Oxygen Yoga & Fitness is a proudly Canadian grown business, but we’re just as proud to be starting our worldwide expansion, giving us the opportunity to introduce our infrared studios and class variety to more people around the world. One of the most exciting parts about this step forward is the ability to connect with yoga and fitness enthusiasts and entrepreneurs who share a passion for the opportunities and communities we create at Oxygen Yoga & Fitness. That’s one of the reasons we’re so excited to introduce you to Jenny and Liz, our first franchise owners in the United States of America.
One of the first things that drew Liz to Oxygen Yoga & Fitness was a passion for the infrared experience. “I’ve had an infrared sauna in my house for about the past six years,” Liz shares. “And so you know coming off of the pandemic I would go into that sauna quite frequently and just decompress […]I knew that there was something there, something for physical and you know mental wellbeing”.
This passion, mixed with a post covid-lockdown reevaluation of life priorities led to researching new opportunities related to infrared heat, which is how Liz first found Oxygen. “I think that is something new and upcoming, a technology that has lots of health benefits that people are just coming to realize” Liz shares. After discovering Oxygen Yoga & Fitness’ infrared heat classes, Liz approached Jenny with the idea of getting involved with the business.
“[I] evaluated my priorities and said this is something I’ve been passionate about for a long time,” Liz explained. “Jenny and I had been friends for over twenty five years and I know her background in fitness and her passion for fitness and you know wellness and nutrition and I just thought her and I could really do something with this. I just approached her and it took one person to believe in me and in the concept and you know here we are now”.
For Jenny, joining Oxygen Yoga & Fitness was a chance to pursue a goal of entrepreneurship. “To be a business owner in the community is something I’ve always been hopeful I could do eventually” Jenny shares. Prior to their involvement with Oxygen Yoga & Fitness, Jenny had worked in health clubs and the fitness industry, as well as in digital marketing, while Liz worked as a nurse practitioner. Now, they’re bringing their backgrounds in fitness management, sales, and healthcare to their new roles as the area representatives for Oxygen in Upstate New York.
Their passions within the studio are as varied as their previous experiences, Jenny’s favorite class being the fusion based classes such as Hot 20/20/20, while Liz prefers the candlelight, relaxation, and stretching based classes. But it is the variety of offerings, as well as the infrared and the Oxygen Yoga & Fitness community, that made the franchise opportunity stand out to them in the first place.
“Everything in Rochester, people are very fitness minded here” Jenny explains. While they explain there’s already many fitness options in town, Jenny explains “[…] But nothing like [Oxygen] and I think that it can reach so many ages and fitness levels, will be unique. It will be able to touch a lot of individuals”.
Likewise, Liz shared “I think we’re going to bring so much to this community. Our climate here is not great. Sometimes it’s a little bit depressing. I really think that [infrared] aspect does speak volumes. I think there’s scientific research and we’re going to see more about that […] I hope it’s going to be life changing for a lot of people”.
As they finalize the details of their flagship studio, Liz and Jenny are already looking forward to big things. When asked about their goals, Jenny replies “Our goal is ten in ten years” but then quickly amends, or you could say doubles that goal. “Or ten in five, that’s what we’d really like to do. It will happen. We’re going to open ten”.
And their plans for growth don’t stop there. Liz explains “You think about Tim Hortons that started in Canada and how it expanded worldwide and we’re at the beginning stages”. While Liz admits “It’s hard to think in that realm” and to imagine that level of growth, Liz and Jenny also seem to share a drive to make it happen. Liz continues “I keep telling Jen we just need to get to one. Once we get to one hopefully we can keep on going”.
Jenny echoes this call to growth, saying “We want to do ten real quick and just keep going”. In addition to opening their own studios, Jenny and Liz are excited about the potential of paving the way for future franchisors in the United States. Jenny says “If we could be more involved in the full US roll out we would love it […] we would love to be mentors for lots of other folks doing this process in the future”.
You can keep up with Jenny and Liz’s progress in expanding Oxygen Yoga & Fitness into the United States on our website and we’ll hope to see you soon in a studio near you.
