If you have a full time job, you’re working the majority of the hours that you’re awake. Thus, to be able to work in not only an
industry, but in a role, that you are so extremely passionate about, THAT is what it’s all about. Enter: Henry Richardson, Founder and CEO of DEFINE body & mind. Henry has been interested in wellness and fitness for as long as he can remember, and his passion and hard work has led him to opening 16 studios, with 5 (!!) on the way. For those of you unfamiliar with DEFINE, it is a fitness studio that offers barre, indoor cycling, yoga, trampoline (and the latest a la DEFINE living – meditation) classes. Here in Houston, it’s one of the most popular and well known fitness studios around, and for very good reason. Henry has hired an incredible team, who truly LOVES what they do. Keep on reading for how Henry got started, why meditation is so important to him, what a day in his life looks like (spoiler alert – he’s busy!), advice for those looking to get in shape, and much more.
An interview with Henry Richardson
When did you open your first DEFINE location and what inspired you to do so?
We opened our first DEFINE in Houston, TX Fall of 2009. I had been a springboard and platform from the time I was ten years old. It was my love, my passion, my everything. However, I had a lower back injury that ultimately led to a broken spine. When I was no longer able to dive, I turned to yoga and Pilates as it helped heal me to feeling my best again. I wanted to experience the strength results of Pilates, the cardio of cycling, and the mindfulness of yoga all within a single atmosphere. No one was offering everything under one roof. So, I decided to open my own studio. I named it DEFINE as I hope everyone learns how to “define” what balance means to each person. What works for me is different than what works for someone else. Our mission at DEFINE is to help educate people on how to live their best lives while getting results that mean something to our clients.
Have you always been interested in wellness and fitness? If not, when did you realize this is the industry you wanted to be in?
I have ALWAYS been interested in wellness and fitness. However, I NEVER thought I would make a career out of it. For a long time, I considered becoming a psychologist focusing on health psychology, however, when I was living in NYC, I started taking classes at an amazing studio not far from my apartment. I soon started teaching and fell in love with the community and the atmosphere of teaching clients. Although I resisted making this my profession, including going to business school because I thought it was time for me to grow up and get a “real” job, it was in business school that I ultimately decided this was my calling. This was my passion. This is how I want to share my gifts and talents with others.
What’s your favorite part about your job? Most rewarding? Most challenging?
Hands down, my favorite part of my job is working directly with clients. I started DEFINE because I love being with people and helping them feel amazing. The best part is we don’t only help them for the 60 minutes we are with them, we are helping clients start or finish their day in a way that carries with them until we see them again!
I also love the creativity that owning my own business allows. I consider myself an innovator. Whether it be in the choreography that I create in my class, the photos and branding we create for marketing, or even the creation of brand new exciting classes for the business, the innovation side of DEFINE is what fuels me and keeps me loving the process I have had with DEFINE.
The most challenging part is managing staff members. We have such a great staff, and luckily it is rare that we have issues, but when we do, I find it draining. We have a business where we have a lot of younger instructors in their 20’s as well as front desk staff members that are in college or even high school. It is stressful when people miss a shift or get sick last minute because we are relying on each staff member to pull their weight in order to help create the best experience for our clients. Although it can be draining, it is part of owning a business and managing a staff of over 80 people. I consider myself so lucky, so I try to remind myself of the amazing gifts I have when things do get challenging.
Also, emails – keeping up with emails can certainly become challenging! 🙂
What’s been your biggest ‘pinch me’ moment of your career, thus far?
We just opened our first international studio in Dubai! I went to visit the studio in October, and on the plane ride, my partner said, “can you believe we are flying to the opposite side of the world to check on your business.” It really hit me when he said that. Look what we have created!
My goal is to continue focusing on the quality of our brand, and continue helping achieve our DEFINE mission through our classes, retail, and workshops. My goal is to help make a positive impact on people’s lives, and we are doing that. We can always be better, but it was a “pinch me” moment that has given me many smiles.
What does a day in your life look like? I imagine it’s very busy!
Here you go. Hope you can keep up 🙂
- Wake up at 5:00am to get ready to teach my 5:45am class.
- Eat a little bit before heading out and head to the studio.
- Greet clients and get them set up for classes.
- Teach my classes: body and rev – (rev is our cycling class and I may sweat more than clients! talking and demonstrating keeps me in shape!).
- Meditate.
- Shower.
- Eat breakfast (I tend to have a green smoothie with kale, avocado, almond butter, almond milk – every morning).
- Take my son to school.
- Go to chapel with my son at his school.
- Emails.
- Teach meditation.
- Lead staff meetings.
- Organize our DEFINE life program and upcoming speakers.
- Eat Lunch.
- Emails.
- Houston Studio Managers Meetings.
- Emails.
- Approve marketing designs.
- Discuss new products/next months activities.
- Emails.
- Meditate.
- Go home to be with my partner and son.
You recently opened DEFINE living, which is SO exciting (I’m a big fan of meditation!) – why do you feel meditation is such an important part of one’s day to day life?
