Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman

Show Notes:

Shoutout to:

Clean Eatz Cafes – Lake Norman

Transcript:

Narrator  
Welcome to The Best of LKN, a podcast featuring the best small businesses and the most influential professionals around Lake Norman, North Carolina. Each week, we spotlight those businesses and individuals that are making a positive impact here in the Lake Norman area. Thanks for joining us, enjoy the show.

Jeff  
Hey, everyone, welcome back to The Best of LKN, Lake Norman’s number one small business podcast and online resource. I’m super excited to be bringing you Episode 101 of the podcast. We’re setting the bar for the next 100 episodes with one of the most iconic brands to ever launch out of the Lake Norman area. Burn Boot Camp began in a parking lot in Huntersville just 10 years ago and quickly grew to become one of the most popular fitness concepts in the area. They’re now a national brand, with franchise locations throughout the US. The head trainers at Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman, Ashley Beasley and Ashley Hearn, join me to share the story of Burn Boot Camp, as well as the stories of their own fitness journeys. Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman is located in Cornelius, along with the Burn Boot Camp world headquarters. One of our sponsors, Clean Eatz Cafe in Cornelius is a neighbor of Burn Boot Camp and the owner of Clean Eatz Cafes Lake Norman, Sarah Conrad, was very kind in helping me connect with leadership at Burn Boot Camp. Big thanks to Sarah and Clean Eatz Cafes for their help in making this episode happen. I also want to thank our sponsor, Sodoma Law North, for helping us with the transcriptions for our episodes. The transcriptions make the podcast accessible to everyone, including the hearing impaired and can be found in the show notes for each episode. You can learn more about all of our amazing sponsors by going to our homepage at thebestoflkn.com. We’ll also have links to our sponsors in the show notes. One more thing before we begin, Burn Boot Camp has partnered with us in a special Instagram giveaway. Follow Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman and The Best of LKN on Instagram. Click the link to the form in our bio, fill it out and you’ll be entered to win a free 30-day membership to Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman and a $250 Lululemon gift card. Big thanks to Burn Boot Camp for the generous giveaway. Now let’s meet the head trainers that Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman, Ashley Beasley and Ashley Hearn.

Jeff  
Today we’re talking all things group fitness concept and joining me is the leader in that space in the Lake Norman area, and arguably nationally, Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman. Head trainers, Ashley Beasley and Ashley Hearn are joining me. Ashley Beasley, welcome to the podcast.

Ashley B  
Thanks. We’re excited to be here.

Jeff  
So excited to have you, I have been looking forward to featuring Burn Boot Camp on the podcast. And Ashley Hearn, welcome.

Ashley H  
Thank you. We’re so excited to be here and talk all things Burn Boot Camp.

Jeff  
Yeah, Burn Boot Camp is such an iconic Lake Norman, well, it’s such an iconic brand that was launched here in Lake Norman 10 years ago. We’re going to talk about that in just a minute and has just blown up to this national brand with just such an amazing following. Been really looking forward to featuring it on the podcast. Before we start talking about Burn Boot Camp, the concept, and the work that you and the team do in Lake Norman, I want to get a little bit of a background on our guests. So, if you could share a little bit about yourself, your fitness journey, and what led you to Burn Boot Camp. Ashley Beasley let’s start with you.

Ashley B  
Okay, yeah, so I actually was an operating room nurse, feels like another lifetime ago, but that’s kind of where I started out. And I have two kiddos right now, they’re age 15 and an 11-year-old, and when they were really young, I did stay home with them for a while. And I think like a lot of stay-at-home moms do, I kind of felt like I lost myself a little bit in that role. And it was all about the kids, all about family. And I actually had a neighbor who had started Burn Boot Camp with Devan, when he was in a parking lot and he drove the Burn Boot Camp mobile, a lot of Lake Norman locals will know exactly what I’m talking about. But she started with him, and she took me on a free Saturday, and I will say, I think I really found what I had been missing in my life. The community at Burn Boot Camp is absolutely like no other and it was really and truly what I was missing, and I really found myself at home there. And it really ignited a passion for fitness and for changing and transforming other people’s lives through that as well. And Devan kind of approach the subject with me about becoming a certified trainer under him and I really have never looked back and that was about eight years ago, seven and a half, eight years ago. And so, really haven’t looked back. And I’m passionate about this place and what we do and the impact that it makes. So, that’s really my backstory. And why I’m so passionate why I love this place because it changed my life.

