About

Hey there! I’m Steph. It’s great you’re here!

We’re building an army at Spikes and Heels and it is always great to have a recruit join us! If you’re here, you’re probably already on the path to smashing your fitness goals.

I am the founder of this consortium of empowered, fitness-focused women. At Spikes and Heels, our objective is to put real women back at the center of female fitness. If you’re all for that mission, then you will find yourself right at home here! 

Redefining the norm

At some point in your journey, you’ve likely asked yourself two questions. What is beautiful? What is healthy? As women, we typically have one stock standard image in our minds that we use as the framework for the “perfect” balance between ‘beautiful’ and ‘healthy’. For me, at least for an awfully long time, it was the image set by the world around us: thin. 

As I learn more and more about the relationship between the body and mind, especially as I throw myself deeper into the world of fitness, it becomes clearer that this couldn’t be further from the truth.

What is the truth then?

A beautiful woman is a balance of body, mind, and spirit. That mix means that there is no true definition of beauty, only a beautiful life. As we strive to be healthier, be better in all that we do, and become empowered badasses, each of us redefines the traditional standard. It’s for this reason that I began spikes and heels.

I want to change the way that women see themselves, both inside and out. My focus is not only fitness but mental strength – the strength to say, “I am beautiful, no matter my shape!” Rebuilding this frame of mind, this warped image, takes more than just me or you; it takes a community, which is why spikes and heels is a space for women like us to come together and learn to love ourselves in our own way and forget the norm that the world tells us we should adhere to!

Fitness for every woman

I recall my friend’s mom growing up, who was an avid competitive pole dancer. She was the person that redefined pole dancing and, more importantly, body image for me. This crazy idea that someone; an older woman and a mom, no less, could gracefully perform artistic dance centered around something typically associated with gawking strangers blew me away. She by no means met the typical standards of beauty – she had stretch marks, real curves, thick thighs, and she was gorgeous!

Not only that, but she was healthy (and I mean healthier than my friend and I, who were active ballerinas at the time). Her bravery showed me that the confidence to love yourself didn’t come from what others saw in you, but what you saw in yourself.

For her, her reflection never looked better than when she was on the pole and nothing and no one could change her mind! Athletics is to me, what the pole was to her. My mission is to help you discover, define and achieve your fitness ideals.

The unseen change

With each guide that I write, I hope to inspire at least one woman, not only on her fitness journey but also in her self-love journey. For this reason, I try to pack every post with as much detail as humanly possible, so that the value I provide makes a change. 

This is not the sort of change that you’d ordinarily expect from a fitness blog. No, the change that I want to make within each of the readers that become part of the Spikes & Heels family happens within them. By doing this, we incite change in their lives around them.

When I started competing in Athletics, I felt this change. I pursued my MBA, achieved career goals, rid myself of toxic relationships, all because I saw a value in myself that I had not seen before. Sure, I’d seen small glimpses, but with each sore muscle, each drop of sweat, each tear shed in the change room, the light within me shone brighter.

If you’re here, then get excited, because we will find that light within you! Your light is going to shine in a way that will not only drive physical and health changes, but changes in your everyday life and that should excite you, cause it sure as hell excites me!

Keep the blood pumping

To fuel the fire that we have lit, I use affiliate links to partner programs for any products we vouch for. This allows me to produce an income from any purchases that you make after clicking the link to a product on my guides and reviews. That said, if you would like to benefit from the products that I mention here and support me at the same time, then make use of the links on my blog!

All the products that I review or promote have been vetted by yours truly and are the products I would recommend to assist you in meeting your goals. 

Not only are the products that I review benchmarked for quality, but each supplier is vetted too, to ensure that they are reliable and trustworthy stores. 

Let’s build a relationship

When you reach out, you reach out to me personally. I would love to begin a personal relationship with you and help you in any way that I can. If you have any comments, suggestions, or requests, let me know!

As you’ve probably gathered by now, my mission here is to help you become the best version of yourself in your own eyes. If you need a little extra help getting there, then let me know by clicking “Contact Us”. I genuinely look forward to watching the transformation in every single one of my readers!