The face behind
Hello there! First of all, thank you for checking us out. My name is Shirley Bloem and I’m the face behind FitQueens. Before I tell you more about the brand, let me tell you more about myself. I am an introvert – creative at heart – finding my way in the business world. I’m married to my best friend and I’m always putting God above all. I absolutely love vegan food, thrifting, animals, books, coffee, and anything related to herbs. I’m a multipreneur, vegan foodie, body positivity advocate, personal trainer, food & product & lifestyle photographer in training, content creator, and herbal medicine enthusiast. I believe wholeheartedly in helping women find balance, have a positive relationship with food without deprivation, discover the joy of plant-based foods & skincare, break diet culture, and love their bodies.
The idea of FitQueens came to me during my own weight-loss journey. I remember the days when the only thing that mattered was to have a ‘perfect’ body. It didn’t matter what I had to do as long as I had abs. Crash diets, fat burners, unusual supplements, extreme exercising, food deprivation – you name it, I did it. If only I had a group of Queens to support me and remind me that being healthy – mentally & physically – is what truly mattered. I would’ve loved a community to remind me that food is good and that’s ok to enjoy it. Enters FitQueens.
FitQueens is a sisterhood that motivates women to not only be healthy physically but mentally as well. We want to break the toxic diet culture that rules nowadays and show you that a healthy body is what truly matters. In a capitalist world that wants to convince us that there is something wrong with the way we look, we want to teach you how to love yourself as you are; beautifully and wonderfully made.
The name
First the name. I’ll start with the term “queen”. To me, to call someone else a queen is a term of empowerment. To crown yourself in all your excellence, greatness, magnificence, and power. It is to acknowledge the greatness I see in you, from one queen to another. To me, it’s also a term to turn my back to a societal norm that has taught us that women have to compete with one another. By calling you Queen, I acknowledge that you are amazing and that there is no – and there will never be – any competition between us as women.
The term fit, often related to fitness, means good health, especially because of regular physical exercise. Even though that’s also what we do, we took the term a little further. Fit also means having the needed qualities or skills to undertake something in a competent way. Similar words are able and capable.
In other words, fitqueens means:
An able, competent & capable person that crowns themselves with their excellence, greatness & magnificence, and always sees the greatness in other queens.
The sisterhood
When it comes to wellness, people often think of eating well, working out, sleeping well, and drinking enough water. Don’t get us wrong, these are very important pillars of well-being. The part that often gets overlooked is the support system that is needed during that journey. The journey towards becoming healthier is often made alone. In a world where individualism is often promoted, and even praised, doing things in a community is often overlooked and even underestimated. Here at FitQueens, we want to do things differently – we want our focus to be a sisterhood. But what does sisterhood mean?
Sisterhood is about real connection, not feeling alone, and having a safety net. With our sisterhood we want you to feel supported and motivated during your journey by being able to share your story and struggles with fellow like-minded queens. You are way more than just a contract number who books a class, pays, and works out. We want you to be seen, heard, and cherished as the queen that you are. Our sisterhood doesn’t end with working out and eating healthy. We want to take things further than that.
All things wellness
Our wellness sisterhood doesn’t end with eating healthy and regular work out. Through our community, we will focus on all pillars of wellness
- Physical Wellness
- Emotional Wellness
- Intellectual Wellness
- Spiritual Wellness
- Social Wellness
- Environmental Wellness
- Occupational Wellness
So the moment you decide to join us, you will join a community. Through our workshops, events, upcoming book club, and other social activities, we want to tackle all pillars of wellness and make sure we bond as a sisterhood.
Do you have your tribe?
Our safe haven
We are proud to be able to provide workouts and other group events, in our own private fitness studio called fitqueens house, also called fq house. We believe that our cities are designed in ways that both degrade the environment and alienate us from nature. Here at fq house, we embrace a biophilic design. The term “biophilia” which translates to ”love of life or living systems”, incorporates nature with design. Biophilic design mimicks the details of nature with vegetation, textiles, artwork, light, scents, sounds, shapes, patterns, or natural materials. The essence of this type of design is the idea that design should be fused with natural elements so as to offer the most benefits to a person’s wellbeing.
Incorporating elements of nature into indoor design has been demonstrated through research to reduce stress, blood pressure levels, and heart rates, while increasing productivity, creativity, and rates of well-being. Our aim at fq House is to get those same benefits to create an environment that will benefit our queens while working out.
The most important aspects of our biophilic design are greenery, air quality, sustainability, light quality, scent, and acoustics.
- Our starting point is incorporating plant life into our interior. Besides relieving stress, it is also incredibly relaxing and it will help you feel more at home.
- We use air-purifying plants and natural ventilation to ensure the best air quality.
- We also prioritize sustainable, low waste, and non-toxic cleaning agents and other materials
- We incorporate as many season flexible color palettes, textures, and visuals as possible
- Our interior design consists of 85% thrifted materials
- Our large windows will brighten up the place and allow natural light to flow in.
- We also use aromatherapy for a relaxing yet energizing and pleasant scent that will nourish your soul. The scent incites the ability to connect with the goodness of nature.
- After your workout, you will be delighted with acoustic music and loose leaf tea so you will be able to relax, de-stress and catch up with your fq sisters.