Jeff  
Found your tribe.

Ashley B  
That is, we say, find your tribe and love them hard. And that is exactly what I did.

Jeff  
I love it. Yeah. And did you, when you joined Burn Boot Camp were the camps still being held in parking lots? I know that’s kind of how it started.

Ashley B  
I joined when he had just opened that building, it was the 311 building off of Gilead Road, so if you know your way around Huntersville, it was right across the street from the post office. So, I joined when he first opened that building, when those doors opened, I joined, and it was I think in January.

Jeff  
Wow. Very, very cool. Excellent. Ashley Hearn, share a little bit of your story.

Ashley H  
Yeah, you know, one thing that I think you’ll find is a common theme for all the people that end up working at Burn is that we started as members. And so, that’s my story as well. I actually have three children, and they are now 20, 18, and 7. So, I have a big gap between my second and my third child. And so, when my third daughter was born, I guess she was probably about four months old, I had always been a runner. That was my fitness before Burn. I had never picked up a dumbbell in my life. I did half marathons and all of that. And I had continued my training throughout my pregnancy. But after my daughter was born, I was in this weird place where I had this newborn and I had these preteens, and I just didn’t feel like I fit in anywhere anymore. Some of my friendships changed. And I was continuing to run because exercise was important to me, but I was very lonely. And a friend invited me to Burn, right, that’s kind of how it goes. She had been posting on her social media about this place constantly. And I was following her journey and just saw like her life transform not just her body, but her confidence and her friendships. And one day I asked her about it, and she’s like, well, you should just come and try it out. There’s this Groupon you can buy. Back then we did Groupon. So, I purchased the Groupon, and I talked a neighbor into going with me because I was terrified to go alone. It was like a Groupon for two. And so, we both went that first day. And it was, the workout was unlike anything I had done before, and I liked that because I liked a challenge. But I was just so blown away by the welcoming community there. And immediately people were introducing themselves to me, they were like asking for my phone number, and it was just wild. I couldn’t believe how friendly everyone was there. And Devan as well, you know, really like starting to see potential in me and calling that out. And so, I began to just feel so many things in my life transform, from a physical perspective, just a confidence level, I found the community I was missing, and it really was just such a pivotal time in my life where I needed that, and I found it at Burn. And so again, I became passionate about that too. It had changed my life, and so I wanted to be a part of it. And so, I started off as a Burn Ambassador, which is like our front desk operations. Because I just knew I wanted to be a part of this. I knew it was something really special. It was at the time when they were starting to franchise. And so, I was seeing all these other gyms pop up around me and I was like, man, this is so exciting and I want to be a part of it in some way. And then again, Devan approached me as well and said, you know, what would you think about training? And so, I got my CPT and that’s been about five and a half years ago that I’ve been training. So, very similar story. We have different stories and yet the common thread, right, is that Burn Boot Camp changes lives. And it was for us both just wanting to really be a part of taking that mission forward in our community and beyond.

Jeff  
That slogan about changing lives is really not an exaggeration. It really, it happens every day. We’re going to talk a little bit about that. Full disclosure, my wife is a Burn Boot Camp devotee. She’s been a member for a little over four years and we live over on the east side of Huntersville, so she goes to the Mallard Creek location. But it’s funny because she has her group of Burn friends, Burn sisters, I guess, I think that’s right. But she calls them the baker’s dozen. There’s 13 of them that are on this group chat, thread, they have their own group on Facebook, and it’s just amazing the community that she has found there at Burn.

