Transforming Your Life Through Communication, Creativity and Connection

Hey guys, I'm Reena Vokoun, the host of Your Power Move by PassionFit podcast. I'm so excited to have you guys tune in for another new episode, and today I have an awesome treat for you. I have just an amazing force of positive energy with me today. Her name is Chrissy Van, and she is a podcast host herself, the host of All Things Fitness and Wellness. Um, I had the pleasure of being on her podcast and she was also a moderator for a panel that I spoke on for a local health and fitness, um, industry, um, event recently. And we just hit it off from there. And I knew that I had to bring her on the podcast because she has such an amazing background. Um, she has had a great experience in television, um, doing lifestyle TV shows and news and weather. Um, she's been on Capitol Hill. She's worked with CEOs of major Fortune 500 companies, founders, entrepreneurs. She talks all things business, fitness, and wellness, and just really has a phenomenal background. And some fun facts about her, and I'm gonna have her share some more with you later, but some that I know of her are her love for motorcycles and also participating in fitness and bikini competitions. And she just has a really great, interesting, fun background. So everybody, please give a warm welcome to Chrissy. Chrissy, welcome to the show.

Thank you so much. I know that when you joined me on my podcast, this was in ideation phase and you were bringing it to life. So I'm deeply honored that you're having me on and that it's happening. It looks fantastic.

Thank you so much. Yes, it's so great to have you, and I'm excited for our listeners and viewers to learn more about you. So can you share a little bit about your background with everybody, both personally and professionally?

Yeah, I mean, they kind of ended up interweaving with each other. I was the little kid that always was going around with a gigantic camcorder asking my family questions, making my own radio show mixtapes, and I really had this gumption for public speaking. I was horrific at sports and just rocked at public speaking and poetry competitions. Super cool, I know. Very cool. And I was also that kid that always got separated in class for talking too much. Ultimately, in my teen years, I realized I went from wanting to be an actress as a kid to wanting to be a journalist, and then understanding that my personality really leaned toward the bubbly, energetic side. So hard news was never going to be the path. And that's how I ended up in television broadcasting on the weather side first. And ultimately, before exiting traditional media, I was doing morning show TV. It's interesting, my fitness background kind of parlaying into this. As I say, I was the kid that was terrible at sports, but like many, you need an outlet of some sort. And especially when you become a teen girl, maybe you have all that angst rocking in there. And I realized the first time I'd ever lifted weights, ah, I think my solitude might be in this space. And so, I have been a self-professed gym rat for several decades now. And that's how I ultimately ended up getting into bodybuilding competitions, always having a love of fitness on the consumer side. And then opportunity knocked, and I was able to blend the two, now doing B2B fitness media from the business side of things in this space. So it's wonderful to marry my passion over speaking with something that I feel moves the needle for so many in this life when it comes to our mental and physical wellness.

I love it. What a cool background that you have. And I know you hail from Vancouver, um, and I think your career has really taken you all over, not only Canada, but the US and other parts of the world as well. Um, and I really am all for blending passions and, you know, the areas that you just know that you can touch the world with, and you definitely are a gifted communicator. And so I think you are exactly where you were meant to be. Um, and through all of your, um, you know, different career experiences, were there any challenges that you faced along the way and how did you overcome them? What were some of the steps that you took to get yourself to where you are today?

Always, right? Without challenge, which is the beauty. I mean, I can think of the infancy of career where one of my big challenges to overcome was just being so green and trying to enter a career path in the public stage. So you had all this motivation and ambition paired with adult braces and not quite the skill set yet, and it really was the matter of not letting the nos take you off your path. It may redirect what you have to do before gearing yourself up to jump back in and go for it. But not letting any nos that I've gotten along the way stop me from what I saw in my mind's eye for myself. And I would say that's actually been a theme throughout my entire career path. Broadcasting in particular, you get a lot of rejection and you kind of have to understand that rejection isn't necessarily a bad thing in life. It's not something against you as a person. It may be a matter of timing or needing to hone particular parts of your skillset. So I think every rejection actually offers a lot of opportunity for reflection. And I always would allow myself whenever those moments or roadblocks or obstacles would happen along the way, about a 48-hour window was my, I'm going to stew and allow myself to feel this. Because I don't think we can bypass emotion. And then get through that and decide to pick yourself up and go for it again. So, I would say that's kind of the, the main obstacle that you encounter time and time in any career path that you're hungry for growth. It's also going to come with those moments of rejection and you need to really understand they are not a reflection of who you are. But they are a tremendous moment to reflect and re-home the skills.

