or I wanna, you know, be, um, more fit than I was before I got pregnant. Like, her approach is holistic. Like, she wants you to feel good in your own body, right? And for some of us, it's gonna look very different than I wanna lose 30 pounds or 60 pounds. It's like, I wanna feel strong. Mm-hmm.
Yeah. And Holly is, um, a newly certified personal trainer. She just recently passed her NASM certification, which is, it's a big deal. Um, that test is not easy. That's, that's the certification I hold. And it took me over a year of self-study to feel ready to take that test. Um, but she's developed a really, really nice, and what I think will be really effective program. Um, and we have quite a few people who are interested in doing this with her. So, um, stay tuned for more information on that. But yeah, so that's coming. Um, and then in addition to that, we also have, uh, an onsite physical therapist, Greg Spooner. And he has started doing, um, free workshops for the community, not just the Elevate community, but his community of clients and, you know, Bainbridge Island general population community. So he's trying to, um, one, bring awareness to the fact that he does have a business here on Bainbridge and his, uh, practices run out of Elevate Space. So he, he runs space from us and, um, basically you'll see him working with clients in our gym and we share the space with him. So he's been a really great, um, addition to our business model. So he's got, I think, a, uh, hip pain workshop tonight. Oh. And I, I think it starts at 6 45. Yeah. Anyway, I'll find the link, I'll send it to you. And then he is got another one coming up in December. So, yeah,
Danielle (31:30):
I mean, look, you went from like being, like managing a business a few years ago to then working out in parks and in people's driveways to having your own space, and not only doing classes and personal training, but all of the programs you're launching. It's amazing.
Bethanee (31:48):
It feels really good to see it all kind of coming together. And, you know, if I think back to, let's see what, it's 2022. So 2015 before I started working on Bainbridge, um, I was working at the Y M C A making minimum wage. I was working at a local nutrition store making minimum wage. I was going to college full-time, and I was working in a restaurant, and I was, you know, living day to day
Um, but I wouldn't have it without my community, and I would not have it without my staff. So I just wanna really shine some light on that, that, you know, the people around me have made it so that, you know, we can all benefit from this. Um, like as much as I wanna take care of myself, I wanna take care of the people that work with me. Mm-hmm.
And so, um, yeah. You know, while my, my biggest goal is wanting to serve my community, I, I wanna, I wanna serve people that work for me too.
Danielle (33:53):
Yeah. How, how do you look at when you come to a new year? Do you have goals or hopes for the new year? Even? Like, thoughts about what you're doing in your community? Like, or do you get there when you get there? Or like, how does that work for you?
Bethanee (34:10):
Yeah. Um, I have some big goals. Uh,
I feel like if I, if I try to do too much at once, that's when I get, you know, everything gets jumbled. It takes way longer than it should. So, so what I've been practicing is just kind of attacking one thing at a time.
So basically growing those connections, um, with the youth sports. Um, but I've also had an introduction to Bainbridge Youth Services, um, which is an organization on our island that helps teens work through all kinds of things, whether it's at risk, teens, um, finding help, whether it's teens needing mental health, um, um, resources. Um, like I wanna become, I want Elevate to become a hub for, um, basically working with the youth and being a resource for them, being an anchor for them and whatever that looks like. So whether it's through fitness, you know, know, maybe it's through stretching, maybe it's through just finding, you know, some sort of mentorship program. Um, that's really important to me. Mm-hmm.
Um, and that's gonna take some work in other ways, but I've got some stuff moving and some people helping me with that, so I'm really excited about that. Um, I also would like to expand, you know, my business visibility in terms of being a safe place for people, um, who may not, uh, feel like they fit in in a normal gym setting. So, uh, one thing I've really enjoyed, especially in the last year, is meeting more of our local, um, trans community, um, meeting more of our local non-binary community. Um, especially in like, again, like the youth here. Like, there's a lot of change happening and there are a lot of people who are, you know, becoming more comfortable being their authentic selves or feeling like they're in a place where they can, you know, join a gym or find a community or be friends or, I just, I'm seeing a lot of that happening right now.
And, you know, I want Elevate to be like a giant beacon of like, acceptance for everybody. Um, yeah, I'd love to obviously increase my membership. Um,
Danielle (38:00):
Well, Bethany, if someone like is listening and they're like, and they're maybe not in the area, like maybe you can put a link in for your gym, or if they wanna give to your scholarship fund or, you know, pay someone's membership. Like, I would love anybody who's listening to just join that so we can get that in the notes or whatnot.
Bethanee (38:18):
Yeah. Yeah. I'll drop that.
Danielle (38:23):
Thank you for joining us on The Arise podcast. And I just wanted to give a little shout out that the website is elevatestrengthco.com. And when you, you get on that website, there's a couple different tabs you can hit. You can hit get Started, there's a link to their Facebook and Instagram page, group fitness, personal training, get to know the team and some of the values that Elevate holds. So check it out.