Ashley B  
That’s awesome. We’re so excited to hear that. Yeah, the community, it spreads like wildfire and people are passionate about the people that they have around them and it’s just really awesome to be surrounded by a like-minded group of women, men, people that are there, and it’s just a come as you are kind of place and I think that’s what was so, so different, was that it was just accepting of who you are, where you were at, and it was a place that fostered being able to make the best friendships you’ve ever made, and that gets harder and harder as you get older and older, making friendships.

Ashley H  
Yeah, Burn really creates an environment of like, let’s lock arms and do this together, right? Whether that’s sweating it out on the floor, or that translates into kind of the hard things that we go through in life, you know, and so it’s really like having those people by your side that are with you through it thick and thin, and that’s more than just through a workout, it goes beyond that.

Jeff  
Reminds me of an interview that I listened to with Devan Klein, and the story he told about the early days of Burn Boot Camp in the parking lot days, where, at the end of a workout, whenever you know, half the members are just wanting it to end and it’s like, can barely make it to the end, and he watched as members were, you know, supporting each other and picking each other up and helping them across the finish line, so to speak, and it kind of, I think in that interview, he kind of said how for him and Morgan it kind of just clicked. Like all of a sudden, they realized that they were onto something really special.

Ashley H  
For sure.

Jeff  
Well, that kind of leads me into another topic that, you know, it’s a big topic, and we touched on it just a little while ago. And that is the how Burn Boot Camp has really changed lives for its members. And I would love for you to share if you have any, like examples, and I know there are probably 1000 examples you could think of and talk about, of how Burn has just improved and changed the lives of its members. But are there any that kind of standout? Ashley Beasley, you want to start that off?

Ashley B  
Yeah, so I do have a member that really stands out to me because I think when most people think about a gym and the transformation, it usually has a physical connotation like how people’s bodies change for the better in that, but what we do not only transforms people’s bodies, it transforms their minds, it transforms their lives. And we’ve had multiple members, but I can think of one in particular who struggled with anxiety very, very badly, was on a lot of anxiety medications, therapy for that, just really struggled to just live her everyday life free of anxiety. And coming on the floor and participating in our focus meetings, which we offer to all of our members, it’s just a one-on-one meeting with your trainer where we can sit down and get to know each other, and kind of form a plan and form that relationship. Through these focus meetings and through seeing her on the floor, the confidence that she built by seeing what she was able to do with her body and having the right people around her that built her up, she was able to come off of a lot of her medications. She was able to function even more normally in her everyday life. And so, that’s just a very big celebration for me and for that member. I’m you know, yes, most people do come to a gym to transform their body, but it just transcends that. Especially this place because we don’t just focus on what happens to somebody’s body, we focus on what happens to the rest of their life and how this can actually play out into their everyday role as a wife, a mother, a husband, a father, sister, brother, everything.

Jeff  
Fitness is so therapeutic, isn’t it? Not only does it boost immune system and alleviates so many chronic pains and conditions we have physically, but also mentally it really staves off depression and anxiety, as you mentioned. And it’s just so many benefits.

Ashley B  
Right. We say it a lot, but this is for some of our members, this is the absolute best 45 minutes they have of their day because I equate it as being a mom, like the rest of my day is going to be devoted to somebody else. And you can take this time, this 45 minutes, and absolutely devote it to you. And then you’re going to be able to be better in everything else that you do because you’ve filled your own cup so that you can pour into everybody else that’s depending on you.

Jeff  
I love it. I love that analogy. Ashley Hearn, do you have any examples you could share?

