Today we’d like to introduce you to Margo Hurst
Hi Margo, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My story from the Broadcasting World into Sports Training took many twists and turns before I got to where I am today. I absolutely love all sports and initially went to college with a dream of becoming a sports reporter. Karen Kornacki was an icon in my life that I aspired to one day become just like her.
I took my first offer as an on-air personality in 1993 for TV62, I was the Kids Crew host doing interviews and vignettes during kids and teen programing I figured with my foot in the door I could easily transition into sports once I finished my college degree. As a college cheerleader I loved talking and encouraging people to be stronger and healthy and new that fitness and athletics always held importance in my life. I kept my body in top condition with 5AM workouts and better nutrition than the average student.
After graduation I met the man of my dreams we were married and immediately started a family. I continued on air for a few more years until the television station closed it’s doors in 1999. I was devastated. At this moment my career path had made a huge shift and I wasn’t really sure who I was or what I was going to do now, but I loved this little baby so I decided to transition into being a stay at home mom and set my sports reporting dream to the side.
We continued to grow our family, but after baby number 4, I suffered from postpartum depression. I no longer fit in the athletic body I once knew and I was carrying 30 extra pounds on my frame. This was horrible for me, and I found myself hiding from the people that I loved being around. My self confidence was at an all time low and I hated how I looked and felt. My sister in law started to see the shift in my personality and invited me to a Christian Women’s Retreat in the mountains of Colorado. The retreat was an in-depth study into the book “Captivating” by John and Stasi Eldredge. Stasi was there as the key presenter for the weekend. Each day, as she spoke the heart of the book, it became more alive in me and repaired my brokenness, depression and boosted my confidence. I was reminded that I am beautiful and captivating even though I was no longer a television personality, signing autographs, interviewing iconic people like Will Smith (during Fresh Prince Days), or Jessica Beal ( on 7th Heaven). By finding my identity I realized what others saw and thought about me at first glance, was not who I was inside and where my heart was towards encouraging others.
The last evening of the conference Stasi Eldredge was speaking on the name God has for you, your spiritual name. As she was speaking I had a vision of me in a giant ballroom of a castle; it was dark, cold, and silent. As I was walking through the room there were rows upon rows of cold cement slabs about waist high with women in beautiful dresses lying there as if they were dead. As I continued to walk down the aisles with hundreds of women lying quietly around me, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me telling me not to be afraid. That they in fact weren’t dead, they were sleeping, he then told me that my name was Living Stone and that he wanted me to wake them up! Help them off of their stones and teach them to see how beautiful they are, fill them with confidence so they can live free and comfortable as the person God created them to be. Once I pulled myself out of the vision, and was processing the name Living Stone, I got goosebumps, because my middle name literally is Livingston! I was gob smacked by this encounter with the Lord that I have never experienced before and left the conference recharged and refreshed with a different perspective of the woman I would see in the mirror everyday. Sadly, at the time, I had no idea how to put into motion what I envisioned, so I pocketed the encounter and continued my daily activities as a mom.
Four years later, all the kids were in school and it was time for me to go back to work. I had been out of the television industry for fourteen years which was too long to go back, so I got a position as a High School Substitute teacher in the Center School District. 1 year as a sub and the principal informed me that she was looking for an assistant to the Athletic Director and she thought I would be a perfect fit for the job, so I applied and was hired.
Yes! Back into the sports world I went. I had to return to school to earn a Masters Degree in Athletics Administration to complete my requirements for the position, so to help pay for my education I tested and became a Certified Personal Trainer, focusing on strength and conditioning for athletes, not connecting the dots yet that Personal Training was my true calling. I coached many different sports during my time at Center and became a tumbling specialist for both a competitive cheer gym and gymnastics facility as well. I knew helping and encouraging athletes to meet their fitness and sport goals was a passion in my life, but at the time it was just a hobby to earn extra money.
In 2018 I was having a conversation with a close friend of mine, Johanna Lucas, about where and what my long term plans were. I felt like I was in a weird season in my life, heading closer to age 50 and feeling lost in my career, when something triggered while we were talking and I was reminded of that vision I had 11 years earlier. It was then that I knew I had waited too long and I needed to act on what the Lord spoke to me. With her support and encouragement, I decided after 10 years in education it was time to leave the school.
I opened my own Boutique Training Facility in Overland Park renting a space in Johanna’s Cheer Gym where I could focus full time on training both athletes and women/moms who wanted to get back in shape, become stronger and feel more confident in the skin they are in. I could relate to each individual I encountered and helped, I had been the young athlete eager to learn and perfect my skills, I had been the Career Women too busy to take care of myself because I was too focused on being the best at my profession, and I had been the mom loving and supporting her kids and forgot that my body and energy was important too.
