Meet Ashley Korff

We recently connected with Ashley Korff and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Ashley , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

Back when I was 5 years old, my grandpa was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. My family wasn’t one that talked about hard things like that, everything got swept under the rug pretty much. I turned to sugary junk food to cope & became a sugar addict before I turned 6 years old. I became an obese child & had tons of secondary health issues really young.

I realized after my grandpa’s death in early 2008 that suffering at my own hands wasn’t going to bring him back, & that he wouldn’t have wanted me to waste my life away drowning in buckets of ice cream in my closet.

I began interning in veterinary medicine right after he died, & fell in love with it. My Labradors Shelby & Cooper were huge motivating factors to pursue it…Shelby had emergency surgery after she ate a toy ball, & Cooper was born with hip dysplasia & underwent several surgeries as a puppy. They were my best friends growing up as a kid, besides my sister Emily.

I had always been an animal & science lover, & it was absolutely perfect. I quickly realized that if I wanted a flying chance in hell at seeing my dreams, I had to get my health & fitness under control. You’re on your feet all day in vet med, & it’s a very physically demanding job. During a surgery, we had a dog on the table, & instead of being fully focused, the sugar cravings hit. That was my main “oh f*ck” moment where I knew I had to do something about it. I was also wearing men’s wide tennis shoes & had to walk around with my jeans unzipped because there was no larger size available in the stores. I was only 13 years old.

I had no healthy role model as a kid so I became it for myself. I got my fitness together, lost the 50 pounds, & haven’t ever had a problem since. I don’t take my second shot at life for granted.

4 years after I changed my lifestyle, my little sister & only sibling, Emily, became terminally ill with the rarest autoimmune & GI conditions in the world. We were only in high school…I was about 17 and my sister was only 15 years old.

If I hadn’t changed my lifestyle when I did, that situation would’ve killed me. My sister was my best friend, besides my pets.

My sister was homeschooled her last two years of high school & despite being on her deathbed, graduated top 10 just like I had. My biggest worry as a teen was eating healthy and working out, which is a vastly further cry from being worried that your entire future just got robbed from you.

That’s what happened to my little sister. She had dreams of becoming a kindergarten teacher and NASCAR driver, and she got fully robbed of that.

She medically withdrew from college after 2 weeks because of her terminal illnesses. Her GI system had fully shut down & she lived off of liquid nutrition via an NG tube or a PICC line during her last 10 years of life.

Eating 3 healthy meals a day versus junky crap is not even in the boxing arena compared to never being physically able to eat a meal ever again. I had already solved my problem but watching the events unfold with my little sister will always stay with me the rest of my life. I wake up every day massively grateful that I can eat healthy and workout. It’s not a burden at all. I wouldn’t be alive today if I did not have those two cornerstones in my life. None of my companies, books, etc would ever had existed.

I’ve applied to veterinary school three times already. Despite years of experience, great grades, and all of the other boxes checked, I have yet to be accepted. I’m still applying every year- but I’m nearly 30 years old. I couldn’t just let life pass me by without doing other things that are fulfilling. I never ever want to be dead while I’m alive.

I started my first company, Ashley Korff Fitness LLC, in January 2020 because I had bitched away from the work on my own brand for years. I had published my book on childhood obesity, The Real Perfect 10, in June 2012, and then just went to college and worked regular jobs. I knew I could help a ton of people, especially since I had truly cracked the code.

I bitched away from that work for 8 years until I finally just did it.

I knew my engineering job or even a veterinarian job would not be sufficient to pay for my sister’s medical care in the event my parents passed away before her. So I got to work on building a brand that could supplement any 9-5 income on near autopilot.

Building my first business was incredibly hard…I launched so much stuff & it would fall flat.

It was embarrassing, especially since I had seen such insane success myself.

I got the hell over that initial flop embarrassment really quick because why would you stay stuck with your butt on fire?

I finally was getting 1:1 clients, but I knew I had to create a program that could be ran more passively than strictly 1:1 clientele.