Ashley H  
Yeah, I have one that I think about a lot. I have, you know, obviously, I have a 20-year-old daughter now, but at the time she was she was probably 15 or 16 when I was training and one of the things I love about Burn is that, you know, we’re trying to model a healthy lifestyle for our children. And so, we had a member who came in and she was 15 at the time, so she was the same age as my daughter, and I began to meet with her with these focus meetings, and you know, as you know, our young people today are just inundated with images of what they’re supposed to look like, right? Through social media and other venues, and so they have this very warped image of what’s healthy. And so, this this young girl was no exception to that, right. She had in her mind what she thought she was supposed to look like and had been, you know, kind of starving herself, hair falling out, just not at all in a healthy place. Struggled with some really serious eating issues, which obviously we’re not qualified to handle, and she was working with a nutritionist at the time, but she came in, and we were able to reframe kind of how she thought about what healthy looks like, right? And how being strong and being confident and being able to have endurance on the floor. And all of those things was way better than being this little stick thin, you know, didn’t even have the energy to get out of bed in the morning because she was not taking care of herself. And so, to see this young girl began to just blossom in front of my eyes was one of the coolest things that I’ve ever witnessed. Because that’s something that she’ll carry with her entire life. Right? As women, it is a difficult thing. And as men too, we don’t talk about that often. But women and men both will struggle because of just the culture that we live in with social media right in front of us all the time, posting these, you know, airbrushed images, right, of what bodies are supposed to look like. And so, to teach them that strong is the goal, right? Confident is the goal, empowered is the goal, not skinny, right? And so, teaching her healthy eating habits, teaching her how to lift weights and all of those things, and it was just an amazing transformation. And everybody around her saw it. And so, that was really, she was inspiring, like, 30-year-old women, you know, this 15-year-old girl, and she was with us for several years until she went off to college. And so, that was just something that I was really proud of our brand and what we represent, because I think what we’re doing is we’re teaching young women these things that are going to carry them through life, right? It’s a mental shift, right, that they will hopefully embrace, and it will, it’ll be kind of tools in their toolbox, that they’ll have, as they navigate life as a young adult and into, you know, their older age that they’ll then pass on to their children. It becomes this generational mindset shift that we can hopefully instill in our younger members. And we also have women who are in their 60s, you know, and they’re passing that down to their children. And so, I do feel like it can really be this very powerful thing that goes forward generation after generation.

Jeff  
Yeah, you mentioned mindset shift. And that was the precise term that I was thinking of as you were kind of describing that story. I love that you use that term, because I think it is so applicable to so much of what we, so many of our challenges are between our ears, right? So, fitness is just a great way to overcome so many of those challenges. And you mentioned the story of this teenager, are a lot of the members or a lot of the students athletes? Or do have a lot of teens in the classes?

Ashley B  
You know, during the summer, we tend to get quite a few more of our school-aged athletes and our college, we have multiple members that we know we’re going to see them every year when they return home from college, but our age ranges just they really do run the gamut. We’ve got you know, 65 plus members, but we’ve got members all the way down to 13 that are coming with mom to try and you know, do a little bit better in in sports and maybe increase their endurance or increase their strength. So, it really does run the gamut. And that’s why I mean we pride ourselves in being personal trainers in a group setting. That means that every fitness level, every age is going to get the exact workout that’s going to be tailored to them that they need on the floor in that 45 minutes right next to somebody else who may need a different workout. So, that’s you know, all age ranges, all fitness levels, you’re gonna see it on the floor in every single camp all day long.

Jeff  
Yeah, I can tell you I’ve personally experienced boot camp-style fitness, group fitness classes, and it’s no joke.

Ashley B  
That makes our heart happy to hear.

Jeff  
It’s pretty brutal, actually. But it’s great. I mean, talk about the you know, the transformation and how quickly it happens when you participate in a concept like Burn Boot Camp and stay on schedule and get in that routine and it it happens so quickly and that’s how it becomes so addictive, isn’t it?

Ashley H  
Yeah, for sure.

Jeff  
We mentioned a little bit about the backstory of Burn Boot Camp. I know that we’re focusing, this episode obviously we’re highlighting Lake Norman, Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman. The company was founded here in the Lake Norman area and can you kind of shed a little bit of a light on what that first year may have been like, what did Burn Boot Camp look like originally?

