Today we’d like to introduce you to Breanna Schukar.
Hi Breanna, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m the owner of fabMamaKC. Nebraska Native > Phoenix about a year before my five years old Audrey was born. My husband and I were so excited to start a family! Unfortunately, I suffered a miscarriage shortly after moving to Phoenix and I was crushed. With all of my family and friends back in Nebraska, this sent me into a very depressing hibernation mode.
When I finally learned that I was pregnant with Audrey, that didn’t change much. I was a full-time student with a full-time job and I never really made time to find a new tribe. Fast forward to April 2016, Audrey arrived on April Fool’s Day and I was over the moon in love with this little girl…. which leads to even more hibernation. My husband sat me down when Audrey was about four months old and had a little intervention with me. I was deep in postpartum depression, barely leaving the house, and had lost interest in every pre-baby hobby (including fitness).
After a quick internet search, I found a local moms’ workout group and I quickly signed up. When I went for the first time, I left in tears. I had been alone for so long that I didn’t even know how to be around people anymore. I was determined to make it work. So I went back the next day and it got a little easier each day. Eventually, I had made friends- something I had been without for way too long. Several of these women will be my friends for life.
When Audrey was 20 months old (and I was seven months pregnant with Chloe), my husband’s job relocated us to Johnson County. I was devastated at the loss of my village, but I was determined to not let myself fall back into old habits. I signed up for a few local moms’ groups and while I enjoyed each of them, they just weren’t what I needed. So I set forth to create fabMama.
fabMama is 50% fitness, 50% community and all fun! We meet 5-6 days/ week with kiddos in tow to get in a great workout, have a few laughs, and support each other through the rollercoaster that is motherhood. Our workouts are all modifiable for all stages of motherhood from pre-conception to the 4th trimester and beyond. Our instructors are trained professionals and we make sure you get fit the safest way possible.
My #1 priority in life is to make sure my girls see me treating others with love, kindness and respect. After all, how can I expect that from them if I don’t do it myself. My #2 priority is to make sure no woman feels the way I did after the birth of my first child. There is no reason for any woman to be left behind in motherhood. We need each other. And I want fabMama to be the group that unites all mothers through fun, fitness, and community.
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’m running a small business through Covid– not sure anyone in that situation would use the word “smooth”. There have been plenty of ups and downs in the past 2-1/2 years, but the ups definitely outnumber the downs. I am so grateful that we were able to use technology to stay connected through Covid. In February 2020, our community was 100% in-person. I had to quickly adapt to keep members engaged and connected. Zoom and Facebook were such lifesavers for us! I also instituted a brand-new booking system called Instabook and had to teach myself the ins-and-outs of filming virtual workouts.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
fabMama KC offers a unique mommy & me format workout for local moms. fabMama KC provides moms with the support of a loving community while they model healthy behaviors for their children. Workouts are structured to involve and entertain kids while moms focus on self-care. Instructors are trained to specifically trained prenatal and postpartum women and offer fitness modifications for every stage of motherhood.
What started as a group of moms who needed to get out of the house and workout has since evolved into so much more! fabMama KC is an amazing community of strong Mamas– aka the mamaTribe. We welcome newcomers with open arms, love each other and our children with all of our hearts, and laugh a lot in the process. The mamaTribe is definitely the best thing that has come out of fabMama KC. Seeing the love and support that these women have for each other makes me so happy. They are regularly thanking me for creating the space for the mamaTribe to exist, but truly it would not be what it is without each and every one of them!!
Community support has always been important to me– after all fabMama KC is all about community support. I wanted to find a way for us to give back to the community and since we are a group of moms, we decided it was most fitting to support other moms. That’s why fabMama KC decided to sponsor Happy Bottoms KC as our primary philanthropy. We host three events each year to help raise money and collect diapers for this amazing organization. We also recently hosted a fundraiser for a local fitness professtional battling ALS and his family (learn more about this at www.FlexonALS.com).
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Starting from the beginning– Kelly Nielsen from Phoenix ran the moms’ group that put fabMama KC in my brain. She was so amazing at answering all of my questions when fabMama KC was starting.
My instructors and support staff!! I cannot stress to you how amazing these women are. Cindy Bowers has been my Accountant/Legal support since day one and has answered some pretty ridiculous questions in the past three years. Crystal Lewis is the most amazing Social Media Manager and is constantly coming up with great new ways to keep fabMama KC fresh. Liv Hill, my newest yoga instructor, offers the most amazing yoga classes and always brings a sense of peace and thoughtfulness to our community. Hayley Wildy is my main 2nd-in-command Instructor. Her knowledge of fitness, sense of humor, and rawness in motherhood make everyone gravitate towards her. My sub instructors Liz Cooper and Joy Hagerman have saved me many times through family emergencies, vacations, and maternity leaves. Both of them are such fabulous instructors and members are always excited to see them.
My husband, Mark, has hands-down been the most supportive husband ever! He loves my love for supporting others and has listened to so much grief from me as I navigate my small business through Covid (looking at you, audio software).
Lastly, the mamaTribe!! I can’t say enough about each and every one of these women. They push themselves at every workout, go along with my crazy ideas, support me when I’m down and are a fun bunch of Mamas to hang out with.
Pricing:
- $60/month Unlimited Membership
- $10/class Drop-In
- $50 Registration Fee
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: www.fabMamaKC.org
- Instagram: @mamaTribeKC
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/fabMamaKC
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/fabmama-mommy-and-me-fitness-prairie-village-2
- Other: https://hulafrog.com/olathe-ks/fabmama-kc