I think that that is— those are very wise words. And yes, I think with us being in entrepreneurship, or to your point, any career path that you choose, rejection is going to be a part of it. And it really just helps you to get stronger. And as you said, that introspection is— introspection is huge to really allow you to look at, okay, what can I do differently next time? Or maybe this just wasn't the right fit and there's something better and greater out there for me. So I think those are very wise words and ones that everybody listening in or viewing in should, you know, keep in mind when you are pursuing new things. And with your extensive career in health and fitness and media and broadcast communications, what are some of the, the changes and the trends that you've seen, you know, happening today versus when you first started out?

Yeah, I mean, I would say the component that obviously on the industry side we speak about so much, and the consumer side as well is demanding it, is the awareness over the impact for our mental well-being. There's study after study. I know there was Dr. Ben Singh out of Australia a couple years ago that had a very extensive study on the fact that our exercise actually combats depression and anxiety better than any medication and pharmaceutical can. Not to discount that if that is a path that you need to go down, that's something you discuss with the healthcare professional, and I'm not knocking it, but I think as a society, you know, we live our lives so much in this land of distraction, and it's so easy to bypass those foundations traditions in our lives of nutrition, exercise, and when things are going awry, they're often the first things to fall off. And so, the nice thing is, is that we know from an industry perspective, these are actually tools that we all have in our toolkit that actually can improve where our life path is going no matter what's rocking. So, I would say industry-wise, I grew up in the era of diet culture, you know, and unfortunately, there's a little bit of that twisting back into the equation from a pop culture side in modern society. But luckily, I would say the narrative when it comes to health club and gym operators, it has really steered away from the lose this many inches and lose this many pounds. And it's more how do you feel? And I think that's a change in the industry itself and a trend that I'm really happy to see because the other narrative can be exceptionally damaging for people.

Yeah, you're right. I also grew up with that diet culture, and even then we knew that it wasn't great. But I think that was just the trend and that's what people were doing. And I also, in our industry of health and wellness and fitness, really am happy to see that we're— we are taking a more holistic approach. We are factoring in mental health and we are turning back to those basics, those things that you mentioned in your toolkit when it comes to nutrition and movement and sleep and so many other things. I mean, we should try to turn to those things first. And to your point, if you need to check with your healthcare providers on medication or something else, that makes sense if that's the best thing for you. But I do think some of these lifestyle practices can make a huge difference. So I'm right there with you. Um, so along your journey, Chrissy, can you tell us about a pivotal year in your life? It could be professional, personal, but what was the year and what was something that just happened so significantly that really had a long-lasting impact on you and how you view things today?