Ashley B  
Well, our camps were definitely a lot smaller back then. We definitely had a lot less camp times but they were intense from day one. And we do pride ourselves on never having the same workout and I’m pretty sure since day one there has never been, the same workout has not been repeated.

Ashley H  
Never.

Ashley B  
But we have definitely evolved, and things have gotten better. Like if you look at the gym today versus what I started out in, we have a very beautiful gym. And it’s got a lot of bells and whistles and it’s shiny, but we, back in the day, like we got to work, and we did hard work with a whole lot less. I always tell this story, I think it’s funny, we now have a pull up rig, and for a lot of people like pull-ups are one of those things that they’re a little like, intimidating but it definitely carries a sense of accomplishment. So, we’ve got this beautiful pull-up rig in our gym now, Burn blue, and it’s shiny, but back in the day, the bars were like mounted on the wall. And we had like brown metal folding chairs that we would climb up on to get it and we didn’t really have bands. So, we kind of like use our feet to crawl up the wall to do these pull ups. But we didn’t mind getting down and dirty back in the day and just getting to work do with what we had. So, we’ve definitely evolved, but it’s been a very challenging workout from day one. And back then I’ll say Devan was innovated and he used what he had to create energy and create that excitement in the workout. But the community has been there since day one. I felt it immediately when I came like that, what you said, like addicted to Burn, like it’s a real thing. Like, I remember not being able to go on vacation because I was like, wow, I don’t want to miss my Burn family. It just becomes that impactful. But it’s definitely evolved. But the intensity has been there since day one.

Ashley H  
One other thing I’ll say that’s been intentional from day one that hasn’t changed is the protocol at Burn is very intentional. And Devan set that out right from the beginning in the parking lot, right. So, you know, we’re open Monday through Saturday, and the workout protocol is designed so that you can come six days a week, and you’re not going to overtrain the same muscle groups. You are not going to overuse them. So, we have a balance of strength and of conditioning. And it is very intentional, the way that week is laid out. So that someone can come on Monday, and they might do core conditioning, and then the next day, they might do some upper body and then they might come back the next day to speed agility workout, the more that’s lower body so that you can come those six days a week and really hit everything. Some conditioning, full-body strength, all of that within those six days. And that has been day one, whether it was in the parking lot, or in that original building in 311, or now where we have all the bells and whistles and the you know, innovative equipment that we’ve been able to kind of have. I mean, we work directly with a vendor to design equipment that works for this type of workout. But man, Devan did that from day one in the parking lot and set that up, and that’s why people’s bodies change, right? Because it is hitting everything within that week but you’re never overtraining your body, which is this huge benefit.

Ashley H  
Absolutely. I love the description of the, in the early days the old garage sale folding chairs, right? Yeah, but that’s how you know so many successful entrepreneurial journeys begin. You know, you start where you are with what you have, and it’s messy in the beginning, but wow, what a journey Burn Boot Camp has been. Speaking of which, franchise, we mentioned a little bit about franchising earlier, I’ve noticed that and obviously Burn Boot Camp has spread all over the country, with franchise locations all over the country now and continuing to grow. And I’ve noticed that a lot of the ownership are actually Burn members who are helping with the expansion of this company.

Ashley B  
Absolutely. I think that it lights a fire, and it ignites a passion for fitness in so many people. And they see how Burn has changed their lives and they immediately, you just can’t help but want to do that for other people. And when I say you really can’t help but want to do it, I’m one of those ones, I owned two Burn Boot Camps in in Georgia, because I just, I wanted to take that, and I wanted to spread that. So, a lot of our, especially our earlier franchise locations, were straight Burn Boot Camp Huntersville and Cornelius members that started right there with Devan and Morgan, and they saw the impact that it was making here locally, and they wanted to take that and expand out throughout the nation, and so that’s what they did. So, I will say that almost like the first generation of our franchises were majority Burn Lake Norman members, Burn Huntersville and Cornelius members.

