Spotlight on FitBump: Having a Lightbulb Idea during Mat Leave

Realizing that one of the only fitness classes that existed for pregnant women was prenatal yoga, and not really being a yogi herself, Amanda Brindley was inspired to create something new. “I imagined going to class and discussing pregnancy with all of the other women but at prenatal yoga that was not the case,” she shared. “Everyone just came, did yoga, and left.” This presented to Amanda a huge gap within this industry for new and expecting moms that she was eager to fill.

When Amanda became a mom in 2015 to her beautiful daughter Molly, like many moms, she found it super challenging. This is what brought Amanda to some mom and baby classes hosted in her community, but again she still found that although they were all there for the same reason, the important conversations weren’t being facilitated or had. A lightbulb went off for Amanda on her maternity leave to start a fitness studio for pregnant women and new moms. She wanted to create a space that provided interactive classes that allowed for participants to connect with one another. Her hope was to create a community for moms to provide them with a whole set of mom and baby friends. From this, Fitbump was born.

Prior to Fitbump Amanda was working in recruitment both in the United Kingdom and Saskatoon. She found the industry extremely competitive and she wasn’t incredibly passionate about it. During maternity leave Amanda was laid off and little did she know this would be a blessing in disguise. She now had even more of a reason to start her own business, Fitbump.

Fitbump offers a variety of classes for moms and babies, as well as just moms. Some of the classes have childcare available which allows mom to have a break and gives the kids a chance to socialize if they aren’t normally in daycare. All the classes promote a safe return to fitness, positive body image and a sense of community. Classes are interactive and include a lot of chatting and sharing the journey of motherhood with one another.

While on mat leave Amanda did her group fitness training, prenatal and postnatal certification and business plan for Fitbump. Her husband was incredibly supportive and helped in other aspects of the business like building a website and helping think of the name Fitbump. However, balancing being a new mom is already challenging enough let alone also balancing being a new business owner. “Owning a business means you are responsible for every decision, every little thing is all on you. Which can be overwhelming,” she explained.

Although taking on a lot while being a new mom, Amanda managed to survive past her first year in business and has seen amazing growth. “I went from having 33 women registered in my first session to 127 one year later,” she shared. “It is great to watch the change from prenatal to mom and baby and seeing all of the new moms and babies evolve.” Amanda wanted to create this community for new moms. As a mother herself she knew that it could be lonely and even today in 2017 a lot of women are lacking the “village”. With Fitbump, she’s created that village.

Written by: Lauren Marinigh, Social Media & Content Specialist, Futurpreneur Canada