MEET THE FOUNDERS
Balance + Glo is now in its fifth year of business, so we thought it would be a good idea to sit down with co-founders, Jenny Stewart and Evelyn Joyce, to discuss how and why they started this Wellness Community.
Jenny and Evelyn made the move over to the beautiful Isle of Wight in 2017 and 2018 and have since built a high-quality wellbeing offering online + in person whilst still maintaining that friendly, warm community vibe. As the business has evolved so have their family lives so working together to continue a thriving business alongside important mamma duties is at the forefront of their every day challenges.
Balance + Glo Marketing Manager Olivia sat down with Jenny + Evelyn to ask them a couple of questions on how they met, what they love about running this business and their favourite classes on the platform.
Q. How did you two meet?
Jenny – In 2018, Ev came along to one of my Yoga classes in Cowes and we just started talking and got to know each other.
Evelyn – I was working from home so we always used to have brunch in the park afterwards so I could try out all my recipes on Jen!
Jenny – From there we started talking about our common interests and retreats had always been something on my mind that I would love to do on the Island. In a fairly short amount of time, we’d decided to run a retreat, having never run anything before that together and that’s how Balance + Glo was born.
A trip down memory lane…
Within a few weeks, a few brunch dates snowballed into their first ever retreat on the beautiful Isle of Wight. Over the next few years, they’ve created a wellness brand that embraces community and values connection, collaborating with the best island businesses, chefs, wellbeing brands, and instructors. Balance + Glo runs sell out retreats, events and brings their signature workout 'Strengthen and Flo' to the island community and now to the worldwide community online.
Q. How and why did you create the Online Studio?
Jenny – When Covid hit I was in Australia and I decided to hop on the Zoom trend quickly and do a zoom yoga class from Australia out to everyone. That then grew into a Yoga platform membership which then turned into The Online Studio when we brought everything together.
Evelyn – I was doing online classes as well and then we thought, why are we doing things separately if we can join forces? The combination of Fitness and Yoga wasn’t new for us it was the basis of our retreat offering so wanted to give our retreat guests a way to continue their wellness journey. So it wasn’t just come on retreat and then we’ll see you again in a year. It was always on our radar but Covid-19 gave us that last push.
The Online Studio Membership
The Online Studio is virtual wellbeing community with a monthly membership, giving you access to the best wellness experts, on demand library and live classes. The platform has evolved to feature over 10 different instructors over a variety of disciplines such as Barre, HIIT, Yoga, Meditations + a dedicated Pre/Post Natal Program, Bump + Beyond.
Q. What has been your favourite event you’ve run so far?
Jenny – For me Balance + Glo has always been about getting back into nature, so the SUP Yoga and Beach Yoga have been my favourites. The retreats are lovely because we get to bring all of that together with a true focus of immersing ourselves + our guests in nature.
Evelyn – I love the outdoor events we offer because I feel it showcases the Island but I loved the Strengthen + Flo event we ran last week at East Afton Farmhouse. It was awesome, the energy was through the roof and having 50 people squat with you at the same time is a really cool feeling.
Jenny – Feeling the burn!
Q. Do you have a favourite class on The Online Studio?
Evelyn – I love catching up with Hannah’s fitness classes because when I’m feeling tired there is no way I’m feeling tired with Hannah’s energy. Even if you are feeling a bit unsure if you want to work out, put Hannah on, you’ll get a sweat on and feel amazing afterwards.
Jenny – Mine changes pretty much weekly but recently it’s been the new Barre series with Naomi. OMG the burn… Naomi… the burn! It’s great as they are 20-30 minutes too so it fits into any busy day.