Jeff  
That’s really cool. And it says so much about the brand that the members would believe in it so deeply that they would become sort of like evangelists for the brand and really stake their own financial, you know, take a lot of financial risk on their own to help grow the company because there’s just so much belief in the brand and the concept.

Ashley B  
Yeah.

Ashley H  
I think most people who do, you know, transition from member to franchise opener or franchise specialist or whatever, it’s because it’s not because they’re trying to make money, right? I mean, they’re not opening this gym, I mean, yes, it can be a revenue source, but they’re truly opening it because they want to change lives. They’ve personally experienced that, and they want to be a part of it. It really is, that’s the driver, that’s like, what motivates people to become a part of Burn Boot Camp and franchising is that they know that it’s like they can do something that’s going to have an impact and a reach beyond anything that they could potentially do in their other corporate America jobs. And so, they take that leap, because they want to be a part of spreading a mission that they really personally have experienced and want to get behind. So, yes, obviously, it’s a business, but it’s so much more than that to our franchise partners, they truly do like bleed blue, as we say. They bleed blue through and through, and they just want to give people those same experiences that they’ve personally had. And I think that’s a huge testament to the mission of Burn Boot Camp, and what it’s all about. It’s not just a business to any of our trainers, our you know, operations managers, our franchise partners, our HQ employees, it’s a mission and we all truly believe in it.

Jeff  
I love that you used the word mission. I talk a lot about Simon Sinek in my podcast interviews with usually marketing agencies, is usually when we get on the topic of Seth Godin and Simon Sinek. But Simon Sinek’s seminal TED Talk, Start with Why, and it sounds like the Burn expansion, is really the membership, just spreading their why, right? Just taking their why to other markets and changing lives. I think that’s really, really cool. It says a lot for the brand.

Ashley H  
One of the first things we do in our focus meetings with our members is to ask them to identify their why, you know, why are you here, because it is not easy. As you’ve already referenced, it’s a hard workout. I mean, it is going to be tough. And so, you’ve got to know why you’re there to push your body through something like that. There’s got to be a bigger picture and a bigger goal other than just, I want to get in shape. That’s part of the why but most of the time the why is deeper. You know, for like our older members, man, I want to be able to have the energy to play with my grandchildren or, you know, whatever it is, we really try to get them to identify that why because that’s the driver, right? And then that goes beyond just that one individual person into the whole group.

Jeff  
Absolutely. I love it. Before I forget, I do want to let listeners know that Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman is joining The Best of LKN in a giveaway. And that giveaway is going to be a one-month membership at Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman and a $250 Lululemon gift card. We’re going to promote this on Instagram, we’re going to run that the day that this episode goes live, we’ll start the promotion and we’ll run that for our listeners and our followers. So big, big thanks to Burn Lake Norman, Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman, really appreciate that. That’s very generous.

Ashley B  
Yeah, we’re excited to offer that out there to your listeners and to have you guys come in our doors and workout with us on the floor. And who doesn’t love a little Lululemon? Right?

Ashley H  
We’ll make sure you’re dressed for it.

Jeff  
We’re excited to introduce the brand to our listeners and followers who may not yet be introduced to Burn Boot Camp. And on that topic, I would love to, so joining a new fitness concept, being a newcomer can be a little intimidating. Joining really any concept, CrossFit, or bootcamp-style concepts. Coming in as sort of an outsider, a newcomer can be a little intimidating. Share some advice for new members or anyone who may feel a little overwhelmed about joining a group fitness concept. Ashley Hearn let’s start with you. Any advice in that area?

