This year I wanted to do something a little different. We used to do a “Hot Mama of the Month” in our newsletter and I have every intention of bringing that back. But, as we begin to close out 2015, I thought it was time for us to announce a “Hot Mama of the Year”.
I wanted to choose someone who absolutely lives, breathes and embodies the Hot Mama culture and community. Someone who motivates and inspires everyone around her. A Mama who make fitness and healthy living a priority. Someone who holds up a Mama when all she wants to do is crumble, and makes that same Mama laugh while pushing her to greatness.
As I began to think about the Mamas in our community, one incredible soul stood out to me. It is with great pleasure that I announce our first ever Hot Mama of the Year…
Shelley Storozuk
Now, I don’t get to meet all of the Hot Mamas any longer. There are simply too many of you out there (which, btw, is kinda awesome), but I try to poke my head in every now and then. I had the pleasure of meeting Shelley earlier this year and she is one of those women whose warmth, genuine love of life and drive is obvious from the moment you say “heeeeeey”.
But, it is Shelley’s dedication to her family and her fitness that I really wanted to honour. During difficult times, of sadness and of true despair, Shelley continued to show up. She continued to inspire and she continued to role model strength of body and strength of character to her children. It is for these reasons I am so thrilled to honour Shelley in this small way.
Here is what Hot Mama Calgary SE owner, Lindsey Witzel, had to say about her very own Hot Mama Shelley:
“In everyone’s life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being.
We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”
— Albert Schweitzer
Shelley has been a staple of Hot Mama Fit Calgary SE since we opened our doors in 2014. From the moment I met her, I have always been inspired by her ability to give 100% during every class; from beginning to end, without exception.
Shelley, like all of us, has fought through personal struggles this year but as the obstacles fell at her feet, it is in the way she carried herself through the tough times that makes her extraordinary and a true inspiration for our community. While her husband works away for 10 days at a time, she balances late night hours plugging away at her Master’s Degree in Nursing and shift work on the urgent care ward. She is raising strong, beautiful, healthy children that will melt your soul the second you meet them and at the same time she has remained a positive force during her family’s heart breaking loss of her brother. At times when I expected her inner fire to wane, she walked into class with her ginormous smile that lights up the world and rekindled the fires of others that were indeed at risk for going out. She not only has continued to make fitness a priority at times when it could have easily been pushed aside, but she always motivates and inspires our mamas to keep working at their goals. She makes our mamas smile big and feel welcome and without knowing it, pushes them to achieve a new level of fitness. Shelley’s energy is infectious as is her love for this Hot Mama community.
I am confident that I can speak for our community when I say, thank you Shelley for rekindling the inner spirit in all of us at one point or another. You mama are the foundation of what Hot Mama Fit is build on. Love, inspiration, tenacity and pure Hot Mama strength.
Shelley has a raw ability and an instinctual drive to motivate and inspire our community of women every day.
Congrats Shelley. I couldn’t be more thrilled to have you, and strong women like you, believe in Hot Mama, be a part of Hot Mama and become the reason for Hot Mama. With all I am, I am grateful for you.
Much Love,
Your OHM
