At Divinely Well, we advance by small victories. Like that of this gentleman who, for the first time in twenty years, managed to lean forward to tie his shoelaces. “Victory is there for us too,” rejoices Tiffany Esteoulle. The young woman has just opened her second club Divinely Well, in Toussieu (Rhône), south-east of Lyon. And still remembers the pitfalls that plagued his project when he was responding to a real need: a sports club dedicated to people with overweight and/or obesity.
“I am a teacher in APA (Adapted Physical Activity), and I worked in rehabilitation centers, clinics, she recalls. But already in college, I had the feeling of abandoning my patients at the end of their medical care. At the hospital, we have everything available, but outside, it’s complicated to play sports with overweight. So my spouse, who is a PE teacher in college, told me that it was high time to leave as a liberal to accompany them outside! »
First franchise in the Lyon region
Even though the concept of Divinely Well was solid, the banks were initially reluctant: “when you go to see them at 23, on leaving your studies with 1,000 euros, it’s complicated!, recalls Tiffany Esteoulle. But we believed in it, and we started in 2017 by opening a small center in Drôme, near Valence. Five years later, word of mouth has done its work. Divinely well franchises and opens its new center in Toussieu. “We choose outlying areas because we need a large free car park for our customers who walk little,” explains the founder.
The other particularity of the club is that it does not employ any sports coach, only APA teachers. “We know exactly how to take care of someone who has several associated comorbidities. We work on small groups, of eight people maximum per hour, of which we know each file. Even in a joint session, the setting of the machines and the expected performance will be totally different from one person to another. »
More young people in the Rhône
While in the Drôme, the club had many retirees, the Rhone branch welcomes more young people. Which is not necessarily good news, in terms of health. “Obesity is on the rise, and affects more and more young people, regrets Tiffany Esteoulle. Today, in colleges, we see teenagers with a morphology that we had more at 30 years old, before. And when they reach 30, overweight is already present. We have all the more a role to play in prevention, and to prevent these people from becoming obese. »
The Divinely Well team completes its offer with advice on food, always in a friendly atmosphere to maintain motivation. “Someone who likes us will last over time, and we can act on their health in the long term,” notes Tiffany Esteoulle. Gaining self-confidence on a physical level brings both well-being and results. »
Source: 20minutes
