Meet Eoghan O Kelly

We recently connected with Eoghan O Kelly and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Eoghan, thank you so much for opening up with us about some important, but sometimes personal topics. One that really matters to us is overcoming Imposter Syndrome because we’ve seen how so many people are held back in life because of this and so we’d really appreciate hearing about how you overcame Imposter Syndrome.

I love imposter syndrome! Throughout my career I have felt it at various milestones. Originally when I started working with general population folks I thought “wow, how can I help these people. Who am I to say or guide how this person moves. Have I done enough work personally, have I studied enough. The internal questions were endless. with enough experience and time, they died down. I built a confidence in my abilities that was much stronger than the questions asked.

Then came training professional and olympic athletes. They rose again, but similarly with enough time and experience. Seeing the results you achieve. The confidence and sense of belonging returns.

Most recently I have been working with professional dancers, by this time I grew to love the burgeoning imposter syndrome. It shows me I care. It shows me I am being challenged! And that is what I tell all of our younger trainers coming through at the gym. If you don’t have imposter syndrome, something is wrong. Of course you don’t know everything, of course there isn’t experience in your career to answer all the questions that you face. But that feeling, that imposter is what will drive you to get better, to search for the answers, to grow. I think it’s a beautiful thing to be challenged, and when you complete that challenge see what’s next. Comfort is the enemy of growth 😉

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

At Uptown Movement, we are passionate about spreading the benefits of a movement and exercise practice to people who have traditionally been shut out from these spaces. Everyone is starting to realize that in lieu of physical labor we have to place some demand on our bodies to help as we age. Not only is there so much to be gained physically by building a practice but what we learn about ourselves and the relationships we have with our bodies is what excites me the most. A presence and awareness that is so grounding and patient…if we do it right.

That is the message I am passionate about spreading. I also really believe in making gyms open and attractive to everyone, especially those who traditionally are intimidated by the gym culture. We strive to make hard work accessible to everyone not just those who all ready know what they are doing or happen to have won the genetic lottery in terms of physicality.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

1. Hard work. Honestly I can gripe about hustle culture with the best of them. I Do believe there is a lot of useless work done just because people are afraid of stillness. However, nothing gets done without hard work. Without action. Everyone has an idea but the ideas that come to life only do so when people act. When they are willing to make some scarifices to see it live!

2. Patience – with my self and with others. Things will happen when they happen, provided you stick to point number 1.

3. Empathy – understanding where people are coming from. What they might be feeling and experiencing in the moment might be so different from my own. I really try to understand our clients, our staff not just put expectations on them.

What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?

I would say scaling. The gym we have created is incredibly service driven. We are passionate about helping every single member that walks though our door. To do that we invest in our coaches and trainers to an almost unsustainable level. Doing this across multiple locations seems like we will lose a little of what makes us, us. So bridging that gap of trying to help as many people as possible while not losing the quality and dedication we give to those we already have is definitely the biggest issue right now.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.uptown-movement.com
• Instagram: uptownmovementgym
• Linkedin: eoghan o’kelly
• Youtube: uptownmovement