At 55, I Accidentally Started a Fitness Company:
Sometimes the best discoveries happen when you least expect them. After thirty years in fitness, I thought I'd seen every training technique out there – until a hip replacement forced me to look deeper. What I found was Blood Flow Restriction training, and it lit a fire in me I hadn't felt in years. I couldn't stop talking about it, teaching it, or figuring out ways to share it. This new technique not only healed my body, it inspired me to launch an entirely new chapter of my career at 55.
The Spark of Something New
The results were immediate. For the first time in years, I felt strong again. Despite decades in fitness, nothing had delivered results like this. I couldn't shut up about it. I remember trying to explain BFR over dinner with friends in San Francisco, sounding like a complete zealot. I was stumbling over the technical details, but my enthusiasm was infectious. By the end of the night, everyone at the table wanted to try it, even though I'm pretty sure they still didn't understand exactly what it was. LOL
It started innocently enough – just Monday Zoom sessions teaching friends how to use BFR properly. Then those friends wanted to bring their friends, but the newcomers needed proper onboarding. I started creating detailed programs to get people up to speed, answering all the questions I'd had when I first started. That's when it hit me: people could buy BFR bands anywhere, but there was no real guidance on how to use them. Having struggled through the learning curve myself, I knew exactly what people needed to succeed with this technique.
Creating Seli Strength wasn't part of my plan, especially with two young kids and an existing business. But after 20 years, my gym had an amazing team and didn't need my constant attention anymore. I gradually shifted focus, carving out time to build something entirely new. The learning curve was steep – running a virtual business required completely different skills than managing a local gym where everyone already knew me. But instead of being overwhelmed, I was energized.
Each week as I got stronger, I took more chances with the business. Every time a client had a breakthrough that they didn't think was possible, their excitement kept me going.
At 55, I wasn't just moving better than I had in my 40s. I was dreaming bigger and putting myself out there in ways I wouldn't have before. The same technique rebuilding my strength was rebuilding my sense of what was possible.
Lessons Learned
The biggest challenge wasn't just putting myself out there online – it was translating decades of in-person coaching into something that worked through a screen. After 20 years of operating in my local bubble, I suddenly had to market myself to strangers and break down every movement into digestible content. Sometimes I felt totally incompetent stumbling through social media and digital systems. But my renewed sense of possibility kept me going. My belief in BFR's potential was stronger than my fear of looking foolish.
But here's the thing: this whole journey started because I couldn't stop talking about something that changed my life. I didn't set out to build a digital fitness platform. I just wanted to help people avoid the confusion and uncertainty I felt when first learning BFR, and I wanted more people to know about this highly under-appreciated technique that I knew would change more lives than just my own. Sometimes your next chapter isn't about inventing something new; it's about making the complex simple for others who need it.
Ready to give it a try?
