A familiar face in Bracebridge is getting recognized at the highest level nationally.
Fyonna Vanderwerf, the owner and group fitness instructor at Hive Muskoka in Bracebridge was recently named one of the top fitness instructors in Canada by Impact Magazine.
“Thank you Impact Magazine for selecting me as one of Canada’s Top Fitness Instructors! So exciting,” said Vanderwerf via social media. “And rocking the fitness business in my 50’s? Even cooler than Ice Ice BABY!”
Vanderwerf opened Hive on Wellington Street in 2020. Despite opening in the middle of a pandemic her business has managed to persevere and thrive. In fact, Impact previously awarded Vanderwerf in August of 2022 with the 2022 Business Resilience Award for her work during the pandemic.
In winning her latest award, Vanderwerf told Impact that she was uncoordinated as a child and struggled with team sports.
“People wrote me off,” she says. “Being written off as someone without merit in their movement ticked me off. Everyone has an ability, and just because you cannot do five pushups, does not mean you cannot find joy and achievement in movement.”
Vanderwerf says movement is all about joy.
“No one likes to be put in a category and having people come to your class is such a community builder: to give back a fire, a joy, an energy, and a sneaky groove that makes you smile however you do it,” she says.
Impact has been putting out the awards for six years, with winners nominated each summer via submissions from the public. Nominees are then scored by an expert panel based on merit, equally across the board. They are judged in areas that include education, certifications and accreditations, years in the industry, philanthropy and community service.
You can read the full Impact article here.
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Thank you for the shout out! It’s been quite the ride so far!