After nearly 3 years in business, I launched my murder mystery program Diet Killer, where program members solve a murder mystery “HBO/Netflix-style” while learning how to make a healthier lifestyle work for them…& crack their weight loss code once & for all.

I grew up adoring anything spooky or Halloween themed, & Stephen King is my favorite author. I wasn’t ever very popular at all growing up, & reading his books made me feel less odd. My birthday is October 13th & I’ve been a medium my whole life.

During this initial launch, I had a virtual day job in finance that just didn’t pay me beyond the first paycheck.

I had left my engineering QA job a few months prior out of an inability to negotiate pay per each promotion I had accumulated in a relatively quick timeframe. I wasn’t going to do an additional salaried job for free for half a year, so I left on the spot. It was incredibly risky and some would even say stupid. It was a long time coming & I just ripped the BandAid off.

There was a lot on the line, & it was a slow buildup that next 8 months.

My little sister was in & out of the ICU from February 2023 up until her final discharge in early May 2023.

I had taken up a job as a 911 dispatcher in January 2023 & her Nightingale flight happened during my shift. We didn’t get to radio into her chopper though since she was already at the hospital.

She had blood clots in her heart & lungs, resulting from a fungal infection in her PICC line, despite echocardiograms every 6 months.

She had to ride on Nightingale to get to a heart hospital 20 miles away to get emergency surgery to undo those clots.

All she got was some local numbing {anesthesia would not have worked because of where the clots were located}, & she just hung on & they opened her up & did what they had to do.

Going to the gym & eating healthy compared to that is stupid easy honestly.

Emily survived that walking & talking.

On March 17, 2023, my grandma passed away from Alzheimer’s. My 911 job refused to give me the days off to go to her funeral in Buffalo, New York, so I resigned.

Two weeks later, she was back in the ICU.

I launched my spooky themed workout clothing brand during that ICU stint.

She discharged herself on May 5th, 2023, to go home to die.

My sister died on May 17th, 2023.

I’ve been a medium my whole life, so I knew it was coming about 2-3 days prior.

Our pets who had passed away were coming to visit her that last weekend, & on my way to the hospital to view her body, she was riding shotgun with me. Nobody told me she had officially died until I got there.

On June 5, 2023, my uncle Chuck died suddenly in his sleep. We had just seen him at my sister’s funeral not even 2 weeks prior.

My good friend Alex suddenly passed away on July 2, 2023, barely a month after she got married.

On August 14, 2023, my good friend Tyler passed away suddenly from a medical event.

Summer 2023 was when my first company began growing like crazy.

It was definitely because of my hard work & ruthless persistence, but I know for a fact they’re watching out for me, especially Emily.

There’s been a lot of things in both my personal & professional lives since their deaths that have just “clicked” into place.

In September 2023, I created a social media graphic featuring myself & one of my rescue bunnies, Bambi.

It was murder mystery themed with Bambi in a little detective hat holding a magnifying glass.

I was looking at it one night & thought, “This would be a really cute idea for a book. Bambi as a detective lol.”

I started working on the first book, Detective B Case 001: Manor Mayhem, that fall & published it via Lulu in January 2024.

During my birthday weekend in October 2023, I ended a nearly 2-year long relationship that was not solving. I had been living with him for a period of time, & he gave me a hard time while I was already going through a hard time, so I gave myself that birthday gift last year. I moved back out on my own that same week.

My Shih Tzu Parker’s kidney failure began to worsen right after publishing the first Detective B book.

He passed away on July 29, 2024.

I have 3 rescue bunnies- Bambi, Luna, & Timmy, and they all star in the series. I wrote & illustrated it myself, & it was something really fun to do. I had wanted to write a book on my first bunny Coco, but never did. It was over 7 years between my first & second books. I plan on writing more Detective B books, with a second one currently in the works.

My rescue Shih Tzu, Parker aka Furbie, had his book Parker The Wonder Dog published in November 2019 as part of his nonprofit Parker’s Promise.

Emily & I adopted Parker in August 2011, the year before she became terminally ill. We were his last chance home because of his PTSD…someone had thrown him against a 711 dumpster and he was found bloodied & matted, crying for help.

