The Story behind Chisel N Stride

The journey from athlete to lawyer to fitness entrepreneur

Every business has a story behind it and here is ours. Saloni, our founder, was a competitive tennis player and was Kenya’s top ranked female tennis player in the late 1990s and represented the country for several years. She travelled extensively to compete in tournaments internationally and represented Kenya from an early age. As an athlete, focusing on developing speed, power, strength and endurance was an everyday ritual so that she could compete more effectively on the court. As a result exercising was engrained in Saloni from an early age. From 1999 to 2002 she played tennis for an NCAA Division 1 college team in the United States while pursuing her under undergraduate degree and would train up to 3 hours per day on and off the tennis court. After graduating, she moved to Sydney, Australia to attend law school and practiced as a lawyer for several years before moving to Dubai to work for a DIFC based law firm. Time and pressure were part and parcel of the nature of Saloni’s job. To combat the stress and continue maintaining exercise as part of her lifestyle, she used fitness classes and played club tennis as a means of releasing the mental stress of work, and being able to socialize outside of work. In 2015, after over 10 years of practicing as a lawyer, Saloni decided to venture out beyond the legal world and enter the fitness entrepreneurship space. Here’s how Saloni describes her journey":

Between 2009 and 2015 as a I got more senior in the legal profession, my working hours ramped up and I worked consistently 12 hours a day (and sometimes 16 hours a day). Working on weekends was not uncommon and for many years I accepted this was life as a lawyer, but it left me little time to do anything more than come home and cook, rest, shower and go back to work. My active lifestyle went downhill and a persistent back injury I suffered from only got worse from sitting extensively. I felt sluggish and lacked energy as I was dealing with the fatigue from working long work hours. I detested this feeling and did not want this to be my lifestyle for the forseeable future as much as I loved being a lawyer. Coming from a business family, we frequently discuss business opportunities and I realized there was a possibility for me to develop a new concept for Nairobi and build a boutique fitness studio specializing in group fitness classes which the city lacked. There were days when I would say to myself “stop being crazy, you love what you do, have a good salary, why would you even think about this.” Other days after a tough day at work, I would say to myself “is this the type of lifestyle you want to lead going forward and do yourself wanting partnership at a law firm.” After going back and forth in my own mind, I knew one thing for certain - I did not want partnership at a law firm and wanted to branch out on my own and steer my own ship. Whilst on a holiday with my husband and some law school friends, I sat them down to get their opinion and said “I know this is going to sound crazy but I have an idea to set up a fitness studio which just focuses on offering high quality fitness classes, and I want to centre the the studio around a community feel. Am I being crazy to leave my legal career to become an entrepreneur?” They didn’t think it was crazy and close friend said “I think is exactly right for you because you are an action taker, have a passion for fitness and you have absolutely nothing to lose - go back to being a lawyer if it fails because you have enough experience.” Thanks to their vote of confidence and encouragement, I decided to take a leap of faith and jump into the fitness entrepreneurial world in 2015.

I started my first boutique fitness studio (Reform Cycling & Strength Studio) in Nairobi. It was nerve wrecking 6 months leading to the opening and a different form of pressure I did not feel as a lawyer, but at the same time exciting that this was my own brand and an opportunity to be able to steer a business in my own direction, and try and test fitness class concepts. I was excited to see that clients loved the new concepts and my ideas were being embraced. Beyond offering high quality fitness classes and quality service, one of the key goals for my studio was to emphasize a feeling of community and the power a community has to help other vulnerable communities through our shared passion for fitness. Over the years, we have built a dedicated and strong community and resulted in it being awarded regional awards and recognized on international media such as BBC and CNN as a result of our efforts to help other vulnerable communities throughout Kenya.

Dubai is my second home and I have lived here for over 10 years. My intention was always to build my second studio here as it is an exciting city for fitness entrepreneurs. Over the last few years, the fitness scene has exploded thanks to initiatives such as the 30x30 fitness challenge which has brought about more awareness on the importance of moving and exercising regularly. Gyms and Boutique studios have cropped up all over the city and done an incredible job of making fitness part of the lifestyle of Dubai residents.

In 2019 when I started to put the plans together for Chisel N Stride, little did I know that the pandemic would completely disrupt these plans and put a brake on the project but in hindsight I consider this brake a blessing. In 2020, my back pain flared up and I lost power in my leg which resulted in me going for spinal surgery (and yes I turned back to pilates for my rehab!). This event along with the opportunity to speak to some of the older clients I trained regularly caused me to go back to the drawing board for Chisel N Stride and remap the types of group fitness classes I wanted to offer. Coming from a professional background and dealing with a serious back injury more recently, my philosophy on fitness has changed. I believe 3 elements of fitness need to work in tandem to keep you healthy long term and injury free: cardiovascular exercise (i.e. get your heart rate up), strength training, and flexibility / mobility training. It is for this reason, our group fitness classes and coaching sessions follow our Sweat, Strengthen, Stretch mantra at the studio. Coming from a sports science background (my undergraduate degree), I also believe that tracking your fitness journey is important to determine whether all your efforts in class are achieving any physical benefits for your body. Accordingly, you will see we offer a customized heart rate monitoring app available on the app store, and all our Stride Zone classes use our heart rate monitoring system so we can track your intensity level in class and monitor over a period of time whether you are improving your cardiovascular health.

I recognize from my days as a working professional, we all need a space to escape to where we can step away from our responsibilities and phones, and solely focus on our mind and body without interruption. Chisel N Stride has been designed as a space where regardless of your age, fitness level, or current physical condition, our end goal is to keep you physically and mentally healthy. I hope Chisel N Stride enables you to experience your own resilience and discover your edges.

Chisel N Stride is more than a business for Saloni, it’s what she calls her “second child”. Rest assured you will see her at the front desk welcoming you, or in class teaching as she makes every attempt to get to know what you want to achieve out of your fitness journey. We hope the Chisel N Stride team can accompany you along your journey until you reach your destination.