Yeah, I was like, this could be a loaded question, which I love because I'm like, I'll go there. Part of me wants to give the political answer of like, oh, and I left traditional media and that was a huge thread of my identity that I was having to recalibrate and make peace with. Because sometimes when you do something for such a long time, you can start to feel like it's who you are. And when you shed it, then you're having to have the question, well, who, who am I now? Or who am I becoming? And there's power in that. But even prior to that, I would have to say, going back to learn how to ride motorcycles when I was 32 fundamentally changed my life in a massive unexpected fashion. I remember the moment. I had learned when I was 21 and I let fear stop me. I bought a bike and then I believe I sold it with about 20 kilometers on it. It basically moved off the driveway because I was so terrified. When I was 32, I was on the back of a motorcycle with a guy and this gal came riding up beside me and it was golden hour. She was framed by the mountains in the background. She had this this purple bike with a little purple sheen, and she just looked powerful. It was such a changing moment in me and the shift where I looked and I thought, why am I back here? So I wrote my test the next day and I bought a bike the day after that. And then I got on a bike. And what I didn't expect from this seemingly solo sport was the community that came with it. And I actually ended up encountering this incredible group of women who were all in midlife as well. So I'm 38 now. I started writing at 32. And it's kind of that time in your life where you've built all this scaffolding in your 20s and then a lot of real life starts to hit, whether you're looking for career changes, certain friends are having kids, sadly some are losing, you know, going through first miscarriages, there's divorce happening in the equation, there's wanting to find a partner, you're navigating all of this at the same time. And it was the first time in my life I had this group of individuals that were a really safe place to lean. And I would say for myself, I was anti-vulnerability. I had built such walls from past experiences in my life, and I had never understood. My therapist actually put it as I was a little girl that picked up a machete and started hacking through the jungle. And I was at a stage in my life, it was time to put that down and I didn't know how. And I had this community that entered through this hobby that was so freeing, that gave me a soft place to land. And what unfolded from there was learning how to meet emotion. And that has become an incredible game changer for where I'm at now. Life threw some of the most insane curveballs of my adult chapter at me after that. And it gifted me the opportunity to sit in pain and not run from it. And honing that has actually lifted the lid off my inner creativity. So being able to tap into that emotion has actually given me a palette to work with of all these colors that I actually didn't know existed. In this lifetime. And so I feel like I'm actually in a really big transitional phase in my life now from that one decision that gave me a safe place to land, that gave me a chance to meet versions of myself I'd never met before. It makes me excited as a very creative individual. I thought I was before this. I just think life is so malleable and there's just so many opportunities to give things to the world. And so that would be the most pivotal moment, honestly, is learning how to ride and being given a safe place to land. Because when you have that, it, it expands your bandwidth to take risk, and it expands your bandwidth to create, and expands your bandwidth in so many different facets of your life, which truly moves the needle a lot on what might be possible.

So beautifully said. And I feel like your authenticity, Chrissy, is just shining through. And what a unique sport, hobby, whatever you want to call it. But, you know, you, you, you really painted this beautiful picture of how riding motorcycles helped you with some of your emotional health and, you know, overcoming obstacles in your life and providing you with that community and allowing you to really see sides of yourself that you hadn't seen before. And I think it goes to show that even though you are living out your passions professionally in your career, you can still have these other passions that really serve their purpose in your life as a hobby that can still have such a huge impact and something that you can enjoy for years to come. And I just love all that it has brought to you, and I'm excited to see where it will take you next. So thank you for sharing that. I think it's, it's beautiful, and it's wonderful that you've discovered it.

Yeah, it kind of just shows you one decision in life can really change the trajectory or pathway at any point in time, which is a beautiful thing.

Yeah, and I think what you had said about people being in midlife, right? That's often a time where, you know, you're maybe at a crossroads and you're wanting to see, you know, different things or experience different things. So it also goes to show that it's never too late to, like you said, take a risk and try something new. And you just never know what, you know, what that could bring into your life. And for you, it sounds like it's brought so much joy and happiness and healing and so many other wonderful things, which I think is a great segue to the next question that I have for you, um, which is what is your purpose? What drives you? I mean, you've kind of alluded to a few different things, but would love to kind of hear what drives you not only to do the work that you do but also just in your life in general.

I think it's connection. It kind of goes to what I said earlier. More and more we're spending time disconnected with an illusion of connection. And this is coming from somebody that contributes greatly. I mean, I podcast, I create content, I am feeding the engine that is designed to steal our attention. And I'm also a huge proponent of using AI. It's added an exponent to my working capabilities and all the rest of it. But at every turn now, we're now faced with what is real and what is not and constantly heads down in screens. And so for me, I really feel human connection's the name of the game. I think that's why I love podcasting as a medium. You know, even it's interesting sitting with most of my job that pays the bills is in this B2B sector and you're dealing with, you know, the executive level of the fitness industry. And to have an opportunity to spend an hour with someone allows me to build enough of a connection to take down the corporate bravado, you know, that gets so honed in. I've worked on the traditional media side, so I I know what goes into media training individuals. And I think it's just a beautiful thing when you can sit with somebody and find that bridge of commonality and actually see each other. And then maybe that sparks or illuminates something in another individual, or you share perspectives and maybe those perspectives don't even match, but you can generate conversation and learn from each other. I think more and more our innate human, like, humanness of ourselves is craving that so much. I mean, that's why we have a loneliness epidemic happening at the same time where you could quite literally FaceTime or connect with somebody virtually at any point in time. So truly what drives me is the basis of it is human connection. Yes, I've been able to translate that on a business side of things, but in general life, I mean, I'm joining Reena Vokoun at a conference here today, and the conference has been in the commercial real estate state sector because it's focusing on franchising and leasing space, which when you put that on the surface doesn't sound like it would generate the most wonderful connections. But earlier this morning, just from getting curious with an individual and pushing a little bit, this man had done exceptionally well for himself. He was turning 80 next year, and all of a sudden he was throwing down all this life wisdom for me at this stage in my life. And it was just from deciding to see another human being that's actually in front of us. I think we miss that a lot these days, to be honest.

