Meet Jenea Sutton | Master Cycling instructor & Entrepreneur

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

Hi Jenea, the decisions we make often shape our story in profound ways. What was one of the most difficult decisions you’ve had to make?
The hardest thing I’ve had to do in terms of career is walk away from my 1st business that I built from the ground up, to build a family and find an avenue I could pursue while being a present mother and fulfilling my purpose.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am Co-founder and Co-Creator of SEMP. An online mentorship platform that bridges the gaps between your Spiritual. Emotional, Mental, and Physical. We offer group and one on one sessions to unpack and provide tools to elevate our community’s wellness plan, business plan, and self-development plan. Creating awareness around the idea that everything is connected. In addition to our online services, we hold in person events where we incorporate movement and further connect as a community to workshop our physical and self development in the flesh. A hands on day or weekend to water your SEMP around other individuals with an aligned vision of wanting to become better!

I’ve always had a gift for speaking to people’s change and push their limits. In my life, support didn’t always come from family members or people close to me. In that, I discovered the power of resilience and going after the things you want in life without waiting for others approval. I was in many situations that helped me develop mental strength in addition to physical strength. When I saw the reward of allowing myself to surrender to hardship and face difficult situations, it led me to a purpose of wanting to help people heal. I saw how physical movement helped me process various situations and trauma in my life. My world changed as I went from a student in fitness classes to the podium as and indoor cycling instructor. This led to my first business and passion project opening in 2018, an indoor cycling studio.

My main goal in opening an indoor cycling studio, was to open a space that prioritized inclusivity and acceptance. What I saw at the time was a bunch of spaces that only accepted who they understood and didn’t leave room to stretch their communities outside of what they knew. I had never lived in San Diego before opening the doors, so I had no idea how I was going to accomplish this, but I knew it had to happen, that is was going to happen, there was a reason my opportunity was in San Diego. Over the years I saw the brand identify itself. It was not only a home for myself and multiple workers, but I saw it become a home for many who had the opportunity to experience it. There was diversity, there was variety, and there was ingenuity that myself and the staff brought to every space we opened. Although, it was an extremely hard process, what kept me going was the stories people shared of how much our space did for them and seeing the many people that met their best friend, significant other, and/or spouse in our studio. It was a space that activated life long connections and deep personal healing.

It was hard to leave that behind. To be honest, it was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make. But just like everything, I knew the path greater than me and if I was feeling called to step outside of the indoor cycling room, it was for a reason. In 2023 I stepped away and turned my share over so the business could continue to thrive and stay open for people to continue to grow through movement and cycling. During this transition, I became pregnant with my second child, my partner and I moved to Phoenix Arizona, and I had to learn how to reintegrate a whole new life. I started with what I thought was slow, a podcast. Not realizing how difficult it was to have and start a podcast, my partner and myself figured out how to film, record, and edit a podcast during my third trimester of pregnancy. We took that time to highlight and interview people we had met in the spin room over the years. Get to know them outside of the dark room and off the bike. It was time we passed the microphones to the people who had supported us for many years. It ended up being a really beautiful and fulfilling experience.

After giving birth to my second child, the want to get back into fitness was there, but I wanted to show up in a different way. I had just come out of a chapter of navigating significant burnout, I couldn’t fathom opening another studio. But I thought, if I was experiencing major burnout, I wonder how many other boutique fitness studio owners are experiencing burnout. And I reflected, what did I do great, what did I need more help with, where were my areas of opportunity.. In that process SEMP Fitness workshop was born. A workshop for studio owners and upper management to reconnect with themselves and bridge the communication with their staff. For many years I made the mistake of feeling like I needed to turn off parts of who I was so it wouldn’t interfere with the business I was trying to build. Little did I know, that thought process lit the candle from both sides and I had nothing left to give anyone at that point. SEMP fitness was how I was going to help others stray away from that same mistake. So I hit studios DMs and started to travel.

SEMP fitness was beautiful. I started to connect with studios, train instructors, and help owners reconnect with why they started their studio in the first place. Sometimes going back to the beginning, makes it clear of where exactly to go next. SEMP fitness then opened the door to many people wanting to check in with their Spiritual, Emotional, Mental and Physical. So not only did we work with boutique fitness studios, we started to work with individuals. Next this you know, I found myself pregnant with my third child and hosting my first in person workshop without a bike in Jan 2024. This workshop being such a success that we will be completing a total of five before my third child is born. I could not be more thrilled.

So I guess you can say it’s been a process. A process of letting in and letting go when it’s time to move on and move forward with what life is supposed to give me. I now get to work with people from all over the United States, travel to touch many communities, and co-create magic in multiple spaces. I wouldn’t have ever known that would be possible if I didn’t lean into risk and trust what my heart was trying to tell me. The importance of trusting yourself is truly above all else. Something I’ve learned more recently is that there is so much beauty in the transition. You are not a villain for outgrowing people, situations, circumstances or even businesses. Honoring your growth 1st and foremost is probably one of the most important parts of ones process and no one else knows that timeline better than you. Outsiders may not always agree and will always have their opinions, but there is nothing more powerful than staying true to you. Like I always say, “your life is yours.” With SEMP we just want to help people discover the power of giving back to yourself so you can give yourself to your family, your career, your passions and most importantly yourself. I can’t say that I know what is next but I can say, LA I will see you on May 4th for SEMP LA. A co-ed fitness workshop that integrates boxing, meditation, and a good cold plunge. And SD I will see you on May 18th for a Pilates fusion class and conscious make up class and conversation where us women unpack our insecurities and how not hide our natural beauty! Cheers to so much on the rise!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
San Diego beaches are like no other. We would have to do a day in Encinitas. Moonlight beach is one of my favorite beaches. We should stop to grab a coffee and breakfast at GOODONYA Organic Eatery before the beach, then grab some snacks from Lazy Acres for the beach. Hang at Moonlight for around 2-3 hours, just in time for an early dinner at Le Papagayo, drinks at Sago, and grab the Taco Stand for a late night snack before calling it a night.

Other places to take a friend Novo for beer and/or Hard Kombucha, Dirty Birds for wings, and Oscars or La Puerta when craving some Mexican food.

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’d love to dedicate this shoutout to the San Diego Community. I wouldn’t have had the confidence to move forward with entrepreneurship if it wasn’t for the many faces I’ve come across the last six years. San Diego allowed me to learn, grow, and develop. I owe my success to them and to the place of where I started it all.

Website: https://sempuniversity.com

Instagram: @Jeneasutton_

Facebook: Jenea Monique

Other: Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/22MNasihbwYh3g4oOHQWAC

Image Credits
Jona Deocampo Joaquin Suarez Ozenrique