Howdy, Im Jamie Kimberling, the CEO (Chief Energy Officer) and Co-Owner of Row House Fitness in Flower Mound TX! My husband Ryan and I live in a suburb of Dallas, TX with our 2 sons, Kaden and Connor and our Cocker Spaniel, Charlie. Aside from being a group fitness fanatic, I love to be outdoors (especially hiking) and get lost in all sorts of genres of books. Im a diehard Swiftie & Dallas Cowboy fan. One of those things continues to depress me each season, but I shake it off.
How did you first become interested in the row house concept and its unique fitness approach?
One of my best friends introduced me to Row House after she completed a Half Marathon in honor of her 40th birthday. Seeing her excitement for achieving this milestone as she was also entering a new decade was inspiring. She shared how she’d hated working out her entire life, but had finally found a place where she belonged and felt welcome. Most importantly, she had found her happy place in fitness. As I dug further into the sport, so many things stood out to me as having the ‘wow’ factor. Utilization of 86% of your muscle groups just by rowing was HUGE. The cardio health aspect for me was big, as I admittedly hate to run. I could get the same benefits of heart health and cardio without having to run? Sign me up!
How has your fitness journey influenced your decision to become a ROW house Owner?
In 2016, I had just had my first child. Pregnancy was brutal on my body, I had gestational diabetes, I gained 70lbs, was on high blood pressure and blood sugar stability medication, and facing a type 2 diabetes diagnosis. My doctor warned me that unless I lost at least 50 pounds, I was going to be a diabetic. Desperately wanting to embrace motherhood and love my body, I made significant changes to my diet and found group fitness. My depression subsided as I found a way to pour back into myself without using food to cope. Eight years later, I'm a fitness junkie! I no longer need any medications and have lost and maintained 90 lbs since those days. I'm active with my kids and have more energy in my late thirties than I did in my 20’s. Experiencing firsthand how fitness changes everything, I wanted to bring that to my community. I have a heart to share it with others since it has had such an impact on my physical and mental health.
What role does fitness play in your personal life, and how has it shaped your perspective on owning a fitness-related business?
I think experience is our best teacher, and I have experienced what it is like to be overweight with no energy and how necessary a community in fitness is to reverse that. Currently, I train 4 to 5 days a week, and on the weekends I'm active through hustling my kids to sports and activities. I have a motto' Earn your bath each day.' It is a privilege to be able to move our bodies, and our goal is to provide an inclusive, clean, safe, and FUN environment for our community to do so. I'm proud of a lot of things, but our studio tops that list due to the reasons above.
How do you create a supportive and motivating envirONMent for your Row House Members?
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We are constantly finding ways to celebrate our members. One of my favorite ways to do this is our brag board. We celebrate everything from birthdays to last chemotherapy treatments, to the 10th, 100th, and 300th + classes taken. It’s a way for us to always look for gratitude in the everyday. Which is what joy is all about. In addition to this, we also celebrate meter milestones, or affectionately called, meter milestones. When members hit these milestones, it's a big deal. Every million they hit, we fire off a confetti cannon. In Texas: go big or go home!
Looking ahead, what are your goals and aspirations for the future of your Row House location?
We have such an incredible community of people, they inspire me every single day. One of the best parts of being an owner is getting to know our members on a personal level, hearing their wins, and their ‘why’. Naturally, I want to build our membership base so that we can thrive for years to come. I'd love to see my kids working in the business when they are old enough to do so. We opened our doors when they were 18 months and 4 years old. They got to watch the construction of it, and now see what we have grown it to. We have won numerous awards, including Best of Denton County every year we have been open. We would love to scale to multiple locations and bring happy and sweaty people to come to love rowing just like Flower Mound has.
