Prime Time spoke with Trish Stratus about her latest project, a yoga studio bearing her name, Stratusphere. Prime Time also asked about why she chooses to remain in Toronto, future side-projects, changing careers, and working closely with her husband and partner of 15 years - despite the fact that yoga is too much of a 'stretch' for him.
PRIME TIME: What is it about yoga that made you evangelical, that made you want to share it with others, as a business?
TRISH STRATUS: I don't want to sound preachy, but I really believe in yoga as the power of healing, on so many levels. I did it first for rehab purposes and it was fascinating to see how quickly my injury went away and how much more agile I was, how much more my body could give to what I was doing athletically. I liked it because my back was better and then, after a while, it's like a different level. It's this spiritual thing they talk about and I don't want to get too deep into the spiritual but your outlook on life changes and you let things roll off your back.
PT: Does yoga become a lifestyle?
TS: Yes, absolutely it does. There are so many trends in fitness. I've been in fitness for a long time and I've seen trends come and go but this is really sticking because it works. It's fantastic and when I see people who are stressed out, I think to myself, 'I wish they could do yoga.' When they do, they stick with it.
PT: What is it about Stratusphere that will draw someone who hasn't tried yoga yet or who has tried it a few times to decide that this is the place where to come and do it? How do you make it so that it says Trish Stratus, so that it's your place for coming to yoga?
TS: What I love about yoga is that I could be traveling all over and drop into a studio anywhere in the world and have a sense of community with people I don't even know. I've tried to make Stratusphere almost a kind of community centre for yogis. When I started running last year, I was inspired by the Running Room's fantastic program. When you walk in, the cashiers are also runners. So if you have a question, they can guide you. It's great because if you want to try running out but aren't sure, you'll see on Wednesday there's a bunch of people running and maybe you want to join them.
PT: Was a reason for starting in Toronto? So it could be close to home as well?
TS: Yeah, that's my home base, it always has been. Even with wrestling, being on the road for so many years… People are shocked, they'll say, 'You still live in Toronto?' Or, 'What are you doing here?' I'll say 'I live here!' They all think I've moved elsewhere. But Toronto is my home. I've always lived in Richmond Hill. And even though we've moved a few times, it's always north. Vaughan Mills is a fantastic location.
PT: Is there a chance there will be Trish Stratus yoga mats, gear, etc?
TS: These things are being considered, absolutely. In the WWE, we discussed doing a clothing line and the timing wasn't right or it wasn't that important, you know, top of my list –so I didn't pursue it. Now I realize I have the right platform to present something that goes along with what we're doing. It kinda ties it all in.
PT: I wanted to ask about changing careers, which is something you've done several times to this point already. Does it get easier because your name and brand is more marketable now, going into a new venture, or is it still just as daunting?
TS: I think so. The name certainly helps. But every move I've made has been almost as if I've been walking down a path and something has made me look this way and that's why I've gone this way. When I left wrestling, everything was amazing, I was doing fantastic. I had won six world championships and I had traveled all over the world but, when it came to sign for five more years, it was like, 'Sure, why not keep going?' - except, I just felt like I was done. I wanted to close that chapter because there was other stuff that I wanted to do and I didn't yet even know what it was. I remember I wanted to travel - and now a travel TV show has come my way. From being a fitness model to the wrestling to the yoga studio, I feel as though all my personal experiences are there.
PT: Part of your support system is your long-standing relationship of over 15 years already with your husband. Is there a secret to that longevity?
TS: Our relationship has a really strong foundation: a friendship. With friends, you understand what they want and what their goals are. We understand it like that and we're doing it together. But everything we did prior to getting married, we knew we wanted to be successful as separate entities. We did that and now it's neat that we understand each other's goals separately but, at the same time, we can ask ourselves, 'What else can we do together?' Hence, now, the studio.
PT: Best of both worlds? You get to inhabit the same work environment for a time and then you're forced to go apart, as I assume once the studio is built, his involvement with it will be purely personal?
TS: You can talk to him about that, as it would mean him doing a class!
No comments:
Post a Comment