Meet Olivia Whalen | Personal Trainer and Health Coach for Retired Athletes

We had the good fortune of connecting with Olivia Whalen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Olivia, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I remember being a young girl and thinking about how I eventually wanted to be my own boss one day. I could not imagine working for someone else to help them get richer and have them tell me what to do everyday. I wanted to do that for myself. I went to undergrad for Finance which eventually led me into the corporate world right out of school. I still did not foresee this being the final destination for me career wise – I still knew deep down that I was never meant to work in corporate, even though it was a financially stable stepping stone into the world of entrepreneurship. When the world closed down in March of 2020 and I was given the ability to work from home, I was suddenly granted more time to think about what I wanted in terms of a business, how I wanted to make an impact, and what kind of lifestyle I wanted. I loved being able to work from home and have more autonomy in my day-to-day schedule. Growing up playing competitive sports lead me to hold on to a passion for fitness and overall health and wellness into adulthood. I obtained my Certified Personal Trainer certificate from NASM as well as a certificate as a Health Coach from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition. I thought that this passion could be combined with my business and finance knowledge to create my business as it is today. At the start of the pandemic when everyone was given a chance to look at their lives differently, I thought to myself: “If not now, then when?”

What should our readers know about your business?
My business, Liv Your Fit, was created to help retired female athletes re-create their relationship to fitness after having retired from competitive sports. As a retired female athlete, I found the transition to “normal life” after sports extremally challenging. I struggled with my identity, finding structure, a toxic relationship to fitness and nutrition that eventually transpired into an eating disorder. These struggles are so common in the retired athlete community but often not talked about enough. Having gone through my own recovery journey and having to recreate how I viewed and treated fitness in my present day life, I wanted to help other women do the same without all of the pains and struggles that I had to endure. I wanted to be the guide and coach that I wish I had when I was struggling. I think this passion and this deep rooted purpose is what got me here today. It allows me to be persistent in continuing to grow my business and support my clients because it’s something I so deeply care about.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would love to acknowledge my mother for always reminding me what I’m capable of when I start to doubt myself, my husband for the endless support day in and day out, and I’d also like to acknowledge my business coaches Leah Gervais and Amanda O’Mara for providing me with the support, guidance, and insight into building my own business. Lastly, I’d also like to thank the handful of women entrepreneurs that I have befriended along this journey. Having others to pass along ideas to, or relate to in entrepreneurship really has helped me to believe in myself and push myself over hurdles along the way.

Website: oliviawhalen.com

Instagram: livyoufit

Facebook: Olivia Whalen

Other: TikTok: Livyourfit

Image Credits
Photographer: Molly Tretola