My Interview with Kate Grove
Rachel Frentsos: Hi everyone. This is Moving Forward with Rachel Frentsos with Annapolis Fine Homes Long & Foster. I am starting a video series to highlight local business owners who are moving and shaking in their local businesses and I want to introduce Kate Grove with YogaVibez and Sunrise SUP. I’ve been a client of hers for many years. Kate and I met years ago at Truxton Park Pool and Masters Swimming. And I also helped her purchased a house in Annapolis. So we know each other really well and I’m really excited to be here with you. So thank you.
Kate Grove: Thank you.
Rachel Frentsos: You’re welcome. So how did you come to move to Annapolis?
Kate Grove: Oh, my husband and I were—ahh, I was pregnant with my first child, Tyler, and we were looking in northern Virginia, because that’s were we use to live and we couldn’t find anything that we liked without having to move way, way, way out, away from where we were living at the time. And we wanted to be near the water, and still be near our family, so Annapolis was a great choice. So I had—I still do—I have a sister who lives here and we loved it from all the times we visited here.
Rachel Frentsos: Right, so what do you love most about it?
Kate Grove: The water.
Rachel Frentsos: Yeah.
Kate Grove: Definitely.
Rachel Frentsos: Me too. So how did you get into—what were you doing before you started your business and how did you get into starting your business here?
Kate Grove: I was a—before we moved to Annapolis, I was in customer service, so I managed—I was the director of call centers and when we moved here and I had Tyler, I decided to be a stay at home mom and to entertain myself and to have something to do, I became a fitness instructor.
Rachel Frentsos: That’s awesome. So you were working on someone else’s time?
Kate Grove: I was. Before, before, yeah.
Rachel Frentsos: So what motivated you to want to start your own business and get out there and do it all by yourself?
Kate Grove: I had been teaching fitness for probably about twelve—twelve plus years, and I took a SUP yoga class and I feel in love with it. Everything. From the moment I got on the board to the end of it. And even falling into the water. And having done that, I went to get certified to teach SUP yoga—or actually, to teach Paddle Fit and it just kind of—it just kind of fell into place a little bit.
Rachel Frentsos: Right.
Kate Grove: One thing after the other. And once I got certified for that, I started to build my business with standup paddleboarding.
Rachel Frentsos: Yeah, SUP yoga is one of my favorite things. If you haven’t tried it, you have to get down here and give it a try. It’s so much fun.
So what advice would you give to someone who was starting their own business in the Annapolis area? Any pointers?
Kate Grove: Absolutely. Follow your passion, because it is a lot of work. You have to love what you’re doing. And you have to be passionate about it. You will put in a lot of hours, but at the same time, it will be so rewarding.
Rachel Frentsos: That’s awesome. It’s true, I agree.
Kate Grove: Yeah.
Rachel Frentsos: Like I remember when I started real estate, it was tough. But once I got rolling, it’s a lot of fun.
So what are some of the health benefits of yoga and paddleboarding?
Kate Grove: So the two go well together. The practice of yoga has—it’s thousands of years old and it’s—the whole point of doing yoga is to find some stillness in your life, to meditate, and to be present in the moment. And I find, when you go out in the water, we connect to not only ourselves, but to nature that’s all around us, and that is about being in the present moment. And there’s something very serene, and peaceful, and calming about being out there.
Rachel Frentsos: Right, and with the yoga on the paddleboard, what it forces you to do is really make you focus on what you’re doing. So what is nice is you sort of forget about all the stuff going on in your life because you’re focused on not falling off that paddleboard and doing the poses.
So—and then, what about SUP? What sort of benefits have you gotten from the standup paddleboarding?
Kate Grove: The nice thing about the paddleboarding is for one, you’re your own engine. So, it’s this very green way to get around the water. And you’re standing up, so you could see all around you. Where as, if you’re in a kayak, you’re kind of low. And I just find that, standing up and using my core, using my whole body, I get a lot more benefits from that.
Rachel Frentsos: Right, that’s awesome. So, I’m going to be completely honest. So when I was having a lot of back pain years ago, and a friend of mine said, “You should do yoga,” and growing up and being a collegiate swimmer, and I always thought yoga was just a bunch of people who couldn’t do anything else and wanted to come here and stretch and feel good. And I remember going to my first yoga class, and being completely humbled, because everyone around me were touching their toes and getting the head stands. It was nothing that I’d ever, ever thought it was going to be. So, what advice would you give to someone who has never tried yoga before? What would—advice would you give them when they come to the first class?
Kate Grove: What I would recommend is if the studio, like we have here at YogaVibez Edgewater is beginner classes. Go to the beginner’s classes because everybody there is at about the same level and the instructor is very well versed about teaching newbies. If you don’t have that opportunity, I would say go visit the studio or talk to the studio owner and get a peek at it, see what it’s like. Because you really need to connect, not only to the vibe in the studio, but to the, you know, other clients, other yogis, and the teachers as well. It’s really important.
Rachel Frentsos: Awesome. Thank you. So, in terms of your personal life, what’s your favorite thing to do around here in your off time—when you get a little time off?
Kate Grove: I don’t have that much time off.
I love being on the water. Or if I’m not on the water, I’m traveling somewhere where I can be on the water. That’s where most of our—like this upcoming week, I’m going to Costa Rica—so any kind of adventure, anything that gets me outside and doing stuff, and connecting not only to water, but people as well.
Rachel Frentsos: And what about your favorite local hang out around here? Besides your place, of course.
Kate Grove: There are a couple of spots that I do love to go, and people see me there. One is um, I love to go to—there are two coffee shops that are my favorite: Ceremony and Rise Up, I’m friends with both of them. My favorite go-to place for like a quick juice or protein bowl is Rutabaga in West Annapolis. And then, probably my favorite restaurant is Tsunami.
Rachel Frentsos: Oh yeah. Tsunami. That’s awesome. Well thank you so much.
I encourage all of you out there to come out here and try out Kate’s yoga classes and her SUP classes. They do race training. So you’re interested in racing on a paddleboard, they have race training. All kinds of events and lots and lots of fun. And their studio is located right down here on the South River. It’s gorgeous. You’re doing yoga and you’re looking up at the sunrises, sunsets. And right out on the water. So thank you for joining us. See you next time. Bye.
