Today we’d like to introduce you to Katie Wetzel.
Hi Katie, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today.
I’ve always been a mover – I grew up playing soccer, got into running and yoga in college, and then really developed a strength-training habit once I hit my 20s. While fitness was a track running in the background of what felt like a very “normal” timeline (go to college, move to a big city, get a corporate job…) I never thought it would be something to pursue full-time until I moved to Atlanta from New York in 2018. At that time, I decided to sign up for yoga teacher training at Highland Yoga as a way to learn a new skill and develop a community. By the time I graduated the program in 2019, I learned that teaching and coaching was something that resonated with me in a really meaningful way.
In 2020, when my full-time corporate job transformed with lockdown, I studied for and became certified through NASM as a personal trainer. The rest, as they say, is history.
Over the last 5 years, I’ve become a 500hr yoga teacher, led multiple 200hr teacher training programs through Highland Yoga, quit my full-time corporate job to start my own fitness business, taught group fitness classes at other gyms until I could develop my own program just for women, and now I’m in the process of opening a brick-and-mortar gym for women here in Atlanta called, “gain.”, with the help of my business partner.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been anything but smooth, professionally and personally. Taking the risk to quit a “secure” corporate job is never easy – doing the uncomfortable thing, the scary, unknown thing…it rarely feels good in the moment. I also went through a divorce and massive lifestyle change over the last year as a result, which has really influenced what I know to be true about myself, my goals, and what I’m on a mission to accomplish with my life (and, therefore, my business.)
The beauty in struggle is that there’s always a learning outcome, there’s always development, and that discomfort is where the magic happens. If it had been smooth, it wouldn’t have happened the way it was meant to. I really believe that.
As you know, we’re big fans of gain. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
gain. is a fitness brand and business centered on women. It’s the brainchild of my business partner and me using our combined years of experience and knowledge in the movement and coaching world. gain. is an organization for women, by women, and we have spent the last several years independently training female and non-binary clients 1:1 and in group settings to help us learn what it takes to build an environment where people feel safe to explore movement, to heal, to get strong, and to develop mental grit.
Our classes and training offerings will invite women and non-binary folks from all stages of life to step into our doors and learn how to move better. We offer foundations and beginner classes, advanced strength and conditioning, yoga and flow, and even kickboxing and power hours. In between classes, our doors will be open for individual training and coaching. We also have a wide network of healthcare and wellness professionals that we partner with for events and referrals to help create a space for women to feel empowered to take ownership of their health – physically and mentally.
It’s really exciting because this doesn’t exist in Atlanta yet, and we’re so happy to be building it.
What’s next?
Once our doors open, gain. is going to be all-consuming for me. Moving from a solo-prenuer to an entrepreneur with a brick-and-mortar business, a team, and more outreach is so exciting. One of the biggest reasons for doing this is the benefit of being able to help even MORE women, and that’s what I plan to do: grow gain. so it’s the place for wellness and community for women in Atlanta.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.gain-atl.com
- Instagram: @gain.atl
Image Credits
Gabriella Valladares
Collin Cruikshank
