Celebrity CPT and Entrepreneur Heidi Somers 'Never Imagined Fitness Would Become Such a Central Part of My Career,' Dishes on New Fitness App

Celebrity CPT and entrepreneur Heidi Somers always had a passion for fitness, but she "never imagined it would become such a central part of my career."

"My overall goal is to inspire women to tap into their true potential. I'm just a small-town girl who dropped out of college, rolled up her sleeves, and refused to quit until my vision, which most people thought was crazy, became a reality. If other women hear my story, I hope it inspires them to pursue their passions fearlessly, break barriers, and believe in themselves enough to take a step towards a better life, whether on their fitness journey or level up in their work life. I want to be a cheerful 'friend' in my community, not necessarily a role model and show that anything is possible if you are passionate enough," she continues.

Since Somers is such an inspiration in the fitness world, she wanted to help others by creating her new app, Starting Grounds.

"I wanted to create a safe space for women I wish I had when I first started my fitness journey. I wanted to create a fitness app tailored to women, addressing their unique needs and goals that included all the tools they needed to succeed! There was a lack of fitness apps that truly understood the diverse fitness journeys of women, so I saw an opportunity to fill that gap to make others lives easier!" she explains of the social media app.

"I have wanted to create a fitness app for years but knew what I wanted in a fitness app was a huge undertaking rather than a simple plug-and-play. I waited until my other business, BuffBunny Collection, was at a place where I could take a small step out and entirely focus on this new platform, Grounds! It also took me a lot of time to find the perfect people to make this vision come to life!" she continues.

As for how it all works, Somers put herself in the headspace of a girl who just started their fitness journey. However, it can also be used for people who fall into the intermediate or advanced categories, too.

"I wrote down all the features that I would want in a fitness app that included user-friendly technology for workouts for all different types of women, four to six week challenges, food tracking, progress photos/weight tracking platform, period tracking, water calculator, macro calculator, heart rate, track your steps, and so much more. We included all the tools in the app but ensured it was user-friendly. It was important to me to develop a 'roadmap' for our girls who feel they don't know where to start. We also have huge plans to keep growing and improving the app!" she explains.

Now that Somers has 1.6 million followers on Instagram and 756K subscribers on YouTube, she is still wrapping her head around the fact that people soak up her content on a daily basis. "I was lucky enough to travel the world to different expos where I could meet the people who follow my social media platforms, and it was mind-blowing to hear the impact a simple tip or one YouTube video had on them. It fuels my fire today to keep educating and sharing what I can," she says.

After her unexpected success, Somers then launched BuffBunny, one of the fastest-growing women's athleisure clothing lines and communities.

"Building the BuffBunny Collection brand has been a roller-coaster of a journey. I didn't have a business background, partner, or business loans. But I knew how to create exceptional products that were flattering and functional for the woman's body, and I heavily focused on that. A lot of growing pains happened during the earlier years, but I couldn't be more proud of where we're at now. BuffBunny Collection products are the absolute best in the fitness industry; we design products with women in mind to be functional and make the body look phenomenal! We bring in different sizes and body types to properly fit each item instead of doing what other brands do. We try everything on a size small model and use 'fashion math' to calculate different sizes," she says. "The amount of people who have reached out and sent videos of them emotional over them trying on the pieces because of the fit and feel has been overwhelming. The brand has now become so much more than just clothing but a strong community."

Somers, who struggled with anxiety and body image prior to becoming passionate about her fitness journey, is just getting started.

"With BuffBunny Collection and Grounds Fitness app, I plan to continue expanding our products, features and reaching more women worldwide. My goal is to give women the tools, confidence, and roadmap to become the best damn version of themself," she says.

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