Wabi-sabi
Also, in a time where perfection is the main goal, it’s hard to take a step back and appreciate what we have and who we are. That is why we embrace the concept of wabi-sabi in our design. “Wabi-sabi is the beauty of things imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete, the antithesis of our classical Western notion of beauty as something perfect, enduring, and monumental”.
Wabi-sabi offers a refuge from the modern world’s obsession with perfection and accepts imperfections as all the more meaningful – and, in their own way, beautiful. Wabi-sabi lets you embrace the imperfection and unpredictability of life. The concept can easily be applied simply to moments of everyday life. The relentless pursuit of perfection often leads to stress, anxiety, depression, and hasty judgment. This is where Wabi-sabi invites a pause. At fq house, we want to encourage you to pause and focus on the blessings shining in your daily life and celebrate the way things are rather than craving how they should be.
Our interior design focuses on:
- Simplicity
- Thrifted materials
- Asymmetry or irregularity
- Beauty in the understated
- Naturalness without pretension
- Subtle grace
- Freeness
- Tranquility
fq house is our safe haven. A visual connection to nature; a green and peaceful cocoon in the heart of Rijswijk. You are more than welcome to join us for a great class and a cup of tea/coffee or healthy snacks after.
No mirrors policy
During workouts, we have a no-mirror policy. By having no mirrors, we’re encouraging our sisters to take a stand with us that exercise is about so much more than what we see in our reflection. We want our sisters to shift their fitness goals to feeling healthy and confident versus chasing the ‘perfect’ body. When people associate working out with positive emotion as opposed to just honing in on physical changes, they’ll keep coming back and eventually see some of those outer results. Exercise is good for your health, mind & confidence. It’s not just about what you see in the mirror. We feel that the lack of mirrors allows you to have a little bit more permission and be completely yourself.
The type of training we do is very technical and position-based. Our trainers will go all the way to describe and show everything correctly. You should be able to go by the feel and listen/get to know your body. Because you’ll be ‘feeling’ that position, rather than looking, you will develop a better muscle-mind connection. (We do have a small mirror for when technique correction is really needed)
Our Team
Founder | Multipreneur | Fitness/Personal Trainer
Shirley
Hola Queen! I’m Shirley. I'm an introvert finding her way in this loud world. Married and always putting God first. I love vegan food, thrifting, animals, books, coffee, and anything related to herbs. I’m a wellness coach, personal trainer, and herbal medicine enthusiast. I believe wholeheartedly in helping women find balance, have a positive relationship with food without deprivation, discover the joy of plant-based foods & skincare, break diet culture, and love their bodies.
www.fitqueens.nl | www.ineffableskincare.com |
Pre & postnatal coach | Fitness/Personal trainer
Kim
Hey there! I'm Kim and I was born in Curacao. I studied ``Sport & Bewegen; Bewegingsagoog & Coördinator`` which translates to a Movement Coach & project/event Coordinator. I'm a CrossFit coach, a PowerMama (Pregnant & Postpartum trainer), and an ambassador for The Recycled Pirate. I love everything about sports and the functionality of the human body & its capabilities as well physically and mentally. Some things I love are dogs, ice cream, bubble tea, and hugs. Oh, and I've heard I'm one of the best huggers out there.
Boxing coach
Jazz
My name is Jazz and I live with intent. Intent to make me and everybody around me a better version of themselves. It always starts with a small step and I’m glad to be able to help you take it. I’m a certified sports coach in boxing, spinning, and boot camp. I’m also a certified mental health and nutrition coach. It is my goal, with each class I teach, to make you feel physically and mentally stronger.
Holistic nutritionist
Bianca
Hello queen, I'm Bianca Cronie. I am a natural nutritionist, mental coach, and hormone coach specialized in successfully guiding people who want to improve their health through the use of whole foods. I want every woman to feel comfortable in her skin at every stage of her life. I know, from my own experience, what the right nutrition can do for your physical and mental well-being. I will assist and support you so you can regain control of your health.
Pelvic floor therapist
Marloes
I’m Marloes Reijman and I’m a pelvic physiotherapist who loves to help others. The pelvic floor muscles come under great strain during pregnancy and childbirth. If these muscles do not function properly - if they are too weak or overcompensate - you can develop problems such as feeling unstable or incontinence when coughing, sneezing, running, or jumping. This is quite common and you needn’t feel embarrassed. With pelvic physiotherapy, I can teach you the right way of moving, improve the pelvic floor muscle function and regain your stability. All this helps during pregnancy, delivery, and recovery afterward. Well-functioning muscles will mend more easily after birth and help you reduce or avoid incontinence.
Branding coach / Photographer
Rushanette
I’m Rushanette Martis. The woman behind Sass Visualz and the Content Creator who will help you turn your idea into visuals. My work DNA is characterized as creative, innovative, and personal. Content Creation is my passion and translating your vision into an image is my mission. I help women in business with their visual communication. Branding sessions, promo videos, after movies, and visual consultancy. My style is colorful, bright, colorful, bright
Our services
We are always looking for new sisters
Are you a freelance fitness trainer, wellness blogger or personal trainer? Contact us to see our jobs offer