As the story has it, one day I headed to the opposite side of the globe – the Flipside. I arrived in Korea February 16th, 2005 and thought I’d do a year, then leave. I was wrong. I stayed, launched my first company, Flipside Fitness, and then opened Korea's largest boxing club, Hulk's Boxing (now called Hulk's Club).

After 11.5yrs in Korea, I then picked up one day and returned to Toronto, Canada. But then I left again.

Now I live in the Philippines where I am the CEO and head coach of Empowered Clubhouse, the Philippines' first and only boxing clubhouse exclusively just for women. I also am the founder of the Lil' Sistas Project, CEO and designer of Slay Gear and Baa Baa Black Sheep .Ph.

Sunday, December 09, 2012

Goodbye Flipside Fitness?!... Sunday, December 9

“Where the heck are all the women in Cheonan?!” I asked yesterday and pondered today.

I’ve been racking my brain ever since I started Flipside Fitness, trying to think up and host such social events to attract the masses.  Every month Flipside Fitness hosts 2-3 social events, ranging from outdoor sport events to coffee shop meet-ups.

Day Fat to Phat Challenge
Fat to Phat Dinner Out (Fat to Phat Participants)
Glam Girls Night Out — A White Day Celebration
A Day At the Races – 5km, 10km and half marathon
Midnight Mountain Top BBQ
Cheonan-Cheering, Crackerjack Baseball
Blood, Sweat and Tears – Sparring Tournament
Gift of Appreciation Presentation
Seoraksan Plan B -- Taedusan
Clothes Swap Party
Lovely Lia’s Later-Gator Dinner Party
2nd Fat to Phat Challenge – A 35 Day Challenge
A Gym Nasty Thanksgiving
Get the Skinny Over Coffee (Fat to Phat Participants)
Taking a Hike Back to Basics
A Scary Night-In
ULTIMATE in the Park
The President’s Cup — Run Horsey, Run
ADIDAS Run
Cooking for Abs — A Clean, Lean Cooking Party

I know we’ve got a huge number of foreign women in Cheonan but where are all they?  It’s too cold outside so I know weekend hiking trips aren’t exactly taking them out of Cheonan.  Most of them have the weekends off, so I know a good percentage of them aren’t working.

Perhaps they’re all hibernating? 

Oddly enough, many of them are in sync with each other – it is the Weekend of the Period.  So they’re either hibernating or off buying tampons… yes?!  I don’t know. 

Living above one of Cheonan’s notoriously known foreign bars, I definitely know where some of them were and how they left today in the early brutal hours.  Sometimes I’m so tempted to pull an army sergeant raid and go down to yell at them, just for kicks.  I think it’d be hilarious.  I’d show up head to toe in boxing gear and give them some punches to the bum.  That was actually one of my advertising stunts I was going to pull, back when I initially started Flipside Fitness, but I never ended up doing it.  Now that most foreigners in Cheonan know of my company though, I definitely am considering pulling such a stunt when I open up my boxing club.  Me running around Cheonan in boxing boots and gloves?!  Sure, why not.  I definitely will go noticed and it’d generate a lot of attention for my club. 

I’m hesitate as to whether or not I’ll continue the Flipside Fitness social events, or Flipside Fitness in general.  I really appreciate those that faithfully come, I love the new faces, and I have enjoyed ALL the events planned but time is money and in addition to the time planning and hosting them, I often end up paying for things out of my own pocket for it.  I've put Flipside Fitness as a top priority in my life but I often miss out on family outings and things with my husband because of it.  There's a lot of behind-the-scene things that are connected with hosting a social event that I know the ladies of Cheonan have no idea of nor do I expect them to understand.  Of course that's my own choosing, but I don't know if I choose to continue to do so anymore.  My biggest issue however is that our social events are just not pulling in the numbers I expected and it’s become like this small group of friends, not a larger community of women.  

I’ll give Flipside Fitness until the end of February and then decide if I want to pull the plug on it.

1 comment:

Alex T said...

Honestly, it kind of sounds like you're lecturing them - do you say these things to them in real life? Most foreigners come to Korea as a travelling experience, and as something to do for a few years before getting a job back home. It's mostly low stress, and mostly fun, and for a lot of people, it's their first time living on their own. I'm not sure that I'd really want to get involved in something if the person in charge was making me feel guilty for not showing up consistently. Just a thought.