Karen Park: Fearless and Timeless – Brendan Higgins

by Brendan Higgins, contributing writer

Photos courtesy of Strategy RED Sports

Karen Park is all business when it comes to her career in fitness. Her incredible story is filled with both triumph and tragedy. On the triumphant side, there is a lot to cover. Park is the mother of 3 daughters. She is a highly sought after personal trainer and mindset coach. She has worked with countless people across the entire East Bay area and on Aquidneck Island. She became a bodybuilding champion in her 50s.

She is celebrating the 6 year anniversary of her highly successful business, Raise The Bar Fitness. On the tragic side, earlier this year, her studio was destroyed by a fire. Since failure has never been an option for Park, she shifted gears into overdrive and adjusted to the hand she had been dealt.

She found a new home and is currently located at Rhode Island Iron, located at 655 Metacom Avenue, in Bristol. She also began expanding her unique brand of fitness and mindset training by offering in home and virtual sessions. Without missing a beat, Park is now reaching more people than ever before. She has a proven track record helping her clients achieve their personal and professional goals. She has a unique method training both mind and body. She is redefining what 60 years old can be. The best part is, she is willing to share her philosophy with you.

Park grew up in Warren. Her fitness journey began at a young age. She recalled, “I started working out when I was 15. I worked out with my mom. We went to Woman’s World in Bristol. That was my first exposure to that type of environment. Step aerobics was starting to come around at the time. I still have my mom’s pink ankle weights from back then in my gym today. It’s my tribute to her. I also trained at Bally’s Total Fitness. That was the gym back in the day. They had a swimming pool and an indoor track. It was like a country club. It was so cool. I was there about 13 years.”

While attending Warren High School, Park participated in gymnastics, cross country and track and field. After high school she attended the Rhode Island Business Institute. She worked in the medical field until she had an opportunity to join Textron Financial Corporation. This would be her career for the next 8 years. Park has always been an independent person. She explained, “I was a late bloomer. I was 37 when I got married. I really wanted kids by that time. I was ready to start a family and raise my children. I have 3 amazing daughters. My oldest is Olivia, next is Alexis and my youngest is Abigail, but we call her Abby.”

Park had an athletic background in her youth. She was a regular at the gym but can look back today and see she was merely going through the motions. Then something changed. She reflected, “After years of being married with 3 daughters, I needed to get back in check with myself. I had been a stay at home mom for a long time. I wanted to go back to work but probably not back into the corporate world. I wanted to get back in shape.

A new gym opened up right next to where I lived. It was called Maxx Fitness Clubzz. This opened up a whole new world for me. I started working there selling memberships and doing a variety of other things. Eventually, I got certified as a personal trainer. I began building relationships with gym members. I was in a great position to see if this was something I wanted to take to the next level as a career. My favorite part was helping people achieve their goals. Working there gave me an opportunity to make a name for myself.”

In 2018, after some deep soul searching, Park decided to go out on her own. This would not come easy. She was leaving the security of her established job and client base. She would also need to find a location for her new venture. Like she always has, Park faced her fear head on. She found a location for her new studio in Warren. Her vision of a personal training studio became a reality and Raise The Bar Fitness was born. The name and logo have special meaning for Park. She said, “Raise the bar has two meanings. First, raising the bar for oneself for something better. Second, the circle around the barbell is literally you or anyone coming full circle.”

With the doors now open it was time to find some new clients. From ground zero, Park utilized social media setting up a business page. She already had a following. Some existing clients followed her to the new studio. Park felt the majority of trainers she knew were younger. They grew up in the era of social media. For Park, social media advertising was uncharted waters. This would not stop her at all. Through trial and error along with an unwavering desire to succeed, Park built an impressive client base. One of the reasons Park is successful is her ability to develop relationships with her clients. She is aware everyone has different needs. She listens to her clients and helps them uncover what might be holding them back in life. She offers support and challenges her clients to improve. Some of her clients started 6 years ago and still work with Park today. That speaks for itself.

Park was enjoying her career, but there was something inside of her that needed to be achieved. She had always wanted to compete in a bodybuilding competition. She knew this would not be easy. The idea of doing this at 57 was unheard of. Except when you tell Park something can’t be done, look out. She explained, “I had been thinking about this for a long time. It was a burning desire inside me. The desire would not go away. I wanted to do an all-natural show. I got some help with the nutrition aspect of it.

Other than that, I trained myself. It was 9 months in the making. I felt pretty darn good about what I was doing at 57 years old. It was extreme discipline and dedication. I was training all my clients during this time. I was on a journey. I did it for personal reasons and professional development. This was also a way to show people how I can help them. If I can do this, run a household, take care of my elderly father, be there for my 3 daughters, run my business and train for the show, then anyone can reach their potential.” Park travelled to Cape Cod and entered her first ever body building competition for the OCB Federation. She took first place.

We all face events in our lives that change everything in the blink of an eye. Karen Park was forced to face her worst nightmare at the height of her success. She recalled, “On March 2^nd, I was on top of the world. Things were going really well. I was out grocery shopping and one of my clients called me. She was hysterical. She told me my studio was on fire. I drove to Market Street and it was blocked off. There were fire trucks everywhere. I could see smoke billowing from the trees. As I walked closer I began to cry. It was pouring rain. It was freezing outside. I stood and watched flames coming out of the building. Then the roof collapsed.

I locked the door the day before and everything was fine. Now it was all gone. My daughters all came to be with me. We all stood in disbelief. The next day I had to go inside and try to salvage whatever I could. All my client’s sneakers were fine. They were in perfect shape. I took all the sneakers and put them in my trunk and took them home with me. I washed all the sneakers. Then I called every single client and told them the studio was gone but we are not stopping. What this ended up being was a reset. It was just a reset.”

This would be the beginning of a new chapter for Raise The Bar Fitness. Park made herself available to travel to client’s homes while she searched for a new studio location. If the client had in home gym equipment that was a plus. If they didn’t, Park would bring a mobile gym to them. This is something that happened because of the fire. Now it is a staple of her business. Park would not let her clients down. Two days after the fire she was back training them. She never skipped a beat.  

Karen Park has literally walked through fire. Failure has never been an option for this fitness warrior. She is looking forward to speaking with you about your fitness needs. Park trains men, women and teenagers. Her mission statement is fitness is a mind body and soul connection.

 For more information visit her website at karenparkfitness.com. You can contact Park directly by calling (401) 200-0033. Her email address is [email protected]      

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To read all stories by Brendan, here, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/brendan-higgins

Brendan Higgins, writer and author, RIPTA bus driver, former professional wrestler (Knuckles Nelson), and North Kingstown resident.

We welcome Brendan back after a hiatus as a contributing writer to RINewsToday.

To read a story about Brendan, from our sports department, go to: https://rinewstoday.com/knuckles-nelson-waking-up-from-the-wrestling-ring-to-the-yoga-mat-john-cardullo/

Higgins is the author of “Waking Up: From the Wrestling Ring to the Yoga Mat

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