Seasoned entrepreneur opens gym in West Concord

Theresa French of West Concord is no stranger to starting her own business.

She’s owned a photography studio and started an online coaching and consulting business specializing in helping small businesses with their marketing and sales. She also concentrated on nutrition coaching and fitness coaching. What did she find? Hundreds of women who couldn’t do Crossfit.

“I thought man, what if there was a way to move freely and get your heart rate up?”

Now, French has opened BlazeBody Fitness in West Concord to address that. She calls it her “passion project.” Her general hours of operation are evenings during the week, she said.

Her focus will be on dance and she encourages her clients to “focus on fun, and fat loss will come. We are very focused on body acceptance. Whatever size you are, love who you are.”

“The free-style dancing allows people to start exactly where they are and feel good about their ability instead of beating themselves up for not ‘conforming’ to the routine,” French said.

At other gyms, clients might find they can’t keep up but at BlazeBody, all fitness levels are welcome. “We’ll meet people where they’re at,” French said.

In addition to dance — on a 875-square-foot dance floor — there will be circuit strength training to keep everybody interested. French is marketing toward full-figured women ages 35 to 75.

“I am full-figured myself,” she said. “I’m a bit of an oxymoron. I’m 52 and I’m overweight and I’m opening a gym. In the world of fitness, that doesn’t make sense.”