Today we’d like to introduce you to Bailey Swensen.
Hi Bailey, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born and raised in Crosby area. Ready for adventure and something new, I moved to Duluth for four years where I studied Exercise Physiology and earned my Bachelor’s of Science. Upon graduating I landed back home and ended up working locally for four years. At the beginning of 2021 amidst a crazy world, I felt like my life was taking a new direction. In February 2021 I left my fitness job out of frustration and despair, I lacked hope for my career in the health and wellness industry. I was stepping into the vast unknown, knowing I had the world at my fingertips but not quite sure what I was going to do with it. The same day I left my job, I stopped into Uplifted Wellness Studio to get a gift certificate from one of the massage therapists renting a room in the back. The owner/founder of the Wellness Studio heard my voice and came back to ask me (not for the first time) to teach a TRX Suspension Training class while their other instructor was on vacation. Reluctantly, I agreed to a short-term, six week stint, because other than helping my mom run her greenhouse, what else did I have to do during the slow season. Well that stint turned into a regular twice a week instructor, which turned to manager and eventually, in 2025 lead to Owner of Real Life Wellness. Through the support of Jill and her team, my family and friends and this community alongside divine intervention, I went from walking away from the fitness industry to owning a studio right in the downtown of my community that raised me. Six months in and we haven’t missed a beat. In fact, we have grown and expanded.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
As the people say, hindsight is 20/20 and looking back, I’ve had a relatively smooth road. However, the journey to where I stand today felt riddled with struggles. In the words of Dave Ramsey, “business is great until you get people involved.” PEOPLE are what I love about my business but it comes with challenges. Starting with myself. I experience a common “imposter syndrome” paired with that self-doubt. I often ask myself, “what have I gotten into?” and “what if I fail?” but it is the PEOPLE that come around me, lift me up and remind me that what I am doing is good, is serving them and that I am accomplishing my mission. The team that Jill, our previous owner, built around herself stuck around, which in and of itself is a blessing. These incredible women are who have driven this business for over 9 years. and they chose to stay with me in our new chapter. Beyond being an incredible foundation for this business, they have welcomed new instructors and styles with dignity and grace. Groups don’t always offer that, especially when change is involved. but these PEOPLE are special. I get to honor these people by providing flexible employment with room to be creative and to be mothers, daughters, sisters, cousins, friends, first, instructors second. This means I help navigate and juggle schedules that include other jobs, family and travel. Some days when this feels impossible, another person steps in and provides a solution better than we could have dreamed. Maneuvering these hurdles are all in the name of our students. These incredible PEOPLE show up day in and day out. They don’t just support me financially but through an arm around my shoulders and words of gratitude, hope and encouragement and through their continued presence in our space. Meeting the needs of so many willing participants has been no small task but offers that satisfying exhaustion that us servant leaders relish in at the end of the day. That exhaustion isn’t one that goes away with sleep or checking items off a to-do list but through relationships that somedays just don’t feel like they have the room they need in your life. While I believe a “work-life balance” is ambiguous, I think that is achieved through the challenge of finding the sweet spot of living out your purpose and cultivating the connections with the PEOPLE of your life. And especially for those of us building and growing businesses, THAT is the biggest challenge along the way.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Real Life Wellness Studio, formerly Uplifted Wellness Studio, is located in the heart of downtown Crosby. Started by Jill with passion as a mission, it quickly grew into a full blown business that is ever evolving. The business started as offering a couple yoga classes and massage and has quickly turned into over 10 classes a week of several disciplines, hosting multiple massage therapists, providing for personal trainers and inviting outside special events in and we still feel like the sky is the limit. The team at the studio specializes in relationship and meeting people where they are at in their wellness journey through modalities of yoga, strength training, TRX Suspension training, Pilates, massage and personal training. We are most known for our yoga classes but quickly becoming a hub for all things group fitness with new faces inquiring about renting space from us every week to host their own wellness class.
Just as we are flexible with our team, we aim to accommodate our participants with not just options of classes, but through a variety of participation levels and pricing. Real Life Wellness is about just that: Real Life. We believe wellness should be accessible and adaptable-whether you choose a convenient membership, a flexible punch card or a spontaneous drop-in, we offer options that fit your life.
Outside of the pride we have for the variety of classes we offer, there is a special little project close to our heart. This little flame inside Bailey was fueled when Crow Wing County’s Public Health Nurses approached her to collaborate on a project to serve new moms. A month after taking over the studio, we were able to launch a FREE strength class for expecting mothers and mothers up to 24 months postpartum. With a team of nurses and excited support from the team and surrounding studios, this class offers a space for these mom’s to show up for themselves WITH their babes and find safe ways to workout. The staff onsite help with the littles while Bailey and other instructors lead an exercise class with special focuses on some of the challenges they face through the season of life that is growing a human, bringing them into this world and learning how to operate in a new sleep pattern. We are so proud to serve 4-6 (and growing!) moms and their children a week.
Whether someone is attending our special classes or a staple in our schedule, we take pride in bringing you “just what you needed” that day. Our instructors are dedicated to serving the people and participating in wellness right alongside you. Our mission isn’t just for the die-hard members we have, but for the ones that can’t make it weekly or are visiting for just the weekend. Real Life Wellness aims to serve those that walk in our door and give us the precious gift of one of their most valuable possessions, their time.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
The wellness industry is an ever evolving industry in both science and technology. I have been studying health and wellness for over a decade now and science has pushed it forward in leaps and bounds. From cookie-cutter style data put out to the public to approaching behavior change and individualizing programs based on broad based science, the industry is sure to look much different in the next decade. Often conversations about AI are brought up and people in my position are often asked “do you think you’ll have a job in the next few years? What about video replacing you? What about AI powered mirrors?” and so on. However, AI will never replace the human connection that our technology based society so desperately craves. The data is telling of this. Sure, the name brand videos and equipment right in your home with the language and lingo that makes you feel seen and heard is great, that has actually impressed even me in how well they have done with that. However, there is something about your workout buddy expecting you to be on time to the gym or your personal trainer nudging you when you don’t show up or the other members of the group fitness class reaching out to have coffee after a morning class. All that to say, I believe the fitness industry will grow with technology as many of the industries will. I also believe that technology will also push people more into the in-person, human-to-human modalities of health and wellness, specifically around fitness.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://reallifewellnessstudio.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reallifewellnessstudio/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reallifewellnessstudio
