We’re looking forward to introducing you to Michelle Carey. Check out our conversation below.
Michelle, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. Have any recent moments made you laugh or feel proud?
We recently had a girls night out and toward the end of the night we decided to go karaoke in the spur of the moment. Two of the ladies in our group are amazing singers. Lizzy professionally sings in a band and Autumn literally sounds like Lauren Hill.
When we arrived, I was surprised to find that most people there could really sing. I, however, cannot sing. I am totally tone deaf and my voice cracks very easily. But I love karaoke. I’m Filipino, so our family events always had karaoke.
I kept telling my gal pals I wanted to do a song but I was scared, especially because everyone was so good. And they reminded me that I need to walk my talk and overcome my fear. I tell our members all the time, to crush the fear that holds them back.
So I agreed, and I told Autumn to put my name down for Tina Turner’s Proud Mary.
Once my name was called, it was showtime. I could either get up there and feel awkward, thus making it painful for everyone to watch, or I could own the fact that I can’t sing, have fun and give it my all.
I am proud to say that I gave them the best rendition of Tina Turner moves I could summon. And I am happy that I crushed that fear. Now I just need to muster up the courage to post the video!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Michelle Carey and I am the founder of HiiPOP Dance Fitness. We help women who are bored with traditional workouts shake it, sculpt it, and drop it like it’s hot.
Our HiiPOP FITNESS TRIFECTA includes
FITNESS:
– HiiPOP HUSTLE – Our high intensity pop and hip hop dance fitness with a burlesque flair.
– ICONIC DANCE VAULT – Choreography based workout where you can learn the most iconic dance routines of all time.
– DANCERS’ STRENGTH LAB – Dancers’ strength for every body. A fusion of Pilates, Barre and Calisthenics with resistance bands and weights.
NUTRITION:
– HiiFIVE MEALS: Accessible, simple and yummy 5 ingredient meals to fuel your power days and rest days.
MENTAL STRENGTH:
– HEADSPACE HUSTLE- From Inner Space to Outer Hustle. This is designed to build better habits and elevate your performance.
We believe that all 3 areas of the fitness trifecta are needed to attain ultimate peak health. You can workout every day but if you’re eating a Big Mac at lunch multiple times a week, it will more than cancel out your workout, unfortunately.
Eating the right food is more important than how much you workout. And with mental strength, we cannot stay on track long-term, if our mental resilience is weak. To achieve goals of any capacity requires fortitude within the mind. They all play into each other.
On top of all that, our pièce de résistance, is that you don’t have to do all this alone. We have a strong community of HiiPE girls who are there for you, cheer you on, support you, not only through your fitness journey but in life. And that is the most special part of this all.
Our world not only has a health crisis in many ways, but we have a loneliness crises. I have been there.
When I was a young mom, with a newborn and a 4 year old. I left the most unhappy I ever have. Even though I had every thing I had ever wanted, a wonderful husband, 2 beautiful, healthy kids but I felt isolated and overwhelmed. I needed am outlet and community of women like this one. Women need other women to hype them up. They need a tribe they can rely on and feel worthy, loved, and inspired to grow together. At our core, that is what HiiPOP Dance Fitness is all about.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
The earliest memory of me feeling powerful is when I danced in front of people for the first time. I was an extremely shy kid. My dad would often tell me that when people would ask what my name was or any other question, I would never respond and they would always ask if I didn’t know how to speak English. So my level of shyness was pretty extreme.
I remember going to a party when I was probably about 5 or 6. It was packed, as Filipino parties often are. They formed a circle and people were dancing one by one in the middle.
I have no idea what came over me, but I ended up going in the circle and just giving it my all. I have no recollection of what dance moves I did. It probably was a combination of Michael Jackson or Janet Jackson, as I spent my days copying their moves on MTV as early as I could remember.
Looking back, it was confirmation that dance is where I feel most powerful and most myself.
Dance is where I broke out of timidity. Still today dance is where I feel most free and powerful.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
The fear that has often held me back in life is the fear of other people’s opinions.
I still struggle with that fear, but as I look back on my journey and who I am today, the grip of that fear has loosened tremendously.
Right now, I know that for my business, I need to post my viewpoint on various topics in the fitness space and beyond. People often follow a brand not just for what the brand delivers but of who the brand is.
Especially with the fitness industry, there’s so much toxicity out there. The waters are muddied by filters, fake results and empty promises. If I get overwhelmed and discouraged viewing online fitness content, other women must be too. What is especially frightening is that young girls see all that content and they have unrealistic views of how they should look.
At this point in time, I need to post videos of myself sharing more authentically, share my opinions, but I fear the crowd of the internet. People can be so harsh. But I won’t do this just to grow the brand, for growth’s sake. I want to attract ladies who can align with our mission.
I recently revamped my social media content schedule to include this type of content.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
The fitness industry is a pool of contradicting opinions. If you scroll through reels, you’ll see one person saying kettle bells don’t build muscle and then you’ll see a person with a muscular physique doing a kettle bell routine. Or that Pilates doesn’t give you results, a month after the “Pilates Princess” movement has flooded TikTok.
Everyone has a fitness program to sell you and they tell you everything else doesn’t work. And everyone has a quick fix because they know people don’t buy slow results, the crowd wants lightening fast results without discipline.
I’m not saying every fitness influencer is that way. There are tons of truthful ones out there.
To sum it all up, the biggest lies are that there’s a one size fits all fitness program and you can get there without making major lifestyle changes.
The fitness program that will work best for you is the one you like the most, because you have to make it a part of your forever lifestyle. Not just a 3-6 month program. Doing something you hate and cannot sustain is pointless if you cannot do it long term. Find what you love the most and integrate it into your life without the mentality of this is just a “6 week challenge”. After that 6 weeks, most people revert back to old habits.
My dad found mountain biking at age 48. A few years ago he climbed mount Haleakala in Maui. The Mount Haleakalā bike climb is a 36-mile journey from sea level to the 10,023-foot summit, gaining over 10,000 feet in elevation. The kicker is he did that in his 70s.
Mountain biking is what he loves and at 76 he still does it today. That’s a 28 year commitment to his fitness, and he was able to sustain it because he found how he loves to exercise.
Find what you love, and commit to it and you’ll never have the rollercoaster fitness journey.
Okay, so let’s keep going with one more question that means a lot to us: What is the story you hope people tell about you when you’re gone?
When I’m gone, I hope the story people tell about me is that through HiiPOP, I helped create a space where they felt like they belonged.
Overall, when I see my members on a weekly basis, my biggest concern is that they feel valued, worthy and loved.
Feeling connected to other people and to something that is bigger than themselves is where happiness lies. We gotta have our tribe that beats the same drum. We all come from different backgrounds, life seasons, and beliefs, but the one thing that unites us is we believe in hyping each other up. All ladies need their hype girls, or in our case it’s HiiPE girls!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hiipopdance.com
- Instagram: @hiipopdancefitness
- Facebook: @hiipopdancefitness
- Youtube: @hiipopdancefitness
- Other: TikTok: @hiipopdance_michelle
Image Credits
KrysE Photography
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
