After over a decade working abroad, Kristina Sy decided to leave the corporate world, move back to Manila, and start a business. What kind of business was another decision.
“I brainstormed through dozens of business ideas,” she said “During my last year in New York, I carried a tiny notebook in my bag where I would write down every business idea I had. After analyzing all my options I ended up choosing not what was the safest choice, but what I was most excited about.”
The choice was indoor cycling, an activity she herself loved. Kristina realised that if she was going to take a big risk and start over, it had to be something she was truly passionate about so that she would be encouraged to go “all in.” It was this thinking that found her back in Manila in 2015 and opening Electric Studio.
Kristina was among the first batch of Electric Cycling instructors, believing that as a founder, she not just had to love her craft, but she had to know it inside and out. “You can’t fake authenticity and a love for your brand,” she said. “Teaching cycling classes not only allows me to do what I love, but it’s also my direct connection with my team and our community.”
Electric studio has three core values: Love, Sweat, and Gratitude. Through all the challenges of opening and operating, they kept to these values, even and especially during the pandemic. “Having to transition our classes from in-studio to virtual because of the pandemic has had its challenges,” Kristina said. “We’ve had to work harder to make sure the Electric energy is felt even if we are no longer in the same room. Additionally, since we cannot physically touch our clients for any adjustments needed, we’ve had to find ways to provide feedback or corrections via Zoom. That being said, all these challenges do come with amazing opportunities–now that we are no longer confined by the capacity of our studios, we have been seeing clients from all over the world join our online classes. It’s been incredible seeing our community grow during this time.”
Keeping their values mid-pandemic
It is during tough and uncertain times like this that we’ve learned to lean on our values – there’s no playbook on how to survive a pandemic. Every big decision we’ve made to pivot our business has been a sheer gamble. What worked best before doesn’t necessarily translate to success today. During these past 14 months, we’ve had to rely on love, sweat, gratitude to determine if what we are doing would resonate with the community. Everything we’ve done – from every marketing collateral we post to every big decision we’ve made is based on the principles we’ve laid out for Electric from the very beginning.
Kristine & Luiz
While Kristina’s first baby is now in its 6th year, her son, Luiz, is just entering his 10th month. Born a few months into Manila’s lockdown, Kristina takes joy in observing her son grow and develop. “I’m so happy that he’s always been adventurous and loves being independent. He’s constantly moving (and doesn’t want assistance from anyone!)–from crawling, dancing, climbing and cruising. I swear he doesn’t keep still unless he is asleep!.” She’s even noticed him making pedaling motions when she seats him on her Electric bike.
On juggling mom life, mompreneurship, and other roles
“Everyday is a constant juggling act and I’m still trying to find my rhythm. I seriously applaud all moms out there – I never realized how much work being a mother was until I became a mom myself. As a new mom during the pandemic, I’ve found that first, having an amazing team is key. My husband, my parents, and my in-laws are all willing to pinch hit when I need them (especially when yaya is not around). They all understand and respect that I am a working mom and are more than happy to help me so I can juggle my multiple responsibilities. Second, I’m very transparent with my team when there are family commitments at play. At Electric, we are very output based versus time based which helps us all balance our responsibilities at home and at work. Third, I’ve found ways to multitask and use shortcuts where I can, such as scheduling meetings during my pumping sessions and making Luiz’s breakfast at night so I don’t have to wake up extra early in the morning. Fourth, I try to combat the mom guilt by setting aside one quality hour of Luiz time in a day or if an hour does not exist then even just one activity I can do with him in a day. Fifth, I try to find some good quality me-time, even if it’s just 30 minutes in a day to be in my happy place.
“But even with all of these tactics in place – there are good days and there are bad days. There are days where one of my roles will take a larger focus of my day and there will be days where I’ll fall short on something else. I’m constantly learning to be flexible and patient with myself which is so hard for someone like me that’s used to scheduling every bit of my day! Being a mom has taught me to take things a day at a time, and to try to be more fluid with my days.”
On her hopes and plans for Electric Studio
“Looking back at the past 14 months, we’ve made a lot of crazy bold moves. All those decisions has brought us from being a studio based indoor cycling company to creating the largest local live and on demand digital platform called Electric at Home, which offers cycling, strength training, HIIT, flow and core classes. This was made possible thanks to our small team that keeps going no matter what obstacles we face, our amazing instructors who genuinely love what they do, and of course the Electric community that has rallied behind us through and through. My hope is to one day see our studios reopen with our digital platform still in people’s homes. While Electric at Home is here to stay, I’m still praying and dreaming of the day that we can open our doors to the community again as nothing can replace the studio experience. Fitness is after all a people industry – and there is nothing like being able to ride or be on a mat together and hug and high five each other after a great sweat dripping endorphin party.”
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