Meet Nadya. She has lived a full 66 years, with big plans for years 67++! Nadya has paved an unconventional path for herself since her early adult years. Born in South Africa, educated in Canada and Austria, she started her career in Antigua and Venezuela, focused in hospitality. In 1989, Nadya and her young family settled in Morriston, Ontario, where she opened a retail store that sold Canadian goods but also Chinese wedding armoires, altar tables and kilim rugs. At 46, Nadya made a bold move. She went back to school to obtain a teaching certificate and embarked on the next chapter of her career: teaching English to International students! For 18 years, Nadya progressed in her career, not only...
Meet Patti. A 64 year old retired Forester from Victoria, British Columbia, Patti is the epitome of the West Coast outdoorsy woman. She keeps motivated and socially active by cycling, scuba diving, kayaking, alpine and skate skiing, and more! Patti represented Canada at numerous international Underwater Hockey tournaments (who knew?!), and competed in swimming, cycling and triathlon at the Over 55 British Columbia Games. Patti harnesses her passion for physical activity in many unique ways. When she was 52, she cycled across Canada and wrote a book about it: FromSea to Shining Sea - available on Amazon. She is an active volunteer, providing her gardening skills in the Takata Japanese garden at Horticulture Centre of the Pacific (Victoria, BC) while also teaching...
Emily Rapley founded Body by Rapley (BBR) in response to the Covid-19 lockdowns. As a professional dancer, Emily found herself underemployed when the lockdowns began so she quickly pivoted her career to embrace another love of hers: Barre fitness. After months of sharing almost daily live complimentary classes on Instagram, Emily launched BBR, a virtual fitness community, in September 2020. Now she’s gaining more followers every week and building a resilient community of participants who join for her live classes and growing library of on-demand workouts. What is Barre Fitness? Barre classes are fun, upbeat and energizing! Done to the beat of the music, originating from dance we challenge our balance, stability and flexibility. Don’t worry, I am with you...
Margot McKinnon’s goal is the same today as when she opened her first Body Harmonics Pilates & Movement Studio in Toronto in 1998: “to help people transform their lives through movement.” To provide greater accessibility to its diverse client base, Body Harmonics began expanding its online presence in 2015 with the launch of its Shoptalk blog and on-demand online classes, including its free Mondays With Margot video series. In early 2020, Margot and her team of more than 50 movement and health professionals, responded quickly to the pandemic-inspired demand for its studio, education and wellness services by making them available live online via Zoom. Below, Margot provided some personal insight for our H&H community! What should our readers know about Pilates?...
Nicole has been working in the marketing industry for 30+ years. She started her career working in Brand Management at Nestle, escalated to managing a Joint Venture for Nestle and Coca-Cola and then she co-founded BOOM! Marketing. Nicole now guides emerging organizations and those in need of a refresh from a strategic and operations perspective. Her vast knowledge of General Management, Marketing and Operations poises her to turn stagnant organizations, brands and startups into profitable, sustainable ventures. Given her passion for marketing and specifically experiential marketing, Nicole coined the term Adversperience and wrote a book on the topic which is in the process of being turned into a textbook. She also serves on Boards, teaches at the Post Graduate level,...
