FOUNDER
Hi! Thank you for visiting Self-Love and Fitness™.
I am Karisa Karmali, Founder of Self-Love and Fitness™, ISSA Certified Personal Trainer, ISSA Certified Online Fitness Coach, and NASM Certified Nutrition Coach with a focus on Sports Nutrition.
I have been featured in Forbes, Thrive Global, and Thrive Insider.
I am currently focusing on fitness equipment sales and online workout plans to help athletic and driven people reach their next level.
This area of focus cuts through the time/logistical/bandwidth limitations of 1-on-1 coaching and allows me to also make time for affiliate marketing, brand deals, sleep, and mental health which isn't an acceptable trade-off for business success especially with my ADHD (which requires intentionality with my focus).
I am finally rebelling against robotic hustle culture and opting for an innovative/creative way to reach my niche market. To me, passion does not forgo sleep. Quality control is also major for me, so trimming down business operations had to happen.
Biggest life lesson so far:
Never forgo your mental peace and some clutter-free schedule space in the name of "growth" because you can't grow anything from a hospital bed.
Sacrifices might have to be made to get where we want to go, but it will never be health for me. Who cares if the "potential" is high, the means/daily vision matters. Process/journey/methods almost matters more than the destination.
Back to the main program:
I wanted to make space for affiliate marketing because I find that promoting wellness products that I love also inspires others (we can inspire simply by being/embodying certain values).
I needed to make this more scalable and find what could be done at a high quality even as a solo-preneur (with suppliers and contractors as-needed).
Doing it "all" is a recipe for failure and an early grave, here's to focus! Doing less and doing it with excellence outweighs small tidbits of fractured focus (choosing fewer things rather than too many things which results in nothing in the end)... If expanding breaks mental clarity, it's not a strong foundation.
Hustle culture nearly killed me. Work ethic is innovation on set hours. I value recharging and health first.
The brand:
Our specialty? Helping athletes, driven professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders get back on track or level up through quality equipment, fitness plan solutions, and athletic lifestyle inspiration.
Pushing myself mentally through fitness has helped me in so many ways, that is why I love high athletic goals.
A bit more about the brand story and my obsession with giving back:
Aside from inspiring highly driven people to level up athletically since a strong body is connected to a strong mind...
This brand was built as a mechanism for me to channel adversity into something positive.
Building my own business is also a huge part of ensuring that I can be in a position to give back to the charities I care about, mostly those around Youth in Care because I was one.
Being a recipient of the Youth Social Entrepreneur Award from Algonquin College for Community and Social Responsibility (2011), I want to continue to inspire others with difficult upbringings or circumstances to take control of their futures.
Aiming for a measure financial independence is not about chasing material things for the sake of it, it’s about leaving a locked-in legacy for charities we care about, and inspiring others as to what is possible by simply leading by example and being ourselves.
The odds were against me, I grew up in foster homes (since the age of 4); however, I would never call myself a victim. Why? It was just fuel for me.
Fitness helped me and is still helping me build self-trust, which translates into self-love and resilience. I want to share my lifestyle and journey to inspire others. My whole life, I have been told to not trust my gut, intuition, and inklings because of the childhood trauma, I was told I was different (like it was a bad thing, I now embrace it).
The fact that I still figured it out, fended for myself, got phenomenal grades, found good teachers, mentors, and ride or die friends means that I can't be a terrible decision maker. In essence, reminding ourselves that we get to define ourselves is so important.
Fitness continuously reminds me of my mental strength and it is to be prioritized daily for continued resilience.
We can always win in the end if we use adversity to our advantage.
Self-love also fuels self-discipline, which is needed for athletic performance, and to navigate the mental highs and lows of life in general.
- KARISA KARMALI
Features:
The Best Foods for Muscle Gain, According to Health Experts (Forbes Health)
Karisa Karmali, Founder of Self-Love and Fitness™ (Thrive Insider)
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