Ashley H  
Sure. We’ve all experienced that ourselves. Right? We were members first. So, I think probably I know Ash will talk about it, too. I remember my first day, remember I told you I like bribed a friend to come with me, because I was so nervous about it. But here’s what I will say. One of the things that we pride ourselves on at Burn Boot Camp is that community and so immediately when you come in, we’re going to pair you up with a veteran member who’s going to kind of come alongside you and walk alongside you to make sure that you don’t feel like you’re just standing there by yourself. I think that’s part of it is like well, do I even belong here? And so, the hardest part is walking through that door, right? Once you get through the door, you’re going to be greeted with a smile, you’re going to be greeted by people who really genuinely want to know you and want you to be a part of this community. And we’re going to put you together with that veteran member who is going to make sure that they kind of show you the ropes. And that’s just, it’s really important to us, we’re going to make sure as trainers, you know, one of our primary jobs is to make sure we know your name. We know if you have any injuries, limitations, modifications that we need to give you, we’re going to have that conversation with you so that you feel comfortable and safe working out here. That’s a big priority to us is, yes, this is a big gym, yes, we have a lot of people, but we really and truly do know our individual members. And that starts from the moment that you walk in the door. So, my advice would be just make it through the front door, and I promise from there on out, you will not feel alone, you will not feel uncomfortable, because we’re gonna make sure we just love on you till you feel like wait, I think I do belong here.

Jeff  
Yeah, I mentioned that recently in a conversation with Charlotte Business Group about the benefits of, so how it can be intimidating to join a professional networking group for the first time. And their response was the hardest part about joining the group is getting in the car and coming to a meeting and we’ll take care of the rest, and you’ll feel at home immediately. And that’s, I use the analogy, you always feel, they said, you always feel better after you leave than you know, then you did before you came, and I said yeah, it sounds like the gym. You always feel better when you leave the gym like you feel accomplished. And you’re beat but you feel like you know, it was worth it and you’re glad you went. Ashley Beasley, any advice for new members?

Ashley B  
Well, so here’s what I’ll say, is the nervousness and the intimidation factor that you may feel, it’s normal, and I’m pretty sure everybody has it. I definitely remember before when I knew I was gonna go before I actually went, every time I would drive by I felt like butterflies in my stomach, just driving by the place not even, I wasn’t even going. So, I can say that it’s normal and I think everybody has it. But once you get onto the floor, and like Ash said, like, once you’re paired up with that veteran member, you kind of realize it wasn’t warranted, you didn’t need to be nervous, because our community is so welcoming. And because of the way the workouts are designed we show modifications for absolutely everything that we do. So, even if you do need a modification, you’re going to be working out next to numerous people that are going to be using that modification too. You’re not going to feel singled out or feel like something’s not for you, because we have modifications that are going to cover every single fitness level. So, that intimidation factor feeling like gosh, do I even belong there? Is this somewhere I should be? The answer is yes, it absolutely is. And it’s probably what you were missing in your life that you didn’t even know. But like you said, the hardest step is just getting through the door. So, bring a friend because there’s always strength in numbers, right? So, that’s going to be my advice. Like, if you can get a friend to come join you, we’d love to have you guys on the floor with us. But even if not, that nervousness is normal. But once you get through the doors, you’re going to realize that this place becomes a second home for so many of us and there’s a reason for that.

Jeff  
Journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step, right? You just got to take that first step, get in the door, get your first workout in and start changing your life. Yeah, I appreciate that advice. I know from what my wife has told me, Burn is a judgment-free zone. No shame in modifying and scaling workouts, and there’s a place for everyone at Burn.

Ashley B  
Absolutely.

Ashley H  
Yes, for sure.

Jeff  
Before I close, I just want to say thank you so much to The Ashleys for joining the podcast. I promised I wasn’t going to say that, but I couldn’t resist. And we’re really excited to feature Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman on the podcast. Ashley Beasley, share with listeners how they can learn more about Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman and where you’re located.