Parker was truly the embodiment of Parker The Wonder Dog… he never left my sister’s side & was there for us all through her 11-year illness.

Parker The Wonder Dog teaches kids to be kind to animals through Parker’s perspective.

I adopted Luna & Timmy from a kill shelter after my first bunny Coco suddenly passed away from seizures. They were only 2 months old & I knew I had to bring them home.

I was working at a vet hospital when someone encountered Bambi in their neighborhood. I went out there with a spare kennel & netted Bambi in a deep sea fishing net, and brought her home. She was about 2 years old at time of rescue & apparently she just got dumped out there by someone in the nasty mid-July heat. That was July 2018 & she just celebrated her 8th birthday on September 1st.

In December 2023, I founded my sister’s legacy fund in Parker’s Promise Foundation. Previously, the main focus was public education initiatives & encouraging educators to buy the ebook copy of Parker The Wonder Dog.

My sister’s legacy fund ships copies of Parker The Wonder Dog to schools for free, & part of the proceeds of all of my brands funds that.

I began dating my current boyfriend, completely by chance.

He’s been everything that I’ve never had with someone, & I’m massively grateful he came into my life.

His military birthday was my sister’s 13th birthday.

13 is my lucky number & my sister knew that my entire life.

Most people are scared shitless to turn 30, but I’m not scared at all to turn 30 in October this year.

For what I’ve known, my life has been filled with a lot of unknown, a lot of risk, & a hell of a lot of unexpected plot twists.

But it’s all worked out.

I’m just getting started & I’m excited to see what my 30’s have in store for me.

Thanks, so before we move on maybe you can share a bit more about yourself?

The very first Detective B book, Case 001: Manor Mayhem, is already published on Lulu Bookstore! You can find it there or check out our website for merch & more! https://linktr.ee/detectivebofficial

My nonprofit, Parker’s Promise Foundation, has our fall & winter campaigns coming up, as well as our work via The Emily Korff Legacy Fund. You can check out our website here: https://msha.ke/parkerspromisefoundation

My workout clothing store, October 13th Fitness, recently relaunched for the 2024 spooky season! You can check out our website here: october13fitness.com

My murder mystery-themed weight loss coaching program, Diet Killer, is open for enrollment year-round! You can check out the program, my book on childhood obesity, & more on my website here: https://linktr.ee/ashleykorff/store

Here are my social media accounts if you would like to give me a follow on your favorite platform:

Instagram: @ashleykorff @detectivebbooks @october13fitnessco @takeparkerspromise @dietkillerprogram

Tiktok: @ashleykorff @detectivebbooks

Facebook: Ashley Korff, Detective B Books

Youtube: @ashleykorfffitness @detectivebbooks

If you would like to contact me for my fitness brands: ashleykorfffitnessllc@gmail.com

If you would like to contact me for the Detective B series: detectivebofficial@protonmail.com

If you would like to contact me for Parker’s Promise Foundation: parkerspromise@proton.me

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

My ability to execute on an idea was absolutely crucial…nobody is ever going to force you to start something. When I published my first book, I wrote the manuscript in 2 months. This was back before self-publishing was a thing, & I had to email the manuscript to publishers & someone had to approve of it. My parents didn’t even know…the publisher called me when I was still at school {I was in 11th grade at the time}. It’s really easy to get into a “normal” life swing & not take any action at all on your idea…& it’s easy to listen to people to never have once wanted anything more than the norm. It’s hard to go against the grain & carve your own path, but it’s completely worth it. You literally have to just do it. Nobody is going to babysit you & make you do anything.

My ability to just block out the noise & negativity has served me one million-fold. Everyone & their damn brother will have their little opinion. Let them. That will never go away no matter how much money you have in the bank, & it’s a skill you must have or you’ll allow the opinions to filter in & soil your dreams & goals.

Not everyone is going to like you or like what you’re doing; and not everyone is going to be happy for you. I’ve had countless Internet trolls, trolls in real life, & I even had someone create a whole Instagram mocking me, my weight loss story, & that brand. Hell when I had my book signing for my very first book, my own boyfriend at the time didn’t even show up.

