CIBC #FuturHighFive Spotlight on Movement Fitness and Performance: A New Way to Workout

Futurpreneur Canada recognizes the hard work, determination and passion it takes to start a business. That is why we teamed up with CIBC for a campaign to recognize the milestones (big or small) that our entrepreneurs reach while starting and growing their businesses.

As a part of the campaign, we’re encouraging our Futurpreneurs to share their start-up successes using the hashtag #FuturHighFive on social media. Cody Dietrich and Chris Cadiz of Movement Fitness and Performance are one of those success stories.

Cody Dietrich and Chris Cadiz started their business with a mission: to reinvent the commercial gym.

“We want all of our members to come and feel comfortable, yet at the same time pushed by everyone else to better themselves,” says Cody.

With Cody’s background in kinesiology and sports, and Chris’ digital marketing and software development expertise, the pair knew they had the skills to create the facility of their dreams.

“Why work for someone else when you know you can do it just as well, if not better?” says Cody. “That is how we feel about training. We didn’t want to be limited in our abilities to help clients by being forced to follow the beliefs of others who are already working in the field. Our experience and knowledge is our asset and we don’t want them to go to waste.”

That vision became a reality when Movement Fitness and Performance (FP) officially opened in November 2017. Movement FP offers a wide range of services including personal training, training programs, classes and workshops.

“We also know that a lot of people want to train in a great facility, but don’t necessarily need a personal trainer,” adds Chris. “For this reason, we also offer memberships to people to train on their own.”

Both Cody and Chris envision Movement FP becoming, “the go-to training facility in Winnipeg,” for people who are tired of the same-old standard commercial gym and want to work out in a facility that prioritizes quality over quantity.

“We want to provide top quality training to all clients, in the manner that suits them best,” says Cody.

However, it was not an easy road to launch Movement FP. They experienced banking institutions that didn’t take them seriously, leading them to work with a credit union instead. They also had difficulty coordinating with their lawyer and the property manager to secure the lease agreement. Lastly, they spent months working with the city of Winnipeg to get approval for permits and inspections.

Still, all the frustrating delays were worth it when they finally opened the doors of their new facility.

“A lot of people say they want to open a business, but few go through with it,” says Chris. “The fact that we got through all of the hurdles and delays over the previous nine months to finally open our business felt like a huge accomplishment to us.”

They’re also proud to bring their athlete-focused facility to an area of Winnipeg that they says is largely underserved.

Still, as many entrepreneurs will tell you, starting a business requires a lot of support from family, friends and mentors. Chris and Cody are grateful for their mentor Jerin Valel, who they were connected to via Futurpreneur Canada’s Start-up Program.

“Jerin’s help has been invaluable in getting us to where we are now,” says Cody. “When we found our location, he really helped us with branding, our layout and the customer perspective to really bring our vision to life. He also helped us develop marketing and social media strategies to bring more people in the door.”

They are also thankful for the financing and mentorship they received from Futurpreneur to help them launch their business.

“Our experience with Futurpreneur has been great right from the start,” says Chris. “They provided a ton of support with us preparing and finalizing our business plan. We received great recommendations that only improved our plan. Even after receiving funding, they continued to reach out and show support, asking if there was anything they could help us with.”

For those looking to start a business, they offer these words of advice: “We recommend just starting. Most people say they want to start, but actions speak louder than words. Once you commit to starting your business, take advantage of all the free resources out there for entrepreneurs. Futurpreneur has been a huge help to us starting. There are also so many resources available on YouTube and the rest of the Internet.”

Written by: Jasmine Williams, Social Media and Content Specialist, Futurpreneur Canada

Want to be featured in a #FuturHighFive Entrepreneur Spotlight? Share you start-up milestones using #FuturHighFive on Instagram and Twitter!