Sandy Irwin – Embodiment of Fitness, Fun and Family

Meet Sandy Irwin!

In the 80s she had a television time slot on CBC just after the 20-minute workout called “The Fitness People with Sandy Irwin”. Picture brightly coloured leotards and acrylic leg warmers on a perfectly toned body. Five days a week she would lead high energy workouts on a simple platform with two others in back. Her TV gig lasted two seasons and was just one of many stepping stones on her 29-year career in the health and fitness industry.

Sandy Irwin started working in the fitness industry when she was 16 after taking a summer job teaching fitness classes at a ladies fitness club in Sheridan Mall in Mississauga.

In the early days of the high impact fitness era, Irwin was one of the first certified personal trainers in Toronto. She worked with celebrities and taught fitness classes at prestigious clubs including all 13 clubs under the Sports Clubs of Canada organization.

She’s paid her dues during the 1990s she was teaching more than 20 step and aerobic classes a week which eventually took its toll on her knees.

Toward the end of that decade she would carry McKenzie, her oldest, from club to club when he was just an infant.

Today, Irwin brings her expertise to the Headwaters region where she now lives with her two children McKenzie, now 12, and nine-year-old Nicole.

A few minutes with Irwin makes you want to get active.

Irwin’s infectious, youthful energy is probably due to her rigorous training schedule. She still teaches many high-energy classes, albeit in slightly more muted active wear and in a much more personal setting.

Nearly three years ago she transformed her basement into a training studio and started her company, 2bfitt.

Her brightly lit, pristine studio accommodates up to 10 people on the mats or in small group classes with spin bikes.

Her clients here in the hills are varied. Some are business people who need to book special training time, some are recovering from injury and others still are retired clients that want to be healthy and enjoy their senior years.

In addition to her studio, she introduced Corporate Wellness Days at Le Scandinave Spa in Collingwood. She takes 12 men and women to the Collingwood spa for a day of pilates, yogafitt and plunges in Scandinavian baths.

Sandy also spends a few weeks each summer at Olympia Sports Camp heading the GoodLife fit camp to 13 to 18 year old girls.

This year she’s expanding her business and very excited about the new possibilities.

In March she hired two trainers and started offering an additional 10 classes out of a second studio at the Historic Alton Mill. The new wellness studio offers baby fit, yoga and pilates classes.

“This is my year to really make something of it,” she says of 2bfitt.

How does she do it? The single mom says it was all about finding a balance. She had to learn to set limits.

She made a conscious decision to wait until Nicole started school full-time before starting up her business. Once she did, she had to learn to separate work hours from from family time.

“When I’m there it was hard for the kids to understand that I was not here for them,” she says. So now she has sacred days set aside just for her kids such as ski trips or Wednesday dinner and movie night.

For Sandy, other challenges of trying to build a home-based business are the typical financial start-up challenges.

Raising a family and building on limited resources is very hard. Unlike working out of a big city, her local population to draw on is limited, so building a cliental can take longer.

However, she feels the benefits far outweigh the challenges of running a business and raising a family in the hills.

“I wouldn’t move back to Toronto,” she says. “Here you can leave your doors unlocked. You can get places and it isn’t hectic.”

Another benefit she says is that she is there for her kids on snow days, sick days or for those emergencies that do come up.

“And my clients know that if my kids need me, I’m there.”

With no cable television to veg out in front of, her kids pursue their own active interests. McKenzie skateboards and snowboards. Nicole plays soccer and dances and if there is a free space occasionally joins a spin or pilates class.

So, what’s next for Sandy?

She plans to take the next three to four months building and booking the second studio. After that, she says she wants to build her corporate and private spa days.

“I want the business to grow. More people, more clients. I’d like a team of 10 people,” she adds explaining that she would like to get the two studios to a point where she’s employing a group of like-minded people, all looking for the same kind of balance and happy families.

“You’re going to get old anyway. Choose to enjoy the journey.”

Sandy’s favourite weekly activity

Hike at along Hockley Valley or Porterfield Road

Favourite place to shop

Dufferin Garden Centre

Favourite place to eat

One99

BY LARA KING