People will see something in you they wished they had the guts to do themselves, & they’ll unleash their insecurities onto you like a puma. It has nothing to do with you & everything to do with them…you’ll see people engaging with trolls in the comments, but the best thing you can do is block & delete & to not allow a 10-second comment ruin 10 minutes of your day.

At my book signing, I had total strangers showing up & saying how awesome it was…& learning that lesson very young at 17 years old helped me throughout my 20’s building my brands. You will have total, utter strangers falling in love with your brand, your message, what you’re doing, & they will support you. Not many of your “friends” will & that’s okay. There’s a ton of people on this planet, & you will find your people.

My ability to just tackle the shit of life head-on, chew it up, & spit it back out has also served me one-million fold. Life isn’t ever “easy” even if you’re in shape, have “success,” etc. Things will happen, because it’s life. You can’t allow that to stop you or hold you back. I had to learn how to thrive in chaos really damn young because of my sister’s terminal illnesses. I still got shit done & made it happen because life’s too damn short to be sitting around waiting for the impact you want.

Have I gotten into veterinary school yet? Nope. Was it unexpected? Yeah. But 10 years ago when I was about to enter my 20’s, I had no idea how much really cool stuff I was about to do with my life instead. I didn’t know I was going to create these brands, found the nonprofit, & create the Detective B series. 19-year-old me would be shocked, but completely in awe at how I’ve led myself like a badass. She would be insanely proud. So even if life doesn’t turn out exactly like you thought, sometimes it turns out better than you ever could’ve imagined.

That very first summer I interned in vet med, I read an article about a veterinary cardiologist of the year. It took him five times applying to finally get one “yes.”

I launched over 20 group programs before I finally got a winner.

That light at the end of the tunnel is there, but you got to keep digging.

As we end our chat, is there a book you can leave people with that’s been meaningful to you and your development?

Pet Sematary by Stephen King was the very first horror book I ever read.

My birthday is October 13th & I’m a medium, & I wasn’t really that “normal” as a kid…I would read 3 books at once on my bed & flip the pages, read them all, flip them all again. I would know what was happening in each one if you picked one up & asked me.

I always had loved Halloween since I was a tiny kid. I have a vocal cord disorder & can do crazy voices, including witch cackles, demon/ghost voices, etc.

The works of Stephen King, especially that first book, ignited my love for horror & spooky even more.

I absolutely adore all of my brands & businesses. Not many people can say they truly adore what they do, so I’m really really grateful.

Books, movies, & TV shows such as Stephen King, TruBlood, Ann Rice, Stranger Things, Wednesday, & more all have made me really, truly, utterly confident in who the hell I am.

I was extremely quiet as a kid, dubbed “off the charts” smart after they IQ tested me in primary school, & I could see & speak to the dead. The rancher house I lived in as a tiny kid had a Civil War graveyard behind it & I would climb the fence to see who was around. I did have some good friends who lived in that neighborhood, but I was just a really quiet & shy kid. My absolute best friends were my pets & my little sister.

Devouring King’s books in grade school made me feel less alone & less like a freak. I had some teachers growing up who would place bets on how high I could score on shit…& it made me feel like a freak honestly. Thankfully it wasn’t all of them, & thankfully I had a ton of really wonderful teachers.

The insanely brilliant way he writes each chapter too was a huge inspiring factor in how I wrote the mysteries in each of my fitness programs…you’re left wanting more & you just have to find out what happens next. The same goes for Stranger Things… that series was also a huge inspiration factor that led to my business breakthrough.

Without my fitness companies, there would be no Detective B since the “aha” moment for that came from a fitness program social media graphic last fall.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://linktr.ee/detectivebofficial https://linktr.ee/ashleykorff/store
• Instagram: @ashleykorff @detectivebbooks @takeparkerspromise @october13fitnessco
• Facebook: Ashley Korff; Detective B Books
• Youtube: @ashleykorfffitness @detectivebbooks
• Other: Tiktok: @ashleykorff @detectivebbooks

Image Credits

All images courtesy of Ashley Korff