Today we’d like to introduce you to Tara Gesy.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Hi everyone!
My name is Tara Gesy & I’m the Founder & CEO of Adventure Bowls, an acai bowl food truck. At 32 years old I’ve taken numerous different paths to ultimately end up here.
At 23 years old my life looked much different. On June 19th, 2013. I was told by my primary physician that I was morbidly obese, tipping the scale at 204 pounds at just 5’5″ tall. This was the moment, you know? That single word shattered my world. I knew that I wasn’t in great physical shape, but I never took it seriously until I heard that. I decided that day as I sat in an office chair, tears running down my face, I would never hear that word in reference to myself again. It was the beginning of the rest of my new life.
I had no idea how I was going to make such a drastic change but I knew I had to. I had never stepped foot in a gym but joined my local fitness center, started being more mindful of my nutrition, & cut out alcohol entirely. In just 8 months I lost 64 pounds. I was in the best shape of my young adult life & it showed; in my relationships, my work, & in my mentality. Health & wellness had brought a new joy to my life.
During this part of my transformation, I was working in my degree field, business management & accounting. I had a lot of coworkers, friends, & family asking me for tips & tricks – excuse me, you’re asking ME? I thought. The joy of personally transforming my body & mind quickly became a burning passion to help others do the same.
In August 2015 I lost my dad, Michael, to a stroke. My world once again shattered in an entirely different way. I couldn’t change this. My life spun out of control as I grieved his death. I couldn’t find the strength to continue living my life when his was cut short. The fitness routine, regular diet, & mostly alcohol-free life I had been committed to for years went out the window. It wasn’t until 6 months after his passing I had the epiphany that he wouldn’t have wanted me to stop living just because he had. One of the things my dad was most proud of me for was taking control of my health & in that moment, I promised myself I would chase my passion in his honor.
In April 2016 I accepted a position managing 4 fitness facilities in the West Metro. In my time here I became a NASM Certified Personal Trainer, 200 Hour Registered Yoga Teacher, Stretch Therapist, & Nutrition coach. After outgrowing the company I was with & knowing the traditional outlook on living a balanced life was very skewed, I realized an opportunity to change the way people viewed making a lifestyle change.
In June 2019 I got the keys to my first business, WakeUp Fit in Mound, MN. WakeUp Fit encapsulated everything I had learned after 8 years in the fitness industry & gave me the control to focus on solely 1-on-1 training with my clients. From training & balanced nutrition, to sleep & mental health, my clients took the responsibility of their lives & it showed. I watched dozens of transformations happen in front of my eyes. Watching my clients change their lives literally changed mine.
Little did I know COVID-19 was on the horizon. COVID-19 did affect business, but what it actually did was open my eyes to the bigger need worldwide – healthy food options in the fast casual space. Food is the hardest barrier to overcome in achieving and maintaining fitness goals. Not only does making good choices sometimes come at the expense of how it tastes, it’s hard to know what’s truly healthy.
I couldn’t find a healthy, fast-casual solution to both of these challenges & it was my deciding factor to sell WakeUp Fit. I handed over the key on 3/31/2021.
I have learned in nearly the last decade that God’s purpose for my life is to create real change for youth & adults alike. I knew to continue impacting the world, inspiring people to move, & to do my part in ending the obesity epidemic I had to get into the healthy food space.
There were a few requirements: it had to be affordable for everyone, taste good, & give people the inspiration to get outside & move.
Adventure Bowls encapsulates all of these things in addition to giving back part of its profits to a non-profit, Big City Mountaineers!
I hit the road on 3/31/2022, just one year after selling my first business, for the Adventure Bowls debut. I chose to put Adventure Bowls into a food truck concept because while fitness & health is in my blood, I’m an entrepreneur in the deepest parts of my heart. Being a young, female business owner has come with many challenges. My dream as Founder & CEO of Adventure Bowls is to grow & expand by giving other entrepreneurs passionate about health, wellness, & business the opportunity to own their own truck. With trademarking in process, I hope to have Adventure Bowls as a growing franchise in the next year.
I feel truly fortunate to be in a position to impact those around me & help break barriers in bringing something desperately needed to the fast casual space!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Being a young female in business ownership has been my greatest challenge. I was told no more times than I can count in terms of attaining a small business loan & very often not taken seriously no matter how prepared I was. I was blessed to find a private investor who once went through the same obstacles. I am forever grateful.
I think most people are unaware of the true sacrifices it takes to start, build, and run a business – even the small ones. It’s late nights, early mornings, learning how to wear every hat, put out fires, constantly be learning, willing to change direction on the drop of a dime, and be present with your customers and staff. Adventure Bowls would not be possible without the amazing team of six young women I have & the matching passion they have for my brand. Making sure they are led by example, given ample room to learn & grow, & allowing them to be true to who they are in the process is as important to my company as happy customers.
I see my family less, I sleep less, I say no to most everything that doesn’t match my values & ethics personally and professionally, and I dedicate whatever it takes to make sure that Adventure Bowls becomes what I know God has in store.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Adventure Bowls is a 100% woman owned company. Adventure Bowls brings a new concept, food trucks, to the fast casual scene offering a menu that is entirely gluten free, dairy free, refined-sugar free, & vegan!
Our truck gets out to both public stops, fairs, festivals, corporate catering parties, weddings, birthday & graduation parties. With a small compared to the usual truck, a digital menu, & outdoor speakers, the truck fits every scene.
While we didn’t invent the acai bowl or bring it to the market, we are proud to say that we provide a healthy option that tastes good & feels good – we are proud to give back a portion of our proceeds to Big City Mountaineers, a non-profit helping our local kids get on outdoor adventures! Big City Mountaineers’ main hub resides in Colorado, but they have a Minneapolis hub that takes out MN Youth to the boundary waters.
We also stand proud of our same price, build your own bowl or signature bowl offerings, allowing you to get whatever it is you want without changing the cost.
Our concept is simple – to provide superfoods to help fuel your adventures, while giving back to the communities we reside in.
We’d love to hear about any fond memories you have from when you were growing up?
My favorite childhood memories are the traveling my family did together. It was through our vacations I realized how beautiful the world is & the eye-opening life experiences traveling gives you. My favorite family vacation was to Kona, Hawaii where we took an entire day to drive around the whole island. The views, off the beaten path places, & laughs we had as a family are unforgettable!
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.adventurebowls.
com - Instagram: @
adventurebowlsofficial - Facebook: @
adventurebowlsoffcial
Image Credits
Jive Media
