My Work as CEO: It Comes Down To Love
In 2023, I was asked to become CEO and President of Curves North America, Australia, and New Zealand. Since then my life has been tough, stressful, intense, and above all, rewarding.
It truly has been a gift to bring all of my knowledge and all of my learning over the past 20+ years back to the markets I originally started with, and to open up an invitation for owners to join me in what I believe can be our best days.
Over the past 18 months, we’ve focused on disciplined marketing, clear communication, and re-establishing what Curves stands for. We’ve launched many new Curves 30 clubs. We’ve introduced a refreshed logo. We’ve evolved the design. And when I look at where we are now, I’m beyond thrilled.
But none of it was about a logo.
At the end of the day, our business is about reaching women who need what we have to offer. If we can make the path into our clubs easier… if we can make the knowledge of what we are more accessible… if we can truly reflect the experience women have when they walk through our doors…then we’re doing our job.
And that experience hasn’t changed.
Women finish their first workout and say, “Wow, that was amazing.”
Which is why I brought back something that had somehow disappeared from the brand: Amaze Yourself.
Because that’s exactly what they say. It’s not marketing language, it’s lived experience. “Wow, that was amazing.” The tagline comes from the circuit itself.
Evolving Without Losing Ourselves
As I developed the brand internationally, I had the opportunity to evolve our brand voice. To me, brand voice isn’t clever phrasing–it’s resonance. What deeply connects with our membership? What feels true?
There were always seeds inside Curves. Diane, one of our co-founders, used to say, “We’re planting little seeds.” And in many ways, I’ve simply given those seeds space to flourish.
You see it in the decor. You see it on the walls. I sat down and wrote an entire box of inspiring quotes, not because I wanted something decorative, but because I asked myself: What would I want someone to say to me? What would lift me? What would get me excited to show up?
I always think franchisee first. Member first.
Our design has evolved. The color palette feels familiar but refreshed. There are intentional details throughout. None of it is random. It all connects back to the experience inside the club.
One phrase that re-emerged is something we had on a T-shirt more than 20 years ago:
Find your tribe and love them hard.
It may sound simple. But inside Curves, that sisterhood is real. It’s the number one thing women talk about when they describe their experience: “I just love the women here.”
We all need someone to cheer us on. Someone to say, “Great job.” Someone to notice when we show up. Someone to say, “See you tomorrow.”
Coming out of COVID, we understand the power of that more deeply than ever. Community isn’t optional. It’s mental health. It’s belonging. It’s stability.
And I don’t think we fully understood just how essential that was until the world paused.
What I Learned From a Wall of Hearts
In 2008, I walked into a club in Perth, Australia. As I climbed the stairs, I saw an entire wall covered in paper hearts. Each heart had a handwritten message.
I stopped and just looked at them.
Words matter. Imagery matters. Color matters. I actually have a whole color theory inside our clubs: where does energy come from? Is it words? Is it color? Is it people? Probably all three.
That wall told me everything about that club before I spoke to anyone.
And over time, I realized something very clear: Clubs reflect their owners.
These extraordinary women who build these clubs…they pour their personality, their care, their standards, their energy into them. It shows. Always.
And then it hit me even deeper. What is this experience, really?
You could use a million words to describe it. But at the end of the day, it’s one word.
Love.
Curves comes down to love.
That’s why there are hearts in our clubs now. Not because I woke up one day obsessed with hearts. I used to wear mostly black; advertising habit, slimming, practical. Hearts were not my aesthetic.
But love is what we are.
Why It Works
Woman to woman, we understand this instinctively.
If you’re a man reading this, you can get very close to understanding it. But there is something uniquely powerful about the empathy between women. We listen to the story. We understand the context. We’ve lived it, or someone close to us has.
Women talk openly inside Curves about why they’re focusing on their health. What brought them to that moment. What they’re carrying.
There’s a saying: what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
Well, what happens in Curves stays in Curves. There’s a kind of magic in that safety. Not magic in a whimsical way… magic in the way empathy creates trust.
For years, I thought my early success came from how immediately I saw how brilliant Curves was. And yes, I did see it right away.
But I learned something important:
Women don’t just see Curves.
They see it through you.
Your enthusiasm matters. Your delivery matters. But your care, your ability to truly listen, matters even more.
Rebuilding With Intention
Today, we are in a rebuild season. And rebuild doesn’t mean starting over. It means strengthening what matters most.
Our clubs are thriving again. New Curves 30 locations are opening. Owners who considered retiring have decided to stay because they can see the future again.
And my focus is simple:
I want owners to thrive.
I want clubs to thrive.
I want members to thrive.
I want the communities they touch to thrive.
That’s leadership to me.
It’s not about title. It’s not about geography. It’s not about how many markets you oversee.
It’s about protecting what makes the business special while evolving it for the future.
And after more than two decades — across countries, cultures, expansions, and rebuilds — I can say this with clarity:
At the end of the day, it comes down to love.
And if we protect that, our best days are always ahead.
Maybe I’ll see you on the circuit.
Interested in following in Kim’s footsteps and starting your own Curves Club?
Find out how this could be you here!
Curious to see what Kim saw in Curves for yourself?
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