Christina Rondeau
Fairy tales really can come true and Christina Rondeau is living proof. What happened to Christina that pushed her into the business she has operated for more than 2 decades and transformed her into a powerful, kick-ass business owner that helps to empower other women?
As a high school senior in Rhode Island, Christina thought that suicide would feel better than being picked on and beat up by the girls at school. As a bullied teen Christina found herself on many occasions hiding from the girls who would feed on her fear. She had to make a choice. Would she continue hiding or would she face her fear of being pummeled. Christina soon discovered that the best way to protect herself from the taunts and torments of other students was to fight back.
She dedicated herself to becoming fit and taking kickboxing lessons which fueled her self confidence and helped her redefine herself. She now operates a successful business as a kickboxing instructor and personal trainer with her own fitness club, RKBLive.
No longer afraid, Christina now empowers other women who are dealing with similar issues with low self esteem or abusive relationships—and makes sure to includes real world lessons in every workout.
“Even though most come to me for a fitness workout what they are learning is REAL self defense, REAL kickboxing and boxing and I throw in a ton of reality drills in their workouts,” Christina explains. “I see them come from abused relationships, no self esteem and turn into strong, powerful women that accept change and make it happen. All from taking classes and finding the power with in their own bodies and minds.”
Even more remarkable than Christina’s life transformation is that she did it all on her own—before she was even 18. At the time, Christina’s largest hurdle to overcome was financing her business because she couldn’t qualify for a loan because she was self-employed. Still she had a vision of wanting to rent a bigger space for to teach her fitness and kick boxing classes, so she made big sacrifices, saving every dime that came in order to be able afford the first and last month’s rent as well as a security deposit. Now 41, Christina has been in business for over 24 years and continues to do her own work, from marketing to accounting as well as teaching classes. Her only regret is not starting her retirement savings at a younger age, something she advises other women to do.
Although she has a very busy life as a single mother of two kids and a thriving fitness center, Christina still manages to squeeze in the occasional outdoor time with the kids, family vacation or foot massage.
For other women looking to gain strength, Christina says, “My advice is that you have to advocate for yourself and keep learning. You have to go out and educate yourself and motivate yourself everyday.”
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://mysavvysisters.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/04-05-07_2209.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Carly Zinderman is a freelance writer and blogger, based just outside of Los Angeles, CA. Since graduating from Occidental College with a degree in English and Comparative Literary Studies, she has written on a variety of topics for books, magazines and online publications. In her spare time Carly enjoys watching old movies, reading anything that comes into her hands and planning her dream vacation. [/author_info] [/author]
Thank you for featuring someone that is both successful and empowering here in RI. As a child, I took martial arts lessons at a studio that Christina was teaching at. She has achieved so much since then! I found this blog and YouTube videos because my Fiancé and I dream/plan to move to California. It is not very often that I find articles about successful people in RI (at least not at random like this). Te-Erika is also very inspirational. These articles and videos are fueling my motivation to make things happen.