Hailee Bland-Walsh
After playing soccer at the University of Minnesota, Hailee Bland-Walsh played professional soccer before heading west to work in the fitness industry as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor at Gold's Gym San Francisco.
After Gold’s Gym, she spent time at the YMCA of San Francisco and almost six years at the YMCA of the Central Bay Area as a Fitness Director. Time in both the for-profit and non-profit fitness worlds helped shape her leadership and vision.
In August 2011, Hailee moved back to KC to open her gym in August 2011, City Gym KC.
Her goal was not to be your typical gym; she wanted to create a very special place where all people felt they had a place to belong, a way to differentiate themselves—a gym dedicated to being inclusive for all.
City Gym’s core values are exceptional service, inspiration, and community. They are whole person focused on making KC (and the world) a better place by what they do inside and outside the gym walls.
Since it opened its doors, City Gym has won many awards from different publications all over the city, including KC Magazine, The Pitch, and Ingram's Magazine. In addition, in 2014, City Gym was featured in a nationwide Google commercial that has been viewed on YouTube over 1.5 million times.
When the pandemic hit, and the gym business seemed uncertain, Hailee and longtime friend and personal trainer at City Gym, Josh Guffey, pivoted to start Fit Truk, a fully equipped, mobile, outdoor smart gym. The goal was to expand City Gym’s brick-and-mortar business and offer safe outdoor fitness options.
Still, only a few months after rolling out their first Fit Truk, demand was high to recreate the product for other gyms, studios, and fitness professionals. As a result, a Fit Truk can be used as a recruitment and retention tool, a profit center for an existing business, and a stand-alone business for fitness professionals.
Hailee is a highly sought-after speaker – using her entrepreneurial experience and anti-life coach approach to inspire, educate, and motivate people.
She is dedicated to her community and is co-board chair and founding member of the Transformations Youth group.
The Kansas City Business Journal recognized Hailee as a Women Who Mean Business in 2017 and has been featured in multiple national publications, including Huffington Post, ESPN, Time, USA Today, and many more.
Hailee’s dedication to the community, focus on inclusiveness, and creation of an environment for everyone to enjoy fitness are just a few things that will lead to her continued success.
Website: fittrukkc.com citygymkc.com haileebwalsh.com