Yeah, you're right. I, I agree. I think that human connection, um, is something that is important and it teaches us things, right? And it seems like you have a good balance of in-person connection, which again, we're not getting as much of as maybe we once were, you know, pre-pandemic even, right? There's still such, um, you know, virtual, um, happenings in the world nowadays. Um, but I do think there's still connection that can come from that. And I think you're doing a great job of using using that medium of, you know, podcasting or, you know, webinars and a lot of things that we've done together, even professionally, you know, on these panels. But I do think that that could still create connection in a different kind of way beyond doom scrolling on social media and feeling like everybody's life is better than yours. Right. I think having, like you said, breaking down those barriers and those walls and finding that commonality, even if it's not always in person and it's in a virtual setting can just allow you to still connect with people all over the world in places where maybe you wouldn't have otherwise connected. I mean, you're in Vancouver, I'm here in San Diego, and the panel that we were on connected us, and, you know, we're able to continue to have these great conversations and share our learnings and our experiences with others. So I think it is a really beautiful thing, and I love that that's your purpose. And given your background as a communicator and in media, that makes complete sense.

Yeah, and it's having that openness, right, to receive on both ends. And exactly that. I mean, we spent, you know, that little time in the panel and then able to learn about yourself when you joined me and hopefully cross paths in person in the future. And they're just little life builders and life learners. I really get fascinated by all the characters that come in and out of our lives. I have a deep appreciation for that.

Absolutely. Same here. I think it's such a gift and you really do learn from each and every person that you meet. Along your journey and your path. So what is— you've shared some really fun facts about yourself, and I know that there are more, Chrissy. So what's something about you that you'd like to share that maybe not everybody knows?

It's like I get asked this, and then I always think of the ultra goofy things. I'm like, I wrestled an alligator once. That was random. Not super proud of it at this stage of my life, but it was like one of those live TV situations that I got myself into.

Wow.

Um, one thing I guess a lot of people wouldn't know, I started painting painting, I guess it would be 2.5 years ago. And if anybody had challenged me to Pictionary or something like that, I initially would say, "I can't even draw a stick figure." And then I quickly realized that's the point, is to not be very good at something when you start. So I spend, I rarely turn on my television. If you quiz me on pop culture, I'd wanted to be an entertainment reporter. I would have been the worst. As an adult, I don't know what show is happening, who the actors are, what's going on. And so my TV rarely goes on in the rainy season. I have a disco ball in my condo that rotates at an exact 1 RPM. I put my colored lights on and my music, and I just have my pastels or my acrylics, and I make a mess. If somebody knocks on my door, I'm covered head to toe in paint. And so I'm a painter, I guess. Wow. I think I've gone to that stage to be like, yes, that's something that I do. So I guess that's something that I am.

Which makes complete sense given your, you know, creativity that you talked about earlier. This sounds like another amazing creative outlet, just like, you know, riding motorcycles. And I really do think that some of those personal passions then drive your creativity in your work life as well. Right? It's just—

Without question.

Yeah. It's just this nice circular moment. I know for me too, I'm also in the creative space with the work that I do in entrepreneurship. And sometimes when I am not feeling creativity, I I get outside in nature, I dance, I find those things exactly like you that just help spark that creativity and take me out of my day-to-day sort of daily grind. Because sometimes you need to remove yourself from that in order to think in a different way. And I'm sure that painting really does do that for you as well.

