Free Fitness Movement. All you need to do is show up!
My name is Carli, nice to meet you all! I am the quiet one in the pink sweater.
I have been apart of the tribe since October 2018 and have been there almost every week since I started going. I have been following NP on Instagram for a few years now and have wanted to join in but was afraid to go alone. When I saw my good friend Jordan was going I knew it was time to join the tribe!
My first impression of Kelowna can be described in 2 words:
ROZ HUBER
I had lived in Kelowna for a grand total of 6 hours before I met Roz. The way I see it, November Project is Kelowna’s welcome wagon. At least that’s the way it went for me.
It was Sunday. I was walking down Pandosy to meet a friend for coffee when I saw what I thought was a surfer chick standing at her car. Long curly hair, backward trucker hat, blue crop top, drinking coffee in the hot sun. Not coffee from a to-go mug, but a coffee cup resting on the roof of ther Volkswagen. This is the first friend I made in Kelowna.
So, I discovered November Project during one of the lowest times of my life. After going through several personally challenging events and living through, without a doubt, the hardest year of my life, I needed a change. I craved new experiences, new people, new ways to discover the city I got to call home for the past few years, and, most importantly, new reasons to smile. In my search, I came across a fundraiser for the Central Okanagan Hospice which was organized by this thing called November Project Kelowna. I had no idea what to expect, and on the night of the event, I debated not showing up. I made every possible excuse not to go, but let me tell you- I am so glad I did.
It’s Wednesday. It’s 5:45am. My Alarm clock is belting “Forever Young” by Alphaville. It’s minus too much outside. It’s snowing. WTF am I doing? Every part of my body and most of my brain is saying to me that the time for morning burpees was in the Alphaville days. Its not 1984 anymore. I’m not a kid anymore. It’s time to hit snooze and stay in bed. But that was only most of my brain saying that… there is that tiny voice that starts with a whisper and slowly grows with each electronic pulse belting over the speak until I can no longer hear “go back to bed” and can only hear “JUST SHOW UP!!!”. This is November Project.
Hello NP Kelowna!!! Y’all Good?!.. We all know the answer to that one.
My name is Liam Coulombe, I am currently working as a pastry cook at RauDZ Regional Table, I love toques, wool, and fur, and am ecstatic to be part of the November Project tribe.
When I’m not at NP or cooking, you’ll find me drawing, reading, hiking, biking, cooking (did I say that?), skating, studying culinary techniques, or working on a project.
Hi my name is Erin Brucker, otherwise known as mini-Brucker or Gary’s daughter (as I often live in the shadow of this guy…. its a pretty big one). But let it be known, I am indeed my own person and also do #justshowup Wednesday mornings.
I have been apart of the NP tribe for over a year now. I stumbled upon the great Roz Huber’s Instagram a while ago and followed along where I first was introduced to something called the November Project. I had no idea what it involved except for the fact that she would post about a free workout at 6:29am. It intrigued me but, like most other people, I am not a morning person, hence I never showed up. While being pace bunnies for the Wine Country Half that year, my dad met this awesome dude named Steve Morrison who introduced him to the idea of November Project. He brought it up to me and I was like, “Yea. that’s what this cool girl Roz does. We should go.” So we went the following Wednesday together (which Gary fails to mention in his blog post). Was it easy to get up that dark, early and cold October morning? Definitely not. Was it worth it? Most definitely yes. I definitely was not expecting the loud, obnoxiousness and excitement that was THE BOUNCE. But it is still by far one of my favourite parts of starting Wednesdays. I remember being partnered with the speedy Taylor Horsting the first day and pushing to keep up. I left feeling on a high and with more friends than I had the day before.
But first, a little background on me. I moved to the Shuswap in the fall of 2016 from Williams Lake for the environmental program in the Salmon Arm’s campus. After a year’s time, particular circumstances led me to the Kelowna’s campus. The transitions have been very difficult in all honesty. However, I’ve stayed true to my studies and have kept moving forward.
Upon arrival here, it was an actual culture shock from Williams Lake in many regards. Further, being the new guy in town has posed challenges, and I’ve constantly found myself searching for like-minded
individuals to associate with.
Doctors, lawyers, pilots, teachers, students, brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, doesn’t matter who you are, what you believe in, what your ‘status’ is, you are or can be a part of the Kelowna November Project Tribe…and what a tribe it is…such a community based “person loving” group that our mayor declared a special day, November Project Community Day, on November 28, 2018…how far we have come!!!
Everything was good, then not so good, then November Project changed that.
Hi, my name is Jared Waldroff and November Project has shown me more about myself than I thought just a morning workout would. It started out as a fun workout I started going to with way more people than I could count. Then after many coffee hangouts, laughs and lake dives it became something I was always looking forward to.
MICHELLE! MY NAME IS MICHELLE ANDI HAVE BEEN GOING TO NP FOR OVER A YEAR NOW AND I ABSOLUTELY CANNOT EVEN IMAGINE A TIME WITHOUT IT! LIKE WHAT EVEN WAS LIFE?? I lOVE NP IT’S CULTURE AND THE PEOPLE SO MUCH MY HEART COULD BURST! I LOVE THE CHALLENGE, THE FUN, THE COMMUNITY AND I LOVE THAT YOU CAN JUST SHOW UP AND BE YOURSELF!