Melissa McAllister
Melissa McAllister, a Fitness and Wellness Coach is 28 years old from Liverpool UK. She is also a Dancer.
She tells us that, “I am a driven, ambitious woman and want to inspire women globally and make a change in this world. I have always been passionate about helping people from the struggles I have faced in my career of being a professional dancer. I got a lot of knock backs and told I was never going to make it which taught me how to be resilient, which I believe is what has got me where I am today. I believe that nothing in life is a failure; it’s either a lesson or a blessing and the setbacks definitely make you stronger. I have always gone after what I want and when I say I am going to do something 9 times out of 10 I try my best to make it happen.
I am very compassionate and always see the best in people. I always find myself wanting to unlock the beauty inside everyone that I meet and help them realise the best version of them that I know is deep inside them. I love connecting with people and getting to know their story as I believe everyone has one. I am very well travelled after living abroad for many years when I was dancing and I absolutely love meeting new cultures and learning about how other people live. I believe you really can create the life you want if you truly believe you can, there is no better feeling than self love and stepping into your power. I want to change the way our society is in this day and age and help people stop living in a way that we are controlled to live and live a happier life of freedom together as one.”
What were your initial years of growing up like? Tell us about your life before starting your corporate journey/venture/initiative.
My years of growing up was amazing, I have the best family and friends and can honestly say I am surrounded by love. My parents never ever stopped me from chasing my dreams and always encouraged me to be courageous. My Mum and Dad always gave us so much excitement and love in everything we did. Don’t get me wrong I am sure I had them worried sick when I was growing up as they were on the journey with me when I was training to be a dancer. When I was 18-20 I had not a penny to my name but I was adamant I was moving to London to train, I was sleeping on my sisters and friends couch and would just about be able to afford my dance classes. The struggle was real but I wouldn’t change any of it because it made me the person I am today and taught me a lot about myself and life lessons. As a child I was always active, always wanted to be the star of the show, me and my twin sister would always be making up shows for when all the family used to come round. My twin sister was very academic and she got all the A* when we were at school and I was the complete opposite, I just about scraped into sixth form with my results but my mum and dad still didn’t worry because they knew I would always get by somehow because I definitely knew how to wing it and make the most out of a bad situation. I was never academic but I have always been creative and I have always got on well with people, everyone always says you would get on with a brick wall. The hardest part for me growing up was moving away on my own and getting all the knock backs and uncertainty of the dance world, I never really had real security financially or what was the next move. It was always a surprise what’s coming next. I had numerous jobs and always would end up leaving them. I didn’t like getting told what to do, I always knew I wanted to lead my own life in some way. Growing up being a dancer also made me realise how anything was possible, when I was travelling and dancing in shows the people i used to meet and experiences we used to get were amazing. I remember one night after we did a show, we actually performed before P.Diddy and he invited us to his private after party after and there we was after the show, in the same room as P.Diddy, Cassie and Naomi Cam-bell. What I always think is anything is possible, the world is your oyster and every single human, even the most famous, the billionaires, they all started somewhere like us with a plan, with a dream and with a goal. So if they can do it, we all can. Growing up I always was a YES girl (like the film YES MAN) I said yes to everything, any opportunity that came my way I would never turn it down, over the years you should see what I have done for jobs. I have been donald duck, the mirror lady (dressed head to toe in mirrors, couldn’t move for the life of me), a mermaid, a champagne dress (spilling it all as I walk), a unicorn, a gatsby waitress and I even have done a white collar boxing fight for charity. I wouldn’t change my journey so far for the world.
Every industry that is now a large-scale, top-notch business once started as a small idea in the minds of entrepreneurs. What was that idea or motivation that made you start your business /initiative? What motivated you within to say YES, go for it!”
I have always been quite determined and wanted to create my own reality. I tried so many different types of jobs and I realised I didn’t like getting told what to do and I always wanted to be the leader of my own life. I have always been quite courageous and never been scared of failure because I believe its never that you’ve failed, it was a lesson or a blessing. From being in the dance and fitness world, I realised how many women were insecure and had very low self esteem and no self confidence in themselves. My goal is to help and inspire women all over the world to unlock their true potential and start living truly for themselves. When i first started teaching it opened my eyes to how many women were intimidated by the gym and i want to change this, i believe that the main thing stopping us from training and looking after our health is the comparison to others and also showing the world the real you, i feel like everyone hides a way and no one truly wants to be seen. Also my initial idea which led into the world of Thrive which is my fitness app came from my signature fitness class ‘Beatbox‘ which is a combination of dancing and boxing. I created this class because I realise that everyone loves to have a dance, everyone loves the music loud and fully letting their hair down dancing in the mirror in their bedroom like no one is watching. So I wanted to create a safe space for us to do that and feel sexy and strong at the same time. I added combinations of boxing into the class so that we get the strong aspect from it as I know how daunting it also is for women to go to a boxing gym alone. I put them 2 things together and choreographed strong and sexy moves to the beat of the music that leave you feeling empowered and uplifted. Then my fitness and wellness app Thrive came from that as I wanted to create a world full of everything that helps you live the best version of you, which I believe is looking after not only your physical body but your mental wellbeing too. So I created the world of thrive with workouts, classes, beatbox classes, yoga, mediations and mindset tools to help you improve your life in all aspects. I was so motivated to take the jump and start this business because I lived my life by following the thrive way of living and my life only got better and I still every day reap the benefits of putting my mental and physical well being first.
Tell us something about your initiative or current role. What is it about, and what impact are you trying to make?
My initiative is all about empowering women globally and making a change in this society today. I want to help and inspire people to live a life of freedom that they enjoy for themselves and make sure they are putting themselves first to live a better, more fulfilled lifestyle in all aspects. I believe self love is the best form of love to have a healthy relationship of love in all parts of your life. I also want to make a change in the corporate workplace and spread the message to the people that think they have no time to put their health and wellness first.
Your journey and your vision are very inspiring, but are there any achievements or accomplishments you would like to mention?
I have just jumped off one of the highest paragliding points in turkey! If that’s an accomplishment.
Would you like to share with our young budding women entrepreneurs the change you would like to see in the world if given an opportunity?
I would love to see young women stepping into their power and using their talents to make a change in the world. I also would love to see young women giving themselves that self love and self care to unlock their true purpose and passions that they might not know even exists inside.
Women are a growing force in the workplaces worldwide, standing shoulder to shoulder with their male counterparts. There are cracks in glass ceilings everywhere, with many women breaking through to carve out a space right at the top of the pyramid. What are your thoughts about women leadership today?
I LOVE women leadership today, I think it is very empowering to see. I also think this happening world-wide is what was needed as it takes a different approach to leadership as I believe women are more emotionally intelligent and that is what is needed in most workplaces in this generation because mental health has gone worse than it’s ever been and I think women as leaders have an understanding of this and are compassionate towards individuals that need it. I also feel women are not afraid to speak out and stand up for what’s right, sometimes I think some male leaders can sit on the fence and not truly express how they are feeling.
What would you want to say to our young women leaders/audience reading this?
Believe in yourself, follow your dreams, do what feels right and don’t let anyone or anything get in your way. Also don’t let failure scare you, remember it is a lesson or a blessing, you can always make a positive situation out of it.