Inspiring Conversations with Amber Mayfield of SoulfulMOTION Fitness

Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Mayfield.

Hi Amber, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
God has been preparing me to lead SoulfulMOTION Fitness all of my life. As a young girl, I was always active. I participated in different activities like sports, karate, and dance. As a college student, I began taking group fitness classes to stay in shape. It was here where I began thinking, “I can do this too.” After graduating from college, I began working in a local gym facility, and that really started my journey to leading group exercise. I went on to teach different step aerobics classes, boot camp classes, TurboKick, and Zumba. However, the birth of my first child helped launch SoulfulMOTION Fitness. 

As a new mom of a colicky baby boy, I needed to find ways to move my body but also feed my spirit. I was home with my baby for the spring and summer of 2010, and I found that propping him up in his car seat and doing fitness classes from the TV really helped me to feel better and accomplished. During that time, I really felt that God was leading me to create a group fitness class that was choreographed to Gospel, Christian, and inspirational music. So, my baby, Vinny, was my first audience! I choreographed a song or two and practiced them all the time! Eventually, I went back to teaching Zumba and told my class that I’d like to try something new. I threw in one of the songs that I choreographed, and everyone loved it! They asked if I taught a class with just praise and worship music, and that’s when I knew it was time to get started. 

SoulfulMOTION Fitness officially launched in 2014 with only 2 participants! Now, we are serving over 100 participants each week, have an instructor training program, have certified instructors throughout the greater Grand Rapids area, and we currently have partnerships with Corewell Health (formerly Spectrum Health), the GR YMCA’s Activate Program, the GR Kroc Center, Grand Rapids Parks and Rec, and a host of others. 

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
As a faith-based business, no, it has not been a smooth road. And dare I say, I don’t think it will ever be smooth. As a business that works to help people in all areas of wellness, such as physical, mental, social, emotional, and spiritual health, we will always face opposition as we seek to do the good in this world. Our leadership team and team of instructors have often mentioned that as soon as we start doing something or we start to make ground…something bad happens. 

I also think that being in the health and fitness industry is a challenge as fitness trends change. However, God doesn’t change. And we’ve been able to maintain our target audience through the ups and downs. 

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
SoulfulMOTION Fitness is a Christ-centered HIIT fitness class and community that combines praise, worship, and fitness! We choreograph all aspects of fitness, including kickboxing, aerobics, plyometrics, and dance, to Gospel, Christian, and inspirational music. We provide a judgement-free zone, which makes our classes the ultimate wellness experience. 

Our fitness style, modifications for all, and welcoming atmosphere sets us apart from other brands. Our choreography style also sets us apart. There are other Christian-based group fitness classes, but nobody does it like us! 

I want people to know that they are welcome to our classes regardless of their religious affiliation, if they believe in God or not, size, age, gender identity, whatever! You are welcome to join us! It is our job to be the light in this world, and we welcome any and all people to participate. 

So maybe we end on discussing what matters most to you and why?
Demonstrating God’s love of people matters most to me. I see that the world is hurting, and people are struggling. I have people who come to my classes that expresses good things that are happening, but also the hard things. We start our classes with praise reports and prayer requests, and prayer requests can be hard to hear at times. From diagnoses, death, cancer, injuries, relationship issues, financial insecurities, etc. People’s lives are hard! However, if my class and I can be a beacon of hope for people for the hour that I’m with them, then I’ve done my job. Before each class, I pray that someone will be able to see the God in me and that I can say something or do something to help people experience God’s love. I also don’t care if people do the full fitness class. If someone wants to come to my class and just march for an hour, I’m okay with that. That means that they needed to experience community and be around someone who cares about them. 

Contact Info:

• Website: https://soulfulmotionfitness.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soulfulmotion/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SoulfulMOTION/