Meet Sareena Rama | Fitness Instructor, Marketing Pofessional, and Founder of Wellness Check-In Club

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

Hi Sareena, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
What was your thought process behind starting your own business?

Since I started teaching fitness 6 years ago, I’ve always had the intention of helping people feel good about themselves. When I first started teaching I was not confident in myself but as I lived out my vision of helping people feel good – my confidence bloomed and I became the student lead for the University of Oregon’s group fitness program within 9 months of obtaining my first certification (go ducks!)
At the start of the pandemic, I had just finished my undergrad and was managing the group fitness program at my university gym. When the university gym shut down and I was out of a job, I decided to support my community with free zoom workouts. I never even thought of it as a possible business because I just wanted to give people access to a free option to take care of themselves.
Then fast forward a couple months later, I was leading classes on a global scale for the webby award winning Women’s Health Magazine free workout series on Instagram. That experience really validated that I have the ability to support people in a fun and approachable way on a large scale.
Fast forward to 2022, I started a podcast called Wellness Check-In Club. After 3 months on air, it became part of Universal Music Group’s Wizard Studios podcast network. I loved being able to create community through the podcast but I was missing the in-person aspect of community and that’s when the idea for monthly wellness events sparked.
Every month, my brand Wellness Check-In Club partners with a different San Diego business to host a free wellness event! These events provide participants with an inclusive and fun space to take care of themselves while making new friends.
I also designed my own line of merch with feel-good sayings so people can spread the message of kindness, self-compassion, and fun that the club strives to exude!

Social impact: how does your business help the community or the world?

The core of Wellness Check-In Club is inclusivity. Wellness should be for everybody but oftentimes there are so many barriers to access wellness — time, money, and a severe lack of welcoming spaces.
We strive to include everyBODY by offering free access to our wellness events so anyone who is looking for a space to make friends and take care of themselves, can have access to this fun approach to wellness.
People deserve a space where they can feel supported, valued, and taken care of. I hope that Wellness Check-In Club is that space!

Risk taking: how do you think about risk, what role has taking risks played in your life/career?

It feels risky to put your creative ideas out into the world, but when it comes from a place of kindness and compassion — you can never go wrong.
Not creating the things I want to create is the biggest risk in my eyes. If I have an idea for the club at 10pm, I will use any ounce of brain power I have left to let my stream of creative consciousness flow.
When you have an idea that really lights your fire, you feel like it can help people, and you know no one is doing it yet… take that risk!!!

What is the most important factor behind your success / the success of your brand?

The most important factor behind my success is seeing the community impact. My support system aka my parents, my brother, and my best friends are the most wonderful humans. They hype me up, show up to every Wellness Check-In Club event, and my dad even hand-embroiders our merch. Success is the joy of being able to share the club with my loved ones.
But the biggest measure of success for me is witnessing strangers that come to class, becoming friends with other strangers. I always try to create an environment that normalizes mingling before, after, and during class. We all wear name tags, I prompt the class with questions they can ask their neighbors, and we always have a “social hour” after the class!
As much as I created the club for strangers to become new besties, I also created it as a place where me and my loved ones can take care of ourselves together.

How to know whether to keep going or to give up?

if it ever stops lighting me up, it’s time to evaluate if I need to pivot directions or shut it down. There was a stretch of time where I felt so overwhelmed with balancing life, family, friends, full-time work, my dog, and my own wellness that I stepped away for 2 months. I knew it was just a break until I could get my own wellness back on track and I’m so grateful I had the community support to do so! I don’t ever see a version of myself that completely steps away from Wellness Check-In Club, but I know overtime our club will evolve in new and wonderful ways!

Work life balance: how has your balance changed over time? How do you think about the balance?

In addition to Wellness Check-In Club, I also work full time in digital marketing for a vitamin & supplement company. So as a busy gal, I view balance as being mindful of my free time. I always try to schedule my self-care, schedule time with friends and family, and I even schedule my walks and grocery store trips!
It’s so helpful for me to visually carve out time on my calendar with a clear vision of what my time will be used for. For some people, this may feel like the opposite of balance but for me, it keeps me accountable to my downtime and ensures that I am taking care of myself!

What makes you happy? Why?

Being creative! The feeling of being in the zone on a creative project is an indescribable feeling of joy. I’m so grateful that Wellness Check-In Club can be this creative outlet for me — from creating class plans, coordinating events, creating podcast episodes, designing content, our website, and our merch. I get to use my creativity in so many ways and it brings me so much joy!
I also LOVE the ocean. It’s where I go when I’m sad, excited, joyful, overwhelmed, really every emotion — I can always get the peace and happiness I need from some ocean time.

Why did you pursue an artistic or creative career?

I’ve been a freelance content creator since 2016. All of the projects I’ve taken on have had one common thing: helping people feel good about themselves.
When I pursued teaching fitness classes in 2017 as a side gig in college, I began to find my voice, my confidence, and ultimately my passion. When I discovered that feeling of finding my passion — the rest fell into place and now I know I wouldn’t feel fulfilled if I wasn’t pursuing this creative path.

How do you define success?

Success is twofold for me — making a lasting impact on a fellow human and feeling good about what I’m contributing to. I’ve quit a lot of jobs, broken some hearts, and broken my own heart because I realized that I was contributing to something that wasn’t helping people nor helping myself.
Now I finally feel like I’m in a really amazing place where I get to feel successful because I’ve created a space where people can make new friends while taking care of themselves AND I feel the direct impact of supporting people.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The trip would start with a visit to Bird Rock. We’d grab bowls from Hermosa Surf and eat at Calumet Park. We would head into La Jolla to grab a bite to eat at Trilogy Sanctuary and walk in La Jolla cove.

The next day I’d take them and my pup to Ocean Beach to grab a coffee from OB Beans and take a trip to the Dog Beach. On the way out we’d have a reservation at Ceserina for the best Italian food ever. For the evening we would hang out in South Park walk a round the shops, and head to the best happy hour in town – Curryosity ($5 drinks and apps!).

We would absolutely spend a day on Coronado, starting with a trip to Trident Coffee (my fave coffee in all of socal). Pick up a sandwich from Parakeet and then hang out on the beach for the day and maybe catching a movie at the Hotel Del at their summer movie series

On a Friday night we would have to visit 710 Beach Club for Karaoke and end the night at PB shoreclub for the vibes.

For our chill day, we would spend the day on the water either paddle boarding in the bay or renting a duffy from Seaforth boat rentals! I would definitely book us massages at Balboa Oasis Spa for the best massage + infared sauna deals. While we’re in Bankers Hill we’d need to stop by Mostra coffee for my second fave coffee in socal!

Before they head out, we’d spend the morning at Mission Bay Beach Club and grab the best avo toast in town at Superbloom while chillin at the Bay.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are so many people that have supported me and given me the confidence to feel successful. From a young age, my dad taught me the concept of “girl power” – harnessing all the incredible aspects of being a woman while instilling in me that I have the ability to be who ever I want to be. And my mom has always taught me that what’s meant to be will be, so in the moments of feeling down or defeated, I can remember that good things are always on their way. Within my professional career, Jessica Graham at the University of Oregon has made a lasting impact on me. She believed in my leadership abilities, supported my growth, and showed me what real wellness passion looks like. She’s the best role model I could have asked for at the start of my career!

Website: wellnesscheckinclub.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnesscheckinclub/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sareenarama

Other: personal instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sareenarama/