I started meditating the same way that I started yoga and Pilates. I was looking for a way to help me with the pain that I was experiencing with my lower back. I was walking through a book store and I had one of those moments when a ray of sunlight was shining through the window and was lighting up a book. It was called, The Healing Power of Mind by Tulku Thondup. I was studying finance in undergrad, and I was supposed to be buying my semester books. I literally looked around to see if anyone was looking, and I placed the book in my basket. I read it in three days.
The book was essentially on buddhist meditation. It taught me the importance of breathing and being aware. It changed my life from that moment on, and I have been forever interested in the body & mind connection ever since.
I am a daily meditator. I meditate because it gives me clarity. It keeps me grounded, and I believe it helps my health, my skin, my creativity, my relationships, and my spiritual life. Although I would feel amazing when I would meditate, it wasn’t until I opened DEFINE that I started to realize the importance of meditating daily. Exercise was once something that I would use to ground me, however, I have found that over time, I was looking for something to help me get to the next level of my journey of holistic health. Meditation went from something I enjoyed to something I do every day, just like brushing my teeth.
Meditation offers so many benefits that it has something for everyone. I personally believe that our meditation should be diverse, just like our diet. We would never think that eating one thing would be good for us, so it is my opinion that we must learn to practice a variety of styles of meditation all in order to keep our brains refreshed and rejuvenated. Meditation is my next step. I hope to bring meditation to people all over the USA (and possibly the world) with our new concept DEFINE living. So many of us have turned to exercise and movement, and I believe it is time for people to also learn the essence of stillness in order for them to really be in balance.
What inspires you?
I am inspired by my son. I hope to be a role model who will expose him to health, meditation, diversity, compassion, and love.
I am inspired to live in my most authentic self. I have learned that many of the things that have helped me become successful, as a student, as a diver, as a business person, are the same things that are prohibiting me from living my life to the fullest. I am inspired at discovering my truest self, the one that lives a compassionate loving life.
I am inspired by our clients. No matter how I am feeling, clients bring the best out in me. I can be tired, and as soon as I see a client, I am reminded that they have paid to be in a class with me. They aren’t wanting a half version of me. They are wanting that time to be worth while. And, every single time I teach, I feel better than when I started. Our clients are the best clients in the world.
What motto/quote do you always try to live by?
“swim in your own lane” – this is my motto and it has been something I have taken from my swimming and diving days.
It is so easy to fall in the trap that others are doing it “right”. Or others are the benchmark to which I should compare myself. I have learned that I am my own person. I need the amount of sleep that works for me, I need to eat the foods that I know work for me. I thrive on having personal time when I can re-fuel and re-charge. My personal time helps me to fuel my sense of creativity.
With that said, the swimming analogy is very interesting because it also gives information on how we should take a moment to see what’s going on around us. It wouldn’t make sense for someone to simply swim without acknowledging what is going on around them. What if someone entered your lane ? Or what if you lost focus and didn’t know when the race was finished? Or what if you wanted to know where the other competitors were in the race ? Well, we want to make sure we keep our focus and check out the others at appropriate times. On the flip turn we can see where the other people are swimming. This gives us the ability to hone our focus and use competition as a way to create inspiration. We try to preach this same message at DEFINE. Inspire those around you. It’s not about destroying your competition, it’s about inspiring them (as they do to you). We all improve when the people around us are operating at their best.
What advice or words of wisdom would you give someone wanting to ‘get in shape’? So many people make New Year’s resolutions having to do with weight loss, dieting, and working out – what is your take on that? Any advice?
We are all guilty of falling into New Years Resolution traps. We have some down time during the holidays, and all of a sudden marketing images and messages of getting into great shape start popping up. What could have once been dismissed has now turned into a seed that doesn’t factor many of our normal day to day obligations. This typically sets us up for failure: we create high expectations of getting into amazing shape, and we aren’t factoring in the full scenario.
My advice is create the long term goal and then create the steps it will take to get to the next step. A vision is simply the thought. The steps will act as your road map in order to start moving towards the direction you are hoping to go. Create steps that seem reasonable. Perhaps we decide to commit to walking with a friend three times per week. Or perhaps you decide to take a class with a friend at a studio three times per week. Add elements that you enjoy (the friend, the class, walking, etc.). Give yourself something to strive (think big), and then be sure to follow up with the action items that are necessary to achieve the big thought.
What’s next for you and DEFINE? Any new locations opening up?
We are set to open five more locations in 2017. We have all been working diligently on improving our branding and our marketing in new markets, and I am very excited about all of the fun and exciting things we will be working on with marketing in 2017.
My goal is to really spend time expanding upon our DEFINE living concept. I think our world could greatly benefit from more mindfulness, more awareness, and more compassion across the globe. I am very excited to be working on fun ideas on how we can take our franchise business model and translate it into our DEFINE living concept.
I hope it can be seen that I am so thankful to our clients who have given DEFINE a try. My goal is to continue helping our brand be relevant and appreciated by our clients. If we can not only meet but exceed our clients expectations, then we are doing our job.
Thanks so much, Henry, and thank you Candace and Troy for helping coordinate the interview!
Be sure to follow Henry and DEFINE on Facebook and Instagram.
See previous interviews here.