From Fashion to Fitness

Dana now in her mid 50’s, made a major career transition from 25 years in the corporate world of international fashion sourcing and manufacturing to health and fitness.

She admits she associated with the identity of a high powered professional executive and all the trappings like flying first class. But the industry was changing and while she loved her first career, it was becoming increasingly more difficult and stressful each year.

This was a planned 3 year transition returning to an area that Dana had experienced as a child.

“I enjoyed exercise and fitness, my mother had been a professional dancer and I loved gymnastics and ballet growing up. I knew I had some serious imbalances in my body and I had discovered Pilates in the 80’s when not many people had heard of this movement system.  I found it was something I really enjoyed, though originally I explored this for my own personal wellbeing. This however led me to explore other movement methods; the GYROTONIC® method was the missing link filing the voids with regards to dynamic stability, strength, flexibility and mobility.

I started by researching the techniques, talking to people in the industry. As I was still employed and travelling internationally, I used my weekends and vacation time to source expert trainers to become certified to teach Pilates and GYROTONIC®. In 2011 I took my next step and completed a post graduate university degree.

I had developed good business skills and I knew that if I didn’t want to work for anyone else I was going to have to open my own business. I am now an accredited exercise physiologist as well as an International GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Specialized Master Trainer with 12 years experience under my belt and a thriving business.

But I had to deal with big fears to get here. Money is always as issue as well as when I’d moved to Australia I had no family or support system, and was starting a whole new career and life.  I probably couldn’t have put myself in a more precarious position if I tried.

I’d earned a very good salary and was extremely successful in the previous career. I had to confront the fear of losing my identity associated with this previous life. Everyone from my family to my closest friends thought I was insane giving away this fabulous career to seek something completely unknown. 

I had to really confront this. Was this crazy? Was I crazy? Would I be able to financially support myself and would I be any good at all at this new career? The risk of making a mistake was also there, giving up 25 years building a successful career that I was now walking away from. But while my fear of failing and giving up my successful career was immense, my fear of not doing what I wanted to do and regretting it later was greater.”

Dana’s tips for a successful career transition:
  • Make sure you really want to make the change and that it’s not just the result of burn out.
  • Try to retrain or study concurrently with your current situation.
  • Talk to people in the industry you want to move into and get a real sense of the role.
  • See a life coach- Life coaches did not exist when I was making this change; if they had, I know I would have sourced the best coach I possibly could, with the expectation that they would have helped me sort through the issues and evaluate the pros and cons of my proposed change.

Let the universe guide you and trust yourself.

Dana Rader
GYROTONIC® Melbourne
www.gyrotonicmelbourne.com.au