Our women in fitness series is a celebration of fly girls doing fly things. Meet Selena – she’s the creator of Fitness Blastoff, a brilliant dance party that brings the vibes so hard, you’ll forget you’re exercising.
Selena’s story
From the age of 18, I worked in my local leisure centre for three years as a part-time receptionist and membership advisor, while I was studying for my Creative Writing and Media Arts degree. As an employee, I was able to use the gym and the other facilities free of charge and found that to be my happy place. I would workout in the gym after my shift, zone out into my music while running on the treadmill and enjoyed participating in a range of fitness and dance classes from Spinning to Hip-Hop dance and Soca Aerobics.
I loved the atmosphere – the loud music, the energy and the variety. I also enjoyed watching my strength and endurance improve and loved how exercising boosted my energy. After I graduated, I left my job at the leisure centre and began working as a full-time Communications Officer. I enjoyed my job but at the same time, I missed the fitness atmosphere. So I decided to do a course, while working full-time, and in 2012, became a qualified Exercise to Music Instructor and Circuit Trainer. Once qualified, I started to run weekly circuit training classes after work for my colleagues. I enjoyed delivering the classes but felt that I had a lot more to offer and wanted to make my sessions fun. That’s when I came up with the idea to run a fitness dance party, called the Fitness Blastoff.
I wanted an event that focused on getting people active in a lively environment, a party atmosphere where everyone could exercise to the music they love or would expect to hear in a rave. I wanted it to be a place where people felt free to dance and get active without it feeling like a chore or a bore. I love working out and dancing to a variety of urban music and felt that there wasn’t enough fitness classes of the sort – so I based my event around this concept. I launched Fitness Blastoff in 2013 with a small group of 30+ women. With a lot of determination, passion, persistence – and not forgetting holding down a full-time job – it has grown to now 300+ women who enjoy an afternoon of raving, fitness style. I absolutely love what I do in the fitness industry and love to know that others look forward to attending my event.
In October, I’ll be kicking off Black History month with another Fitness Blastoff event. Taking place on Saturday 6 October, the event theme is The Culture Explosion – to represent how we can all have a BLAST using culture through dance and fitness. The event will feature a live DJ, club lighting effects and up to eight dance fitness presenters delivering fun workouts in Dancehall, Afrobeats, Soca PLUS more.