It's honestly some of the best life advice I can give. There was even a gal I was just chatting with, she's 22, in a really cutthroat sales position where they tap people in and it gets very intense when there's a promotion and this many people are gonna get cut. And she was dealing with really high anxiety, and I was fascinated by it because I'm thinking, my goodness, I mean, you're just starting out in your career to feel that level of stress. I mean, I know that you specialize in helping people move through burnout, and all I'm thinking as she's communicating with me in real time is this young light that's a— like, think of how much energy you have when you're 22— is feeling so stressed and burned out already. And that was my biggest advice. I was like find something creatively that's just a step that might seem out of your wheelhouse but allows you to get into that flow state because number one, it's an incredible release. But to your point, some of my best ideas have come out of allowing my brain to unwind in that fashion. And then it allows space for maybe your next big entrepreneurial spark to move in.

Absolutely.

Yeah.

I mean, those, as you know, the name of this podcast is called Your Power Move. And tho— that right there sounds like a power move to me, riding your motorcycles, painting, right? Um, and I'm sure you have some other ones that are in your sort of daily lifestyle. So can you share with our viewers and listeners what your power moves are in different areas of your life? It could be health and fitness related, what you do professionally, what you do personally, um, any and all of the above.

Power move number one, and I know you're all gonna say, we hear this all the time, but how many of you actually make it your non-negotiable? Your foundations have to be dialed— nutrition and your exercise. And I don't mean having to put so much pressure on yourself to do it with an essence of perfection. Maybe you are in the craziest phase of your career in a quarter and your time is so stretched you feel like you hardly have any room to breathe. Well, don't make your goal to make it to the gym then 4 days a week, 5 days a a week, carve out, say, 30 minutes on Tuesday morning, I'm going to give that gift to myself. Like, it can be that minute, but making sure that you don't completely sideline your foundations. To me, anytime things have gone out of alignment for me, if I audit, I, I've chucked that and it's missing. And the minute I bring it back, all of a sudden things start to scaffold and work out for me again. So I'm like holding on to those. And then having one of those outlets— I have journaled heavily since 2014. I think it's an incredible tool for anyone. And I get that writing the written word might not be for you. Maybe it's voice notes. Maybe you open your note app and just write a sentence or two every day. It's, it's really great to allow space for your inner dialogue to breathe. And my biggest power move when I enter the winter season, when I have no sunshine in Vancouver and it's hammering rain for 6 months, it's going to sound the complete opposite of power power move. For me, I love taking a quality bubble bath, and don't be chintzy when you do this for yourself. I get luxurious bubbles, little lights in there, candles, do it up and create my own zen. Find a way to carve out a space that's just for you to let your shoulders down. We do not need to be going a million miles an hour, a million miles at a time to be powerful.

Completely agree. Those are all phenomenal power moves, and I could not agree agree more with each and every one of them. I think those are just great foundational tools to have, and I agree, they have to be non-negotiable, and they're gonna look different for everyone. So these power moves may not be the ones for you. These are the ones Chrissy is sharing with us, but find yours. Um, and yeah, figure out what are those things that are gonna let you just relax, like you said, let your shoulders down. Um, you know, just take yourself off of that daily grind that, you know, that path that you're racing on all day long because yeah, you need a break from it. And then these things can motivate you and help you to then start over the next day and start fresh and feel rejuvenated. So those are really, really great ones. I love it.

Yeah, it's almost bath season, which means I'm gonna just be like in the dreary Vancouver. I've been trying to life hack my way so that I don't, I need to become a woman that winters somewhere.

Very good.

I'm guessing I'm at that phase in life.

That's right. Find your winter state, country, city, whatever it looks like for you. Yeah. Get that vitamin D in.

Yeah.

Well, if there is one thing that you would like our viewers and listeners to take away from our conversation today, you've already dropped so many great nuggets of wisdom. Um, but if there's one last thing you wanna leave everybody with, what would that be?