Ashley B  
We are located, right now, if you know where Brewster’s Ice Cream, which most of our Lake Norman locals know exactly where it is, we’re right across the street from that, just passed Birkdale in the Kitten Place Plaza. So, very centrally located off of 73 and off of Catawba Avenue. So very, very close to home for a lot of your listeners. And if they have any questions, they can always message us they can DM us on our Facebook page, on Instagram, but you can always email the gym, burnbootcamplakenorman.com and make sure that you tell us any questions that you have. And we’d be glad to answer any of those and shed some light on anything that you may be a little nervous about.

Jeff  
Absolutely. I’ll make sure that I have links in the show notes and Burn Boot Camp, of course active on Instagram and Facebook. And the location there, yeah, there are so many other really cool small businesses in the area. I do want to give one shout out to Clean Eatz’s owner, Sarah Conrad was kind enough to help me connect with the team at Burn Boot Camp, so that’s one business for sure that I’m there every week getting my meal plan.

Ashley B  
Our members adore Clean Eatz, and we partner very, very closely with them. And Sarah, we consider a good friend of ours as well, and our members have had a lot of results utilizing their meal plans and their stuff is amazing. And we stand behind their products as well.

Ashley H  
And they’re right across the street. So, you literally can come get your workout in and then head over to Clean Eatz and pick up your meals. And definitely want to suggest to your listeners if they want to learn more to follow our Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman Instagram page, because we do post in our stories frequently, what those workouts are going to look like. So, that might give them a little bit of a glimpse into a day in the life at the Lake Norman gym. They’ll be able to see some of those workouts beforehand, and so that also will help, you know, alleviate any of that like, I’m not sure about this, you can get a glimpse as if you’re right there on the floor with us through those Instagram stories. So, follow us on Instagram and you’ll get a lot of information for sure.

Jeff  
That’s a great point. Yeah, for sure. Have a look at the Instagram account and the stories and have a look at what life looks like at Burn Boot Camp. Definitely. I want to remind listeners also to follow The Best of LKN on Instagram for our giveaway that Burn Boot Camp has been so generous to help us out with, so very excited about that. Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman head trainers, Ashley Beasley. Ashley, thanks for joining the podcast.

Ashley B  
Thank you for having us.

Ashley H  
Thank you, and The Ashleys is fine. We get it all the time.

Jeff  
And Ashley Hearn. Ashley Hearn, thanks again for joining the podcast. Really appreciate it.

Ashley H  
Thank you for having us on.

Jeff  
Big thanks to The Ashleys for joining the podcast and sharing the Burn Boot Camp story. And congratulations to Burn Boot Camp on their 10-year anniversary. Friends, you can learn more about Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman at burnbootcamp.com and follow them on Facebook and Instagram at Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman. I’ll have those links as well as the links to our sponsors here at The Best of LKN in the show notes for this episode. As always, you can find the complete show notes for all of our episodes at the home for Lake Norman’s number one small business podcast and online resource www.thebestoflkn.com. While you’re there, be sure to sign up for our weekly email newsletter. It’s free, easy to sign up, and a great way to stay up to date on our latest content. Our Instagram giveaway with Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman begins on Thursday, April 7th, the day this episode is released, and ends on Wednesday, April 13th. Burn Boot Camp will draw the winner of the free 30-day membership and $250 Lululemon gift card on Thursday, April 14th. So, follow The Best of LKN and Burn Boot Camp Lake Norman on Instagram and enter to win by following the link in our Instagram bio. We have a couple new articles on the website this week featuring some amazing local restaurants and other businesses. Check them out at thebestoflkn.com. Friends, thanks as always for following along and getting to know more about the Lake Norman small business community as we connect with the best and brightest in our area each week. And thanks so much for supporting local small businesses whenever you can. We’ll be back next week with another episode, same time, same place. So, until then, cheers Lake Norman. Bye for now.

Narrator  
We hope you’ve enjoyed this episode of The Best of LKN. For more information about this podcast, show notes, video episodes, and links to our featured businesses, please visit www.thebestoflkn.com. We publish episodes weekly, so be sure to subscribe and stay up to date. Until next time, cheers Lake Norman.