Today I have grown my business and opened a second facility in Crown Center where I began mastering a new phase of training through Correctional Strength and Postural Alignment. I had so many clients coming in with different pain issues and injured athletes needing muscle strengthening routines so I decided dive into the world of correctional exercise and discovered the route of most pain comes from the muscular misalignments in the body. Back to studying I went at now age 49 and became a Certified Postural Strength Practioner using the Alignsmart technology.
As currently the only practice offering this particular specialized training in Kansas City, I have been able to help business professionals, and injured athletes get out of back, hip and knee pain by creating customed correctional strength training routines that are easy to learn and will last a life time, allowing clients to be pain free without medication or surgery.
Learning to strengthen and train the body within all 3 planes of movement has been a game changer for my clients.
Included in my business upgrades, I invested in a Styku 3D Biometric Scanner. The Styku Scanner is a noninvasive Biometric Scanner similar to both the In-Body and Dexa Scan without radiation exposure. With 600 Cameras capturing the body the scanner is able to take over 25 ideal measurements of the body without calipers or tape, in addition to Bone Mass readings in both percentage an pounds, Muscle Mass, Fat Mass, Android Mass, Gynoid Mass, Visceral Fat and more. The Styku machine also has the capability to predict the risk of preventable diseases from heart disease, diabetes, and cancers, In addition to assessing and creating manageable and realistic training plans around an individuals fitness and nutrition goals,
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I think for the most part my career path has been a pretty smooth road other than going back to college at age 40 and then again at 49. But I found my grades in my Masters program were night and day compared to me in my early 20’s. I never thought I would have left the world of education but I am happy I took the leap to leave and open my own business. Each year I personally grow stronger and more effective in my industry plus now at age 50 with 4 kids and a grand child I am in my best shape mentally and physically.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
I am a Boutique Fitness Facility that specializes in Postural and Corrective Strength for adults and athletes, Functional Strength Semi Private Training, and Fat Loss and Nutrition Guidance.
I help my clients with both Fat Loss and Pain by using an advanced postural assessment and corrective exercise system to optimize the foundation of their body, helping those suffering from pain due to injury, sciatica, knee, ankle issues and more, find relief and improve their overall function.
I believe the foundation for perfect health and fitness is your postural strength. For example if you were to consider your body as if it were a car, and that car was in misalignment causing you to repeatedly wear the same tire down again and again resulting in you continually replacing it, in addition the car won’t handle as well, it will be difficult to drive and less safe on the road.
Rather than continually replacing a bad tire the smarter course of action would be to fix the misalignment which then eliminates a multitude of other issues and allows you to enjoy the full performance of the car. In the same manor our bodies in misalignment not only keep us in pain but hinder us from completing daily activities, interrupt rest, lowers the quality of our sleep and prevent us from enjoying the best quality of life we deserve.
This is the essence of what I do. As currently the only Practitioner in KC I use the the Alignsmart Technology to objectively measure structural misalignment in an individual, and create personalized sequenced corrective routines that are then provided on an easy to use interface allowing them to be proactive daily for a lifetime of optimum performance. With postural correction clients will improve heart, lung, gut function and become pain free.
I am also excited to note that this year I invested in a 3D Biometric Scanner that calculates all essential measurements of the body in 3D. With 600 IR Cameras this scanning system is comparable to a DEXA scan without the risk of radiation exposure. Clients are able to not only see there image with over 24 distinct measurements of the body it also provides Bone Mass Percentage, Bone Mass in Pounds, Fat and Muscle Mass in Percentage, Fat and Muscle Mass in Pounds, in addition to Android Fat, Gynoid Fat, Visceral Fat Mass, Fluid Retention, Current BMI and Weight, Plus it has the capability of predicting with up to 98% accuracy of any preventable risk factors one can endure including heart disease, diabetes, cancers and more.
After each scan I am able to review results and overlap and compare images as progress improves with their new or current health and fitness programs. One can tangible see and become excited as they reach closer to their goals and expectations.
With postural strength being my primary focus of business I continue to also help busy women ages 30 and up with their fat loss and nutrition needs. Many of them use the Postural Training as their warmup series before their strength training session, allowing them to be in proper alignment before bearing weight and force to their muscles for performance.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
Professional Collaborations include chiropractors, pain management specialist and athlete performance programs for competitive cheer and gymnastics. At the most basic level, direct word of mouth and referrals from my current clients. My goal is to branch out and offer onsite assessments at events like Race and Fitness conference booths, partner with HR departments to help their employees in need of preventative care after injuries, and collaborate with more athlete performance programs offering a variety of sports.
Pricing:
- $125 for initial visit and access to the personalized series of exercises for 2weeks.
- $43.50 per session Semi Private Functional Training and Fat Loss
- Package Pricing available and Monthly Payment Plans
- $80 3D Body Scan with 60min consultation
- $55 3D Body Scan without consultation
Contact Info:
- Website: https://KCACstrong.com
- Instagram: kcathleticcut
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KCACStrong