I guess I'll kind of tie it into what we sort of started the conversation with, and it, it's that introspection. If you are moving at a frenetic pace, which I think can happen a lot in entrepreneurship, it can happen in motherhood, it can happen in so many different spectrums of life, we forget to give ourselves the space between the frenetic pace of life that's inevitable and actually spending time with ourself that's peaceful, quiet. Maybe it's meditation for you. Maybe it's just taking a minute to breathe because a lot of what ails us, I think, is when we stop paying attention to what we inherently need. And I truly believe each and every one of us knows what we inherently need, but because of the speed of life and the distraction in life, it's very easy to become disconnected with that. And I know that I talked about, you know, my passion being connection and humans and conversations. But even more important than that, how connected are you to yourself right now? How often do you take the time to listen to those nudges that are telling you go this way or that way? How often do you take the time to realize I've neglected certain parts of myself that I need and therefore I'm not nourishing it and that starts to become a runaway train. So truthfully, just taking that time for self-reflection and quiet moments of introspection, I promise you they will always be worthwhile. And I just really feel it's something that's so easy to sideline as not important or something we don't have time for. And you're picking up a phone the minute you get out of bed and you're scrolling right before you go to bed and that can be so unbelievably detrimental. And there's a real magic that happens when you actually get quiet and decide to plug in, connect to what aligns with yourself.

I 100% agree, because I think those are the moments where you can actually hear your inner voice, right? And you can actually feel your instincts about certain things in life, which oftentimes when we're connected via technology, we're racing from one thing to the next, we're not gonna see those things. Those things are not gonna come to the forefront unless we take that time, as you mentioned, to have that introspection and to quiet our mind and quiet our space to really hear the inner voice and feel that intuition. So I think that, that is right on. I 100% agree, and I think that's really great advice.

Yeah, and building that relationship to also understand your instinct— trust that, because that inner voice of yours is also gonna tell you some lies sometimes. It really allows you to know what needs to run through the filter of what is true and what is not, because sometimes we can be our own worst enemy. So the more time that you kind of build that trust relationship with yourself and trust that instinct, then you'll be able to decipher between the stories we can tell ourselves and what's actually very, very possible for ourselves.

That's a really good point. Yeah, that's true. It kind of depends on what space you're in, what mindset you're in, because yes, if if you're having a bad day or a bad season in your life, then yeah, maybe the inner voice is telling you things that are not really helping you and that are almost detrimental to your growth and to your ability to see your true authentic self. So that, that's really, really good advice. And that's where the instincts really do kick in. So thank you for that. Well, is there anything else you would like to share with our viewers and listeners? And also, if people want to get in touch with you, Chrissy, where and how can they find you?

Well, I honestly just, I mean, at time of recording, the year is winding down. So I would just give the best advice that I've ever had is, well, for myself, is that every year I try and acquire, introduce a new skill or challenge. And it could be something so very small, but adding tools to your tool belt can go a really long way. So I would encourage you, if you've been inspired by our conversation, in regards to leaning into those hobbies that aren't necessarily what you do for a living, but that creative outlet. Go seek it, go find it, and then circle back and tell me how it changed for you because I'm sure there's going to be a really neat story or idea that's come out of that. Secondly, if you want to get in touch with me, my kind of fun page is @vaninvancity, two N's in van. It's honestly just a mixture of motorcycle adventures and I'm always out and about doing something. LinkedIn's Chrissy Van. If you're in the fitness and wellness space, I would absolutely love for you to connect with me there. I'm always interested to hear what people are up to, what ideas, what they're bringing to life, and just connect with people with a like, a passion that we have in common. And for those that are in that space, thank you for dedicating that time. I know this is something that's such a passion of yours as well, Reena, and, you know, even being at the conference that I was last week in Dallas. It was called Beyond Active. And, you know, you connect with all these different executives and different individuals, and it's, it's interesting. My entire career has been about interviewing people at that level. However, so many times people aren't actually connected to what they're doing from a business perspective. And it's really incredible in this space for people to know It's changing lives. It's physical, mental wellness, social wellness, and it allows us to create spaces or opportunities for that human connection. So kudos to you if that is part of your wheelhouse.

I love it. Well, this is all going to be in the show notes so that you guys can get in touch with Chrissy. Her podcast is all things fitness and wellness. It's phenomenal. So definitely tune in. And I just want to thank you again, Chrissy, for joining me. Such an honor to have you as a guest today. And I want to thank everybody for listening and tuning in to another episode of Your Power Move by PassionFit. Feel free to subscribe if you haven't already, rate and review, and I will be back with another episode soon. Thanks so much